“The 1900 census revealed that approximately 2 million children were working in mills, mines, fields, factories, stores, and on city streets across the United States.”[1] Businesses wanted to hire children over adults because they knew that they could pay the children less and get the same work from them or more. Children also caught on to tasks quick, they would be taught things faster too. “Progressive Era reformers believed that child labor was detrimental to children and to society. They believed that children should be protected from harmful environments so that they would become healthy, productive adults.” [2] The reformers wanted the children to be more interested in their education and not working like any child should be doing or
