ESL, English, News, Media, Newsies, History, Newsboys, Lesson Supplement

1. “Seize the Day”
The Real Story of the Newsboys of NYC

2. When / Where?
1884-1899 …. New York City

3. At this time in America’s history, there was no law against
child labor (children working)
If a family was poor, they sent their children to work
to help with the finances.

4. Children & Teens worked in factories

5. They worked on farms

6. And in New York City, there were thousands
of children working as NEWSBOYS
As you can see… they “grew up” very early in life…

7. A Newsboy’s job was picking up a heavy stack of
newspapers, yelling out the big story of the day to
make customers buy their papers.

10. They were paid by
William R. Hurst.
He was the publisher o
the U.S. most popular
newspaper.
He also paid the
newsboys barely
enough to live.

11. For some boys, Hurst allowed them to stay togethe
in dormitory-style housing. But it wasn’t for free –
Hurst charged the boys and took part of their sma
earnings.

12. Other newsboys were homeless and
lived outside.

13. They lived and worked together like brothers – helping take
care of each other.

14. Small groups of newsboys started to gather together to vo
their frustration about not being paid properly.

15. For years, the groups grew larger and larger
Finally, in 1899, the newsboys decided to GO
ON STRIKE. They refused to sell any more
papers until they were properly paid.

16. Their strike was working. They reduced paper sal
from 325,000 to only 125,000

17. Finally, the demands
were met, and they
were paid a higher
wage for their work.
More boys were also
offered housing.

18. Disney made a musical about this event in
history. The movie was so popular, it was
turned into a live Broadway play.