Child Labor In The 1800s

307 Words2 Pages
The rise of child labor in the United States began in the late 1700s to the early 1800s when factory power-driven machines were invented, almost eradicating the need for hand work on items made in factories. Even though there were machines to replace the human work, the machines still needed to be operated by people. Operating the machines did not require brute strength, and adults needed to be payed more money, so factories used children for their work. Why did children work in the factories? Did the factories abduct them or did they do it by choice? Well, many parents in families of poverty could not support their children and “gave” their children to a factory owner for money. Unlike farm work or housework, factory work was very hard,