The Keating-Owen Act of 1916

1. The Keating-Owen Act of 1916 • The first bill introduced to regulate (restrict) child labor, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson • The Act banned products sold from any factory, shop or cannery that employed any children under the age of 14 • The Act banned the sale of products from any mine that employed any children under the age of 16 • The Act banned the sale of products from any place of business that had children under the age of 16 work at night or for more than 8 hours during the day.

2. What Happened to the Keating-Owen Act? • The Supreme Court ruled the Keating-Owen Act unconstitutional because Congress did not have the power to regulate interstate trade (trade between states). • A constitutional amendment was soon proposed to give power to Congress to regulate child labor • In 1938, The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed for the protection of children • The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was challenged in the Supreme Court, but this time the movement to end child labor won.