National Policy Affected by the Keating, Essay Example

National Policy Affected by the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916

Public Policy according to the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 commenced the first legitimate regimented move towards outlawing child labor under the age of sixteen for humanitarian reasons. The public policy was formed initially through the avid work of activists and women’s groups and progressive who believed in Constitutional Rights for children. The problem was identified as children were basically being used as “slave labor” to conduct regimented work details that they were not lawfully and ethically designed to do as children. Children do not have the same mental capacity of adults to commence and endure work as an adult does. Eventually through the action of recognizing the problem and women’s rights groups’ activists were able to put pressure on Congress to propose powers to mandate the working conditions and minimum age for young workers. It did not come without vehement opposition though. It was not until the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 which eventually gave children rights to deny work under the age of sixteen. This Act in fact was challenged by the U.S. Supreme court because children were used as “slave labor” for so many years to no avail. In 1941 the prestigious case United States versus Darby (1941) upheld the constitutionality of the Fair Labor Standards Act. What this essentially means is the children now had rights but it also incorporated Congress the right to mandate the regulation of commerce amongst the states. It put “limits” on their powers to exercise such rights and gave Congress the ultimate authority to make laws respecting the rights of interstate trade and the use of “slave labor” for children under the majority age of sixteen. With that said, activist’s play a role in determining solutions for setting public policy agenda but Congress through the use of precedent court cases has the ultimate power to set public policy agenda that will last.

These cases gave rise to human rights laws for children which afforded them special protection under the law. These rights included the natural right to be taken care of by parents including basic needs for food and education, health care and a different set of criminal laws for children under the age of sixteen. This also gave rise from children being autonomously having the capacity of being physically and emotionally abused. All children have a right to be loved and nurtured. Every child is of minority age until he/she is of the age of eighteen unless he/she is emancipated. Parents should have absolute possession of the child in the American view. Children’s rights are basically defined to the point at which it intersects with the development of a caring and nurturing life for the child. All children have the right to due process, juvenile detention if they commit criminal actions and should be treated as they do not possess the same mental capacity as an adult. Children should have appropriate representation regardless of their origin, race, gender, disabilities or abilities. Each and every child has the right to child care advocacy in America. Children further have the right to adequate standard of living, health care and education and it is their parent’s responsibility to provide such services for them. They have the right to be protected from abuse, exploitation and discrimination. Finally children have equal rights to participate in community programs so that they can have a well-rounded social life.

References

Child Labor (2010) Retrieved October 25, 2010 from, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAchild.htm

Ross, W. (2010) Keating-Owen Act of 1916 Retrieved October 25, 2010 from, http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3407400176.html

The Fair Labor Standards Act (2010) Retrieved October 25, 2010 from, http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-flsa.htm

United States v Darby 312 U.S. 100 (1941)