What was the Controversy regarding Child Labor in America?

In early America child labor was accepted across the nation and was considered normal in society. Children as young as three to four year olds would start to work in fields, households, and factories. Boys would do similar work as men such as working in coal mines, railroads, and in the field. Boys were also taken out of their own homes to work as Apprentices or servants to other families where they would be housed and fed. Both girls and boys would be taken out of their home if their father could not provide for the family, went to the army, or had passed away. The girls would do chores around the house and watch the babies of the household. All work places were dangerous and children everyday were injured or killed. There was also a difference in work type passed on race and class. The elite would have tasks that included studying or needleworking which helped them with their education while kids of other races or who did not have as much money did more hard labor. This drove a larger gap within society between races and class because future jobs would only be given to the children who had the most opportunity of gaining education in a work place. The controversy began during the Progression Era. Within this era the "child savers" were discovered. These were people such as Kelly Florence and Edgar gardner Murphy who finally stood up and gave the children a voice by proposing laws that would regulate the wages,  hours , and working conditions for the children. The National Child Labor Comittee was founded in order for the Progressives to meet and discuss propsed bills that would help prevent or at least regulate child labor. One in praticuclar that was considered the first step in stopping child labor was the Keating-Owen Act which regulated certain age and hours for kids working, however, it was not passed because it was seen as unconstitutional. The oppositoin did not come within the Congress, it came from the states itself because many parents needed their child to work for the source of income due to the economic suffrage america was experiencing at the time. Also industries depended on the work of children and claimed they could not cut down on wages or hours because of the low profit margins. People were also getting angry witht the Progressives because they were forcing too much change  on the people which were unsuccessful that they saw no point in putting effort towards the issues such as child labor. It was during the New Deal, after the Greta Depression that people of the states started to realize the need for passing laws regulating child labor. This led to laws that created more education time for the children. Today, teenagers are still important to the owrk force of America and are the main employers in areas such as the fast food market and farming, however the conditions for this labor is much more safe and reasonable for the teens of this generation