In the 1880s most of the population worked in agriculture.
Children 15 and under made up 23% of the labor force. The labor force
participation rate of children aged 10 to 19 was higher among black males (65.5
%) and females (43.7 %) than among white males (43.1 %) and females (13.1%).
Children were required by parents to work. Most of the population worked in
agriculture and coal mines because they were small and fit in places unable to
be reached by adults (Whalpes). This is a picture of a little boy that just
finished working in a coal mine factory.
Hines, Lewis. Child-Labor http://www.historyplace.com