Working conditions were horrendous. Sixteen hour workdays were not unusual. Machinery operated by little hands could result in crippling injuries and even death. Education was severely limited when it was available at all. Factory owners frequently preferred children because they could pay them less. They frequently recruited from orphanages because orphans didn’t have to be paid at all, the rationalization being that the factory owner was giving them food and shelter and so was entitled to free labor.
Sporadic efforts at child reform legislation were made over the years, but it wasn’t until 1938’s Fair Labor Standards Act that for the first time, minimum ages of employment and hours of work for children were regulated by federal law.
