6 - The Dawn of Child Labor
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
He acted like a child, and he is not to be judged as a man.
(Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 1858)“Go on and tell the jury how it happened – tell the truth.” Fitz Stanley was in the witness box, responding carefully to a series of questions posed by his attorney. What made him stop at the lap winder? He didn't know. What made him play with the belts? He'd seen his companions do it. What happened when the belts hit him? “Knocked a hole in my head,” the twelve-year-old Fitz responded. What happened at the hospital? “Took my arm off.” In this series of staccato calls and responses, Stanley and his lawyer re-created scenes of industrial violence, a performance that no doubt reached its dramatic height when A.W. Nowlin instructed Fitz, “Now take off your coat and let the jury see where they took your arm off.” Even if Fitz did not know what truth all this was driving at, Nowlin did. Had Fitz seen the boys playing with the belt before? Yes. Did he know it was harmful? No. Had anyone warned them? “No, sir.”
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- Industrial Violence and the Legal Origins of Child Labor , pp. 207 - 254Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010