H.R. 8234, A Bill for an Act to Prevent Interstate Commerce in the Products of Child Labor, January 17, 1916 [Keating-Owen Child Labor Act]

In the Keating-Owen Act of 1916, Congress restricted child labor through its power to regulate interstate commerce. The act limited children’s working hours and prohibited the interstate sale of goods produced by child labor. President Woodrow Wilson signed the act into law in 1916, but the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. The Court reversed its opinion in 1941.

Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

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Protecting the Welfare of Children

In 1907 Congress chartered the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), a group founded by progressive reformers concerned with the plight of child workers. The NCLC hired photographer Lewis Hine to document the working conditions of children in factories, fields, and mines. Influenced by Hine’s photos, Congress passed the Keating-Owen Act in 1916—the first federal attempt to regulate child labor.