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Impacts of Child Labor and other negative effects during the Industrial Revolution
Technological advances in the industrial revolution
Technological advances in the industrial revolution
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Katherine Davila
Western Civilization II
Response Essay
10/20/2015
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain, took place from the 18th to the 19th century and was a period during mainly agricultural, rural societies in Europe and America because industrial and urban. The term Industrial Revolution was first popularized by the English economic historian Arnold Toynbee to describe England’s economic development from the 1760 to 1840. The main structures involved in the Industrial Revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and cultural. The technological changes included the use of basic material, mostly iron and steel. Secondly there was the use of new energy, electricity, petroleum and the internal combustion engine.
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Economic changes resulted in a wider distribution of wealth which increased international trade. Political changes reflected the change in economic power, as well as new state policies which corresponded to the needs of industrialized society. Sweeping social changed including the growth of cities, the growth of working class movement and the emergence of the new patterns of authority and the cultural transformation of broad order. There was also a psychological change in man which made their confidence in the ability to use resourced and to master nature was …show more content…
Children had always done worked in their own homes with their parents or on land nearby. Children 's work was seasonal so they did still had time to play. When children worked in textile factories they worked for more than 12 hours a day.
In the early 19th century parliament passed laws to reduce child labor. However, they all proved to not be an obligation. The first effective law was passed in 1833 and it was effective do to the fact that for the first time factory inspectors were doing their job to make sure the law was obeyed. The new law banned children under 9 from working in textile factories. The law said that children ages 9 to 13 must not work for more than 12 hours a day or 48 hours a week and children aged 13 to 18 must not work for more than 69 hours a week. Children ages 9 to 13 were allowed 2 hours of education a day.
The coal mines were also terrible as children as young as 5 worked underground. In 1842 a law banned women and boys less than 10 years of age from working underground. In 1844 a law banned all children under 8 of age from working. Then in 1847 a Factory Act said that women and children could only work 10 hours a day in the textile factories. In 1867 the law was extended to all factories and in 1878 the act said that women could not work more than 56 hours a
In the nineteenth century, various inventions like the steam engine stimulated demand for products, thus introducing factories and workshops to manufacture those commodities. The popularization of Manchester initiated assorted reactions towards the industrialization of the cities surrounding Great Britain. While the industrial revolution ensued, numerous concerns occurred which all contemplated the affects of factories and industries engaged by the working division of society. As industry began to evolve for the operational lower classes, the positive, negative, and mutual reactions are denoted by various speakers whom were among the diverse social classes of society.
The Industrial Revolution was a fundamental change in the production of goods that altered the life of the working class. Similar to most other historical turning points, it had skeptics, or people that doubted the change, and fanatics, people who saw the value in the change being made. The Industrial Revolution and the period that followed shortly after highlight these varying opinions, as people were more conflicted than ever about the costs of industrialization. While Industrialization started in England as an attempt to capitalize on the good fortune they had struck, it quickly developed into a widespread phenomenon that made the product of goods more exact and controlled by higher level people. Many industries, such as the cotton and textile
Many businesses and factories hired children because they were easier to exploit; they could be paid less for more work in dangerous conditions. Plus, their small size made many children idea for working with small parts or fitting into small spaces. Children as young as four could be found working in factories, though most were between eight and twelve. Despite the economic gains made by the business that employed them, many children suffered in the workplace. The industrial setting caused many health problems for the children that, if they lived long enough, they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. Children were also more likely to face accidents in the workplace, often caused by fatigue, and many were seriously injured or killed. Despite efforts by reformers to regulate child labor, it wasn’t until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that children under 14 were prohibited from
Child labor started during the industrial revolution, cheap labor was needed, and the machines could be operated by children. Many children worked because of poverty, they were forced to work to help out their families. The lack of government regulations that enforced safety standards or that said how long the children were to work. They would work very long hours with nothing to show for it. Since children were so small they could fit into small spaces that the adult workers could
Factories were utilizing children to do the hard work. They employed children as young as five or six to work as many as twenty hours a day. According to Document C, children worked in factories to build up muscles and having good intellect in working rather than getting an education. They became a different person rather than conventional children. There were additionally health issues due to child labor: rapid skeletal growth, greater risk of hearing loss, higher chemical absorption rates, and developing ability to assess risks. Progressive Era reformers believed that child labor was detrimental to children and to society. They believed that children should be protected from harmful environments, so they would become healthy and productive adults. In 1912, Congress created the Children’s Bureau to benefit children. The Keating-Owen Act was passed in 1916 to freed children from child labor only in industries that engaged in interstate commerce. However, it was declared unconstitutional sinc...
