Basic Research Throughout history, children have always worked, whether as apprentices or servants. However, child labor reached a whole new dimension during the period of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, children worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very low wages. They were considered useful as laborers because their short stature allowed them to be crammed into smaller spaces and they could be paid less for their services. Many worked to help support their families and, in doing so, gave up their education. Numerous nineteenth-century reformers and labor groups sought to limit child labor and improve working conditions. The Industrial Revolution was one of the major factors involving child labor. It was during this period that America entered a great boom of prosperity, and there was excessive demand for many products which steadily became cheaper, the more they were produced. Due to supply over demand, there has been a large increase in available jobs within factories. The new influx of child workers was accompanied by a dramatic expansion of American industry in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. This led to an increase in the percentage of children aged ten to fifteen who were gainfully employed. Although the official figure of 1.75 million greatly understates the true number, it indicates that at least 18 percent of these children were employed in 1900. In Southern cotton mills, 25 percent of the employees were under fifteen years of age, and half were these children were children. under twelve years of age. (Irwin, Yellowitz. “Child Labor.” Child Labor. History.com, n.d. Web.) Furthermore, the horrendous working conditions of many child laborers have resulted in…half of the paper…suffered by their inability to receive a quality education. These were many things that child labor reform groups set out to change. Works Cited Basu, Kaushik and Pham Hoang Van. "The Economics of Child Labor." The Economics of Child Labor (1998): 412-27. Print.Daniel, Annie S. “Charities.” The wreck of the house How clothes are worn in public housing. New York: n.p., 1905. 624-29. Print.Hine, Lewis. Furman Owens, Olympia Mill. 1908-1912. Photograph. The Place of History, South Carolina. The Place of History. The place of history. Network. .Irwin, Yellowitz. "Child labor". Child labor. History.com and Web. .Levine, Marvin J. "Mines, Mills and Canneries." Children for Hire: The Dangers of Child Labor in the United States. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. 21. Print.