Hine, Lewis Wickes. San Antonio newsboys need supervision. Here are three brothers — Sasser family, 729 Porter Street. The youngest one is five years old and makes 30 cents a day. Lawrence is seven years old but "he spends all he earns" his brother says. Boyce[?], makes 75 cents a day, and has a hard time keeping the others at work. Boyce is ten years old. They all start out at 6:00 A.M. and sell until 9:00 and 10:00 P.M. nearly every day except Sunday. I found them selling after ten P.M. Boyce said "We don't go to school; got to sell papers. Father is sick." Location: San Antonio, Texas. 1913. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2018673940/.
Students will review the circumstances leading up to the Progressive Era, including the discontent surrounding child labor laws. They will look closely at the picture of the Sasser family and infer what their life might be like using visual clues from the image. After comparing the life of the Sasser boys to their own, students will create a side-by-side image comparing the life of a child laborer in the early 1900s to their own lives today.
Child labor was common in the United States until the late 1930s, with a reported 75,000 children under the age of 15 working in the 1870s. Many of these jobs were labor intensive, and some were dangerous. Oftentimes, children who had to work to help support their families were unable to attend school. Lewis Hine, the photographer, was an investigator for the National Child Labor Committee.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/video/did-you-know-child-labor-in-the-United-States/-258939
Source: : https://www.britannica.com/video/did-you-know-child-labor-in-the-United-States/-258939
- How does the photographer’s purpose influence his work as evidenced in “San Antonio Newsboys Need Supervision”?
- What story is he telling through the image?
- Who is his audience?
- Does it achieve the intended goal? Is it impactful?
- Based on what we’ve learned from this image, how do images enhance or detract from facts and information in photojournalism and investigative reporting today, and what influence do they have on society as a whole? How does the addition of AI affect things?
ELA Standards
7.6.G. Response skills. Discuss and write about the explicit or implicit meanings of text.
Social Studies Standards
7.7.C. History. Describe and compare the impact of reform movements in Texas in the 19th and 20th centuries such as progressivism, populism, women’s suffrage, agrarianism, labor reform, and the conservative movement of the late 20th century.
Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
- Show students the image of the Sasser family and ask them to observe what they are seeing without any other context. Invite students to share their observations without making any kind of inferences.
- Continue showing the image and ask students to reflect on the story the image is showing. Have them freewrite their ideas.
- Allow students to share their thoughts and discuss how these observations and reflections change or enhance their own thoughts and questions about the image.
- Share that the image was taken by an investigative reporter in the early 1900s. Ask them to write a caption for the image.
- Next, share the actual image caption and information about the photographer, Lewis Hine.
- Considering his line of work, do you think this changed how the pictures were composed by Mr. Hine?
- Does it impact the way you receive the information?
- Is your opinion influenced based on where information you see today is sourced? Does it change based on who the author/photographer is?
- Regardless of audience or intent, remind students that child labor was common during this time in history and school attendance was not required. Have students create a side-by-side drawing showing children in the early 1900s versus children now. They can present it as two “photos” next to each other, a side-by-side comic, or even a meme (“How it started/How it’s going”).
Students should include a short written reflection with their drawings.
Hine, Lewis Wickes. Lionel Perry, nine year old newsboy. Starts out at 5:00 A.M. usually. 4:00 A.M. on Sundays. Sells after school. Location: San Antonio, Texas. 1913. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2018673933/.