Bill Goold Quotes
How do you get governments to stop using child labor? Moral arguments work with moral people—and then you better have some economic incentives.
Bill Goold, Congressional Staff Assistant (Democrat), Expert on Child Labor Laws, Quoted in The Washington Post, March 28, 1993
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The Supreme Court had ruled that the Constitution prohibited the Federal Government from regulating conditions of child labor. A Constitutional amendment was passed by Congress and submitted to the States for ratification. That amendment is still the legal basis for all the Federal involvement in child labor. However there were many opponents. The idea of telling an employer that he could not work an 8 year old child for 14 hours a day was actually considered Communistic by some right wing elements. This quotation is famous for two reasons: First, it illustrates the extreme view against any kind of regulation of business that a strong minority held at the time. Second, this was a statement by a Roman Catholic Cardinal. The Catholic has generally been one of the progressive forces for labor reform (with the exception of racial discrimination and slavery) in the United States. Most modern Catholics are very surprised that a Cardinal actually issued such a Pastoral Letter—especially since he had been progressive on other issues {627510}.
This was a compromise. Most Mexicans wanted immediate emancipation of all slaves. However, Stephen Austin and others desirous of attracting colonists thought that this would inhibit too many American Southerners from immigrating to Texas. Slave enthusiasts wanted no prohibition on slavery. The Mexican Emperor issued this compromise but was soon thereafter overthrown. The law was then repealed by the revolutionary government and emancipation was immediate. However, Austin was able to persuade the junta to keep the law in place for Texas only, and so it was. A similar law was being debated by Congress but the Southerners were able to block it. There were still slaves and slavery in Texas. Four years later {613642} there were more restrictions on slavery.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning, progressive faction of the Democratic Party. It was founded in 1991 and has generally grown since then.
