This photograph, taken in 1912, by Lewis Hine; shows three young girls working in the Maggioni Canning Company along the South Carolina coast. Oyster canneries relied heavily on child labor, particularly in the winter months when oysters were harvested. Workers often began their shifts around 3 or 4 a.m., arriving before sunrise to start shucking while the catch was still fresh.
Josie, Bertha, and Sophie were among thousands of children employed in seafood-processing industry. Shucking oysters was difficult, dangerous work: the shells were sharp, the knives crude, and infections were common. Children stood for hours in unheated sheds, hands numb from cold brine, paid only a few cents per bucket shucked. Many families depended on every child’s income to survive, especially in impoverished coastal communities where steady work was scarce.
This photo was documented by Lewis Hine, an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), often posing as an insurance inspector to gain access to workplaces. His investigative work exposed the harsh realities of child labor in America. His powerful images stirred public outrage and were instrumental in advocating for and eventually achieving stricter child labor laws in the U.S.
By 1910, an estimated two million American children were working in mines, mills, factories, and canneries — some starting as young as five years old. Hine’s photographs were a major reason federal child labor laws were finally passed.