One learns at an early age a basic principle of life: working for a living.  In order to procure the basic necessities for living, one needs to find an occupation.  However, the world is full of exploitation. Exploitation is defined as the act of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.  Labor exploitation refers to the unjust and cruel use of workers by an employer.  One type of labor exploitation is child labor, which is the exploitation of children as workers, usually with little or no compensation and unfair treatment.  You can learn more about this and other types of labor exploitation by clicking the terms below.

Rose Biodo, 10 years old. Working 3 summers. Minds baby and carries berries, two pecks at a time. Whites Bog, Brown Mills, N.J. 1910. Witness E. F. Brown. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Important Terms:

• Child Labor
• Forced Labor
• Sweatshop
• Unfair Wages