It Doesn’t Get Harder than the Lives of the Poorest People in History

It Doesn’t Get Harder than the Lives of the Poorest People in History

Shannon Quinn - November 15, 2022

It Doesn’t Get Harder than the Lives of the Poorest People in History
Children working with their mother to assemble things in a home workshop. Credit: Library of Congress

Children Were Once Kept Out of School to Work in “Home Workshops”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “As child labor expanded through the end of the 19th century, these practices diminished. The 1870 census found that 1 out of every 8 children was employed. This rate increased to more than 1 in 5 children by 1900. Between 1890 and 1910, no less than 18 percent of all children ages 10‒15 worked.” Children were forced to work in factories, farms, cotton mills, mines, and on the streets. But in some instances, kids were kept out of school by their parents to work at “Home Workshops”. Their parents would acquire goods that could be assembled, and bring them home for their kids to put together. Compared to working in a dirty factory, this was a much better option. However, obviously, it meant that these children were kept out of school, and it doomed them to continue the cycle of poverty.

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