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Did You Know? - The Child Labor Amendment — A Promise Still Pending · Voices Of Life

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  Did you know that one of America's constitutional
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  amendments has been waiting for ratification
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  for more than a century? It's called the Child
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  Labor Amendment, proposed in 1924, still pending
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  before the states. It was written to give Congress
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  the power to protect children from exploitation,
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  to regulate or prohibit the labor of anyone under
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  18 years of age. And now, to guide us through
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  this story of courage, reform, and faith, here
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  is Pastor David bringing history to life through
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  the Voices of Life podcast. Because every moment
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  of progress begins with understanding the steps
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  that brought us here. This is the Voices of Life
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  podcast, a ministry of the Church for Life. I'm
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  Pastor David. Did you know... that one of America's
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  constitutional amendments that have been waiting
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  for ratification for more than a century, it's
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  called the Child Labor Amendment, proposed in
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  1924 and still technically pending today. Its
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  purpose is to give Congress explicit power to
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  regulate or prohibit the labor of anyone under
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  18 years of age. In the late 1800s and early
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  1900s, millions of children worked long hours
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  in mills, mines, factories, and farms. Some were
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  only eight or nine years old. Reformers and journalists
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  exposed the harsh conditions, and the nation
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  began to ask, should children be protected from
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  industrial labor? Congress tried twice. First,
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  the Keating -Owen Act of 1916, then the Child
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  Labor Tax Law of 1919. Both were struck down
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  by the Supreme Court. First in Hammer v. Dagenhart,
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  1918, then Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Company
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  in 1922. The court said Congress had exceeded
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  its authority, so lawmakers turned to the Constitution
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  itself. On April 26, 1924, the House approved
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  the proposal, and on June 2, the Senate followed.
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  The text was simple. The Congress shall have
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  the power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the
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  labor practices of persons under 18 years of
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  age. Congress sent this to the states, but without
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  a deadline. By the mid -1930s, 28 states had
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  ratified it. 38 states were required. And then,
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  with the Depression and everything going on,
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  the momentum stopped. Because Congress never
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  set a time limit, the amendment remains legally
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  pending. If ten more states ratified it today,
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  it could still become part of the Constitution.
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  The Supreme Court confirmed this view in Coleman
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  v. Miller in 1939, holding that questions of
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  timelessness are political matters for Congress
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  and not the courts. If recognized, the amendment
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  would give Congress explicit constitutional authority
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  to regulate child labor, not just through the
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  Commerce Clause, but directly through the Constitution
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  itself. In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor
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  Standards Act, setting national rules for wages,
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  hours, and child labor protections. In 1941,
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  the Supreme Court upheld it in the United States
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  v. Darby Lumber Company, reversing an earlier
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  decision that affirmed Congress' power to protect
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  workers and children alike. That ruling made
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  the amendment largely symbolic, but its spirit
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  lived on. Because there's conflicting Supreme
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  Court decisions, It could go either way because
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  two Supreme Court decisions had previously said
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  the Congress does not have the authority. So
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  depending on the Supreme Court, we could depend
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  on how something could go. So passing this amendment
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  actually today would be a good idea. Sometimes
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  the laws we write take generations to fill. The
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  Child Labor Amendment reminds us that protecting
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  the innocent is not a matter of politics. It
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  is a matter of conscience. Even when progress
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  slows, the call to justice never expires. We
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  created the Did You Know series to educate citizens
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  about little things that had to occur to bring
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  our country to where it is today. Each subject
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  is short and sweet, but every one reveals a step
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  of courage, a moment of conviction, and a story
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  worth remembering. This is Pastor David, and
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  you're listening to the Voices of Life. Grace
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  and peace be with you until next time. The child
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  labor amendment remains a promise still pending.
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  A reminder that justice sometimes waits for courage
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  to catch up. Its spirit lives on in every law
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  that protects the innocent, in every voice that
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  speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves.
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  And as we reflect on this chapter of America's
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  story, we remember that progress is never finished.
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  It is carried forward by faith, by conscience,
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  and by those who choose to care. This has been
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  the Voices of Life podcast, a ministry of the
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  Church for Life. May the blessings of God stay
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  upon you always. Until next time.