Hammer v. Dagenhart - A Young Worker's Response

Finally, in 1941, the Supreme Court overturned Hammer v. Dagenhart in a case called United States v. Darby. Meanwhile, in 1923, Reuben Dagenhart had been interviewed about his experience with the case. Then aged 20, Dagenhart expressed great regret that he had never had the chance to go to school:

I don't see that I got any benefit. I guess I'd have been a lot better off if they hadn't won it. Look at me! A hundred and five pounds, a grown man and no education. I may be mistaken, but I think the years I've put in the cotton mills have stunted my growth. They kept me from getting any schooling. I had to stop school after the third grade and now I need the education I didn't get . . . It would have been a good thing in this state if that law they passed had been kept.