His photographs that were taken during times such as the Progressive Era and the Great Depression, which captured the result of young children working in harsh conditions, played a role in bringing about the passage of the first child labor laws in the United States.

[2] Hine led his sociology classes to Ellis Island in New York Harbor, photographing the thousands of immigrants who arrived each day.

At times he was a fire inspector, postcard vendor, bible salesman, or even an industrial photographer making a record of factory machinery.

He also served as chief photographer for the Works Progress Administration's National Research Project, which studied changes in industry and their effect on employment.

The film was directed by Nina Rosenblum, written by Dan Allentuck and narrated by Jason Robards, Maureen Stapleton, and John Crowley.

[12] In 2006, author Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop's historical fiction middle-grade novel Counting on Grace was published by Wendy Lamb Books.

The latter chapters center on 12-year-old Grace and her life-changing encounter with Hine, during his 1910 visit to a Vermont cotton mill known to have many child laborers.

On the cover is the iconic photo of Grace's real-life counterpart, Addie Card[13] (1897–1993), taken during Hine's undercover visit to the Pownal Cotton Mill.