Objective Assessment
As you view each photograph take note about what you see. (note people, background, objects) Pretend you were describing the image to someone who could not see it. Try to avoid making judgments. Where are these children? List any clues relating to their surroundings. Describe any tools or objects you see. Describe their clothing. What do their clothes reveal about their work?
Subjective Assessment
What questions do you have about each of these photographs?Based on your observations, list three things you might infer about the lives of these children. (Be sure to consider Hine's notes
about the photographs when considering this.

Photograph A: In this photograph there is a small, young girl seen in a cotton mill with a seemingly frightened expression upon her face. She is wearing raggy and dirty clothing from long, tough working hours and has dark brown braided hair. To her right are the few windows within the building and to her left are the cotton machines and she is standing in a narrow isle beteen them.

Photograph B: In this photograph there are five teenage girls standing in front of what appears to be a house in Macon, Georgia, with saddened and tired expressions on their faces. Their clothes are dilapidated and filthy so one can assume they endured rigorous labor.

Photograph C: In this photograph there is a small, female child appearing to be around the age of four or five standing in a cotton mill between two rows of milling machines. She is not wearing any shoes and her white dress has darkened with filth. She seems much too young to be doing any physical labor yet somehow she can still work steadily in this environment.

Photograph D: In this photograph there is a young boy selling newspapers on a busy street in St. Louis. He is wearing all black with a jacket, hat, and boots and has a saddened look on his face. There are a few men passing by on his right and do not pay any attention to him.

Photograph E: In this photograph there are several young boys working at a coal company in PA. They are covered from head to foot in dirt and the faces you can see appear bleak and miserable. Most of them are sitting down and appear to be looking through piles of coal.

Photograph F: In this photograph there are several teenage boys working at a Glass Works company in Indiana. Their clothes are torn and dirty and they appear to be working diligently. They seem to be very fatigued and appear tired.

Photograph G: In this photograph there are many adults and children shucking oysters at an oyster canning factory. They are mostly dressed in aprons and very focused on their jobs and they are all working at two long tables in the center of the room.

Photograph H: In this photograph there are several children going into a building to work the night shift on a cold winter night. They are mostly dressed warmly for the winter and appeared to be mostly around eleven or twelve.

One could infer that these children live hard, tiring lives and must have matured much more quickly than children today who do not have to do nearly as much work. One could also infer that these children lacked much of the things we consider necessities today.