Florence Kelley Narrative Essay Example
Florence Kelley Narrative Essay Example

Florence Kelley Narrative Essay Example

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  • Pages: 2 (371 words)
  • Published: November 24, 2017
  • Type: Article
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Florence Kelley, an American social worker and reformer, advocated for improved conditions for working women and laws against child labor, achieving success in both areas.

Although she enrolled at Cornell University in 1876, her health issues prevented her from graduating until six years later. Afterward, she pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Zurich, where women were allowed to earn advanced degrees. Kelley applied her newfound interest in Socialism during this time. Following her marriage to a Polish-Russian physician named Lazare Wischnewetzky, they had three children together. But their relationship eventually soured, leading Kelley to flee with their children to Jane Addams's Hull House in Chicago to escape Wischnewetzky's unstable and violent behavior. For the next eight years, Kelley resided and collaborated with Hull House residents and supporters.

Amidst her social class, certain women maintained a strong belief in

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their involvement within the public sphere. They championed for better working conditions for both children and women, endorsed social justice, as well as advocated for democracy. During her tenure at Hull House, she spearheaded a successful campaign to appoint women as factory inspectors. Additionally, she organized trade unions and earned selection to serve on the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics. Her efforts resulted in enhanced working conditions which included the passing of the first-ever state factory law that prohibited employment of individuals under 14 years old, restricted the duration of workdays to eight hours, and banned sweatshops. Nonetheless, compliance with these laws remained limited despite their triumphant passage.Kelley became dissatisfied with the government's lack of prosecution and obtained a law degree to advocate for labor practice enforcement. As the general secretary of the National Consumers' League, she participated

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in establishing federal legislation concerning minimum wages and child labor. She also contributed to founding the NAACP and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Despite communist allegations, Kelley tirelessly promoted child labor laws by envisioning long-term consequences and proposing legal mandates like state birth registration, documentation of workers' ages by employers, and compulsory school attendance enforcement.

All the actions that Florence Kelley took in the short-term were aimed at realizing her long-term objective of eliminating child labor. She persevered in her mission until she passed away at 74 years old in 1932.

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