Children in the 1800s

Being a Child in 1800

Compared to people in the twenty-first century, with all their modern conveniences and technological advances, the life of any early-American seems difficult. However, the lives of children were among the most arduous. Linda Pollock states in her book Forgotten Children that between 1660 and 1800 families -and society in general- became more affectionate, child-oriented, and permissive of uniqueness and unstructured time (67). Although this may be true, many other sources depict the lives of children as taxing and oppressive at best. Children of the time were either forced to abandon education for their family contributions, or had to balance school with a full day’s work (“Education”). Even when they were not in school or doing manual labor, their day-to-day lives were uncomfortable and harsh (Kids). Social status, as is expected, was a key factor in determining how hard a child’s life would be (Murray 9). Although many children at the time had it easier than others they were all asked at an early age to take on adult responsibilities. The lives of all children in 1800 were mundane and difficult due to family and societal expectations for labor, schooling, and maturity.

Gender, social status, and the region in which a child lived determined how much schooling a child would receive and where and how they would get it. Children of the upper class were either taught in private schools or by a tutor. They were taught reading, writing, prayers, and simple math (“Education”) . They were taught using repetition from the Bible, a religion-based reading supplement called a primer, and/or a paddle-shaped (also religious) horn book (“Schooling”). The upper-class boys were taught more advanced academic subjects, and may have been sent to boarding school in England or another state. The girls were taught to assume the duties of a wife and mother and obtained basic knowledge so they could read the Bible and record expenses (“Education”). While the south had very few laws for education because of its population, the middle and northern colonies (and then states) had established guidelines for their citizens. Pennsylvania’s Law of 1683 set a monetary penalty for any parent whose children could not read and write by age twelve, and who were not taught a useful trade. By 1642 the northern colonies had already mandated a public education or apprenticeship for children, one grammar school for towns with more that one-hundred families, and an elementary school for towns with more than fifty. However, most towns didn’t have a school house and children were taught basic knowledge at home, and would learn and practice their parent’s trade (“Schooling”). The amount of schooling received was also based on the family's dependency on the child, helping to explain why wealthier families could devote more time to an academic education.

The daily routines of children in 1800 were also very demanding. Not only were they expected to follow strict rules of etiquette, but between the ages of four and seven they wore small-scale adult clothes which were often uncomfortable (“Children’s Glossary”). “Boys and girls meant workers - the boys on the farm or sea or in the shop, the girls in the home” (qtd. in Kids). As soon as children could perform simple tasks they were given chores. Children between the ages of four and eight were expected to do things such as help with basic cooking and cleaning tasks, weed, card wool, and start their lessons in school (tasks vary for different regions). Girls between the ages of nine and twelve would help with more complex chores and were trained in all aspects of being a wife and mother; large numbers of girls were wed at age 16. By this age it is also likely, given high death rates during childbirth, that a girl would have already taken over the responsibilities of a deceased mother. A young girl’s journal entry from 1775 gives a list of 26 chores accomplished ranging from fixing clothing, making candles, and spinning linen to feeding animals. The daily tasks of a boy that age would involve bringing in fuel for the day, working in the fields, and going to school or (more likely, especially if poor) going to an apprenticeship, which were started around age eight. The popular thought of idleness as a sin was reflected in the amount children were expected to accomplish daily (Kids).

Although children’s work in the fields and at home could be considered child labor, a growing problem, closer to present-day definitions, was appearing around 1800 in America. Adoption didn’t come into play until the mid-1800s and even then was hard to attain. Before that, children that were given up or found to have unfit parents were forced into apprenticeships where they traded their labor for the cost of living (Murray 9). At this point in time children were still widely thought of as property