In late nineteenth through early twentieth century there was about 250 million children working under the age of fourteen. Children were employed in mining, farming, textiles and factories. Child laborers worked long shifts, sometimes up to 14 hours with little break periods. They worked in environments that were unhealthy and dangerous. The children risked losing limbs, being crushed by machinery, burns and exposure to poisonous fumes. Sometimes child laborers were shackled and beaten by their superiors. At the age of 12, Jacob Riis, concerned with people in poverty, gave all of his Christmas money to a local needy family. In 1870, Riis traveled to America where he found his true passion, photojournalism. He experienced poverty first
