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How did the industrial revolution impact child labor
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In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s big business began to boom. For the first time companies were developing large factories to manufacture their goods. Due to the new mechanics and cheap labor, factory owners could now produce their goods at a cheaper rate. As big businesses brought wealth and capitalism, it also widened the gap between the wealthy elite and the poor. One class in particular was horribly affected by the growth of big factories. This class was the poor working class. According to the article “Child Labor in the United States” written by Robert Whaples, a big proportion of the labour work force was made up of children: “In 1820 children aged 15 and under made up 23 percent of the manufacturing labor force of the industrializing According to the article “A History of Child Labor” reviewed by Milton Fried, a child could work as long as six days a week for up to 18 hours a day, and only make a dollar a week. Child labor was nothing but cheap labor. The big companies loved cheap labor because then they could make an item for not very much money, and make a huge profit margin. Fried continues to state how cheap the labor was, “One glass factory in Massachusetts was fenced with barbed wire ‘to keep the young imps inside.’ These were boys under 12 who carried loads of hot glass all night for a wage of 40 cents to $1.10 per night.” Unlike, children today who are in bed sleeping by 8 pm each night, these children had to stay up all night working to make just enough income for their families. Sadly, the children had no choice but to work for very little pay. Their mothers and fathers made so little money in the factory system that they couldn’t afford to let their children enjoy their childhood: “Other working children were indentured—their parents sold their labor to the mill owner for a period of years. Others lived with their families and worked for wages as adults did, for long hours and under hard conditions” (Cleland). The child had no other choice, but to work for these big
For the first time in history children were an important factor of the economic system, but at a terrible price. The master of the factories employed children for two reasons. One, because of their small body which can get inside the machines to clean it and use their nimble fingers. Second, the masters use to pay low wages to the children who could be easily manipulated. The average age for the parents to send their children to work was ten. Although, Conventional wisdom dictates that the age at which children started work was connected to the poverty of the family. Griffith presents two autobiographies to put across her point. Autobiography of Edward Davis who lacked even the basic necessities of life because of his father’s heavy drinking habit and was forced to join work at a small age of six, whereas the memoir of Richard Boswell tells the opposite. He was raised up in an affluent family who studied in a boarding school. He was taken out of school at the age of thirteen to become a draper’s apprentice. The author goes further and places child employees into three groups, according to the kind of jobs that were available in their neighbourhood. First group composed of children living in rural areas with no domestic industry to work in. Therefore, the average of a child to work in rural area was ten. Before that, farmers use to assign small jobs to the children such as scaring birds, keeping sheep
Often, children were forced to work due to money-related issues, and the conditions they worked in were terrible. Children worked in coal mining, such as at Woodward Coal Mining in Kingston, Pennsylvania (Doc. 7). Children were used to make the process of producing products cheaper, and they were paid low wages; the capitalists hired children just to keep the process of making products going and to make profit. One cause of child labor in harsh conditions was the unfateful fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City in 1911. Teenaged immigrant girls that were employed there worked under sweatshop-like conditions. The building they worked in was inadequately equipped in case of a fire, for the doors were locked, leaving no exit for the girls, and the single fire escape collapsed with the rescue effort; as a result, when the fire started, they were unable to escape. 145 workers were killed, but the company owners were not penalized harshly for this tragedy. This further demonstrates that capitalists were able to get away with the harsh conditions that they put their laborers, especially child laborers, through for their own benefit, which is making more money and using any means to get it, even if those means are low wages and harsh working
In the mid-19th century the entire country utilized child labor because kids were paid less and the money the children earned was necessary for their family’s survival. According to The American, a high school history textbook published by Holt McDougal, the “North and South used children- cheap labor- for full days… 10 year old slave children worked in the fields like adults” (Danzer 266). During the mid 1800s it was the “norm” for young children to work to support the family, “one Northern mill employed 100 children ages four to ten” and textile-mills often had workers 15 years old and younger (Danzer 266). Unsafe child labor was very popular, increasing child fatalities and injuries caused by fatigue. Throughout the progressive era, multiple groups worked to protect child workers and eliminate unsafe child labor. In 1908 reformers were able to gain legislation in many states, this allowed restrictions to be placed on child labor, while also setting work hour standards (Danzer 517) Finally, in 1938 Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which “restricted the ages, hours, and working conditions of school-age workers” to improve teen safety while working ("Regulating Teen”). The specifics of teen and child work have continued to change and improve over the past 80
Children of the Industrial Revolution perhaps suffered more than the adults. Out of concern for child labor practices, the Sadler Commission investigated British factories and introduced their “Report on Child Labor.” When they interviewed former child worker, Matthew Crabtree, the following was discovered: “At what age did you first go to work in one?” asked Michael Thomas Sadler, at which time, Mr. Crabtree replied, “Eight” (Perry, 98). Owners realized that children were easier to train and control and they were forced to work as young as eight years old. They worked for many hours in factories and were denied their education. At such a young age, education and the support of family would have ...
Rich, Cindy. "Childhood Lost: Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution." Eastern Illinois University. Teaching With Primary Sources, 2008. Web. 4 Mar 2012. .
