Child labor has been a controversial topic throughout American history. As industrialization and urbanization began to spread throughout the country, workers gradually transitioned from farm work to factory work as new technologies allowed for quicker and more efficient production. In order to maintain their supply and demand, factory and workshop owners started to hire children since they were easier to manage and could be paid less then adult workers. While children did work on their relatives’ farms before the Industrial Revolution even began, the factories’ conditions were often harsh and deadly and the tasks that they were assigned were too intense for many of them to complete. Starting at age seven, they would often work between 12 to
