As the twentieth century dawned, a growing number of groups and individuals attempted to abolish child labor. At the time, children under the age of fifteen made up approximately 18 percent of the nation’s labor force. Reformers argued that child labor was dangerous and that it deprived children of an education, which they cited as the best method to escape poverty. As early as the 1840s, states such as Massachusetts began to enact restrictions on child labor, including requiring school attendance and establishing a minimum age for workers (typically twelve years of age). Many of the earliest limitations were put in place by Northern states, which prompted a number of factories and mills to relocate to the South. Such companies also sought to avoid minimum wage laws and other labor reforms.