The Industrial Revolution restructured the employer-employee relationship into an impersonal association exhibited by indifference to the quality of life of the worker. Children were especially exploited because they could be hired for lower wages and were made to work equally long days (Miller). Around the 1830s, children constituted about one-third of the labor in New England (Illinois Labor History Society). The conditions of workers as a whole necessitated action on behalf of the rights of laborers.
Child labor has been around for hundreds of years. “Children of poor and working-class families had worked for centuries before industrialization” (Tuttle 1). Before children were needed in factories they worked on family farms tending the fields or animals, as time went on families moved from farms to the cities where children were still required to work. Children worked for numerous reasons some were that their parents couldn’t work so the responsibilities were passed to the children; others included the simple need for more money to feed the entire family. Large businesses welcomed the increasing number of child workers, for the business it meant cheap labor and cheap laborers that could be replaced easily. The exact number of child workers is unknown and has been estimated as stated in multiple articles such as this, “By 1900 over two million children, mostly immigrant children under the age of sixteen, were employed” (Wagner 1). Parents wanted their children to work as soon as possible so they could get as much income as possible, parents often did illegal things to get their children to work, “Boy’s parents often presented a fake birth certificate with an altered date o...
In the U.S. children ages 11 and up work in factories for a living, What is child labor? Child labor is the use of children in industry or business, especially when illegal or considered inhumane, for low pay. It’s like cheating the system, instead of using adults they use children. Why do we have child labor? Most children work due to their parents being poor, they have to help provide for their family, or they got kicked out by their family and they need any job that can help them get by, the most common one is that their family is poor or that poor immigrant families come here, seeking a better life and are in need of jobs.
“Child labor” generally refers to children who work to produce a good or service which can be sold for money in a marketplace regardless of whether or not they are paid for the work. A “child” is a person who is dependent upon other individuals for livelihood. (Keys). Child labor existed before the Industrial Revolution in forms of domestic servants, apprentices, assistants, and farmers. In Britain, boys usually worked in fields and tended to drought animals. While girls did light tasks outside such as milking cows, they mainly did household work inside. Working was deemed as necessary as training for children for when they start their own business...
As the need for labor increased, child labor also increased. Children had to work long hours for very low pay in horrible conditions. Many were at risk of becoming ill, being crushed, having curved spines, even obtaining lung disease. Most children worked up to 48 hours a week for only 1-3 dollars. Employers took advantage of child workers for low pay. Child laborers were always at risk of injury or death. They were also introduced to criminals, offered drinks, heard lewd stories, and witnessed violence. Child labor resulted in the deaths/illnesses of many children and also not having
Child labor is defined as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development” (Ilo.org, 1). The Industrial Revolution is a time in history when England has an immense number of natural resources, some of which include iron and coal. The agricultural sector of the British economy is growing at high rates, allowing for the population to increase and for new opportunities to emerge. The abundance of people, resources, and land allow for new innovations and efficient labor systems to develop of which children play a major role. Used primarily for their small size and low hourly cost, children are being forced to forgo their educations to work dangerous jobs.
Living in the United States of America, in 2017, children go to school to learn and eventually to become adults then obtain a job and go to work. This is the norm for us and we could not imagine anything different. Prior to what we know to be modern America, children had been servants and apprentices for as long as anyone could remember but, during the industrial revolution, “18% of all American workers were under the age of 16”. Children were desired as workers because of their size and ability to work in small, cramped spaces, such as overcrowded factories or narrow mines.
Laws for child labor have been proposed in the U.S. since 1832, but they were not passed until over a hundred years later (About Child Labor). When industries began to rise in America after the Civil War, families from the countryside moved to larger cities with the hope of finding better work. (Childhood Lost). Unfortunately, the jobs offered to them had pitiful salaries, compelling parents to make the difficult decision of putting their kids to work. According to Eastern Illinois University, “Those working included children as young as three,” (Childhood Lost). It is unthinkable to imagine three-year-olds working, but it reveals a powerful glimpse into U.S. history many would not like to venture
Child Labor is a form of work that harmed children and kept them from attaining an education. The financial gap between rich and poor caused children to forced out of school and into the workforce in order to make money to provide for their families. Child labor began in the United States way before the 1900’s. It came in forms of indentured servitude and also child slavery (Trattner). Child labor was commenced when industrialization moved the workforce from agricultural scenarios and home workshops to factories. The factory owners preferred to have children as workers because they were more manageable, affordable, and less likely to revolt against the company owners. Since they were young factory owners knew that they were going to be able to control them easier due to many factors, but especially their size. The factory owners also knew that the children did not know anything about wages, so they could pay them less, Lastly, the factory owners knew that the children were not going to revolt because they were less educated than the adults were (Trattner). Child labor wasn’t approved in the North which caused big factories to move down South so they could continue to have children working. By the 1900’s the states each had different opinions on child labor standards.(wikepidia) Soon both women and men started to realize that their children were being put in conditions that were harming. They wanted to stop it and get their children were they should actually be, which was studying. This ultimately resulted in the formation of the National Child Labor Committee. Child labor has been around for a few centuries. During the beginning of the 17th century, there were eight institutions for abused and neglected
The child labor was create back in eighteen century. It was a situation where young Children at age fourteen to sixteen was able to work in the United States and United Kingdom. During this period of time children were forced to work in factories. Some children as young as five were force to work to help their family, but at same time it was limited in some states where they considered to be illegal and people think it was violation of human right.