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And children under 6 worked in sweatshops and were basically bought and sold; sexual exploitation of children was rarely if ever reported; most people were illiterate; and the life expectancy was about 30.

Working in sweatshops was better than what was there before, working on the farm. And illiteracy is forced upon children now with this look/say -- whole language garbage taught in schools.

Working in sweatshops was better than what was there before, working on the farm.

Not buyin' that. Kids on the farm worked outdoors, supervised by their parents. Kids in the sweatshops worked around and in incredibly dangerous machinery, supervised by people who did not know them and cared little for their safety.

I don't think a lot of families chose the sweatshop over the farm as a better place for their children to work -- the sweatshops hired kids from the tenements, not the fields.

And illiteracy is forced upon children now with this look/say -- whole language garbage taught in schools.

If you're talking about an era when most folks got married at about 14, you're talking about an era when many couldn't sign their own name or read a sign. I'm not talking about folks who don't read thick books or know what a simile is.