Federal Government Trying to Discourage MInes, Factories, From Hiring Children, 1919

From the Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration, online at https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/artifact/hr-12863-revenue-act-1919-child-labor-tax-law-1919

H.R. 12863, Revenue Act of 1919 (Child Labor Tax Law), 1919

Unable to protect child workers under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, Congress tried another approach. The Revenue Act of 1919, also known as the Child Labor Tax Law, regulated child labor indirectly. Among its many provisions, the law imposed a ten-percent tax on net profits of companies that employed children in certain industries, such as mining and manufacturing.

Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration