Striking photos of America's child laborers reveal what work was like a century ago

Lewis Hine/Library of Congress

The bloody origins of Labor Day — a holiday carved out from the post-Civil War clashes between workers and employers — have largely faded from public memory.

The day off is still a good time relax, but it's worth remembering the grueling conditions faced by workers before the arrival of protections we often take for granted, like weekends off or 40-hour workweeks.

The first Labor Day was Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City.

The American labor force has continued to evolve since then, but one of the biggest differences may be who is doing the work.

Lewis Hine, a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee, captured photos of some of the children who made up the US labor force between 1908 and 1924.

Hine traveled throughout the US, documenting children working in factories, fields, and at home in support the NCLC's mission to promote the "rights, awareness, dignity, well-being and education of children and youth as they relate to work and working."

The photos below, compiled by the Library of Congress, are the result of Hine and the NCLC's work.

The descriptions come from NCLC caption cards, edited for clarity and length.

A Glassworks at midnight, taken in Indiana in August 1908.

Jewel and Harold Walker, 6 and 5 years old, pick 20 to 25 pounds of cotton a day. Father said: "I promised 'em a little wagon if they'd pick steady, and now they have half a bagful in just a little while." Location: Comanche County--[Geronimo], Oklahoma, October 1916.

Vance, a trapper Boy, 15 years old. He had trapped for several years in a West Virginia coal mine for $0.75 a day for 10 hours work. All he does is open and shut this door: Most of the time he sits here idle, waiting for the cars to come. On account of the intense darkness in the mine, the hieroglyphics on the door were not visible until plate was developed. Taken in September 1908.