Across the lines of race, Americans shared the problem of child labor. For centuries, children had been treated like miniature adults, expected to earn their keep. But a new idea was making the rounds, advanced by G. Stanley Hall, a pioneer in the budding field of child psychology. Hall argued that childhood was a distinct phase of human development, which meant that children needed to act like children in order to become healthy adults. Rather than being forced to work, a child required nourishment and education. The “work” of young children was to play.
