In 1916, Congress passed the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act, which was the first federal child labor law.

The law said if goods were made by a child younger than 14, or by a child between 14 and 16, who was made to work more than 8 hours a day or six days a week

those products couldn't be shipped across state lines. What Congress was trying to do of of course, was regulate child labor.

Regulate child labor specifically by using the Commerce Clause.

In the early 20th century, tens of thousands of children were employed at canneries,

textile mills, furniture factories, and other industrial settings.

A 1921 report for the Department of Labor found that children, Labor Division was responsible for making sure that the federal law was

administered properly. But their work was short-lived. In 1918, just nine

months after the law had gone into effect, the Supreme Court struck it down.

The lawsuit had been brought on behalf of Rubin and John Dagenhart by their father Ronald.

All three Dagenhart's were employed at the Cotton Mill

of the Fidelity Manufacturing Company

in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The federal law prevented his sons from working as much as they wanted, argued. The Supreme Court

Court cited with the federal law prevented his sons from working as much as they

wanted, argued Ronald, and that was an unconstitutional overreach by Congress.

The Supreme Court sided with the Dagenards.

Congress was trying to control how goods were produced, and that was really the job of the states,

not the federal government.

Not only did Congress go too far in trying to use its constitutional authority under what's called a commerce

power but in doing so Congress also violated a different provision of the

Constitution the 10th Amendment. The court said that Congress lacked the ability to, quote,

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