Many factories and mines hired children, because they were able to fit in smaller spaces and the factories could pay them less. They also hired children, because children were easier to control. During this time it was just common for kids to work; most people were okay with child labor at the time. “In colonial America, child labor was not a subject of controversy. It was an integral part of the agricultural and handicraft economy. Children not only worked on the family farm but were often hired out to other farmers
Thesis Statement: The Industrial Revolution ensured that the production of goods moved from home crafts and settled in factory production by machine use, mass inflow of immigrants from all over the world escaping religious and political persecution took place and the government contributed by giving grants to entrepreneurs.
The fight against labor received a good response from federal politicians. In the midst of this period children at a very young age were working in factories to support family. Children, under the age of fourteen, have been working eight hours a day for more than six days a week. Boys working in coal mines were crawling into newly blasted areas as well as other dangerous circumstances. Jane Addams helped bring up the facts that people were stuck in the admiration of the achievements of the industries they forgot about the children themselves (doc. C). With her influence, as well as others, the Child Labor Act was passed. There was not much impact because some industries continued to have young children working in their factories. In 1916 the Keating-Owen act was passed forbidding interstate shipment from factories employing children under the age of fourteen or children between fourteen and sixteen who work more than eight hours a day, overnight or more than six days a week. In 1918, in the Hammer vs. Dagenhart case Roland Dagenhart argued the Keating-Owen act was not a regulation of commerce (doc. G). He believed according to the tenth amendment the state should make the rules for child labor. He felt protected by the Fifth Amendment giving them the right to allow his children to work. The Supre...
The Industrial Revolution was the major advancement of technology in the late 18th and early 19th century that began in Britain and spread to America.The national and federal government helped the United States grow into a self reliant nation with improvements in transportation, technology, manufacturing and the growth of the population.
Throughout history, children have always worked, either as apprentices or servants. However, child labor reached a whole new scale during the time period of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the time frame of late 1800s-early 1900s, children worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little wages. They were considered useful as laborers because their small stature allowed them to be cramped into smaller spaces, and they could be paid less for their services. Many worked to help support their families, and by doing so, they forwent their education. Numerous nineteenth century reformers and labor groups sought to restrict child labor and to improve working conditions.
The industrial revolution reshaped America’s cities, society and way of life in the 1800’s. America is what it is today because of this shift from farmers, craftsmen, and merchants to factory workers, working middle class, and the wealthy class. News ways of transporting goods by using canals, steamboats and trains helped jump start the revolution. The invention of the cotton gin reshaped American slavery, shifting it to the Deep South. The rise of factories led to a new working class of semi-skilled and unskilled workers. All three of these things are responsible for the industrial revolution and bring America in the modern world of today.
The Industrial Revolution was the rapid growth of industrialization in Europe and later the U.S. Starting in England in the late eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution was a time of great advancements. Changes took place in almost every industry including transportation, mining, textile, and more. But didn’t just stop there, modifications were also made to the social world. All of these new ideas combined made what we know today as the Industrial Revolution.1
England was a society dominated by children. During the reign of Queen Victoria one out of three of her servants were under the age of fifteen. Child labor was a prominent issue, because there were no systems to ensure the safety of children. During the start of the industrial revolution, there was a “high demand” for labor (Robson 53). Many families moved from rural areas to new, industrialized cities. After a while things weren’t looking as “promising” as they did before (Boone 23). In order to maintain, families had to put almost all of their family members to work. This led to a rise in the number of child labor. Children were “mistreated, underpayed and overworked” (Kincaid 30). Using children to do all of the hard work, the mining companies believed, was the most sensible and efficient way to get the job done. Because the children were a lot smaller, it was easy for them to “maneuver through tight spaces” and on top of that the children demanded little or no pay at all(Boone 43 ). These wages were enough to persuade companies to use children for all sorts of dangerous jobs such as coal mining and chimney sweeps. Children were called to do many other “horrible” jobs, jobs that adults in this era could not bear, just so long as the bills were paid (Robson 18). The working conditions and treatment of young children during this era was horrible and a lot was done to put an end to it.
The Industrial Revolution originated in Britain thanks to the encouraging population and government who pushed for innovation through applied scientific insight. After the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment period, people were much more knowledgeable and full of ideas. Their
Swaying the minds of factory owners was a difficult feat because the owners loved child labor and supported the idea that it was good for the economy and character building to the children forced to provide for their families. The parents of the child laborers basically had no choice but to support the work due to the need of the extra income. There were some very important people that fought for the regulation, improvement, and abolishment of child labor despite the consequences. In 1833, the Factory Act began the first steps towards a better work environment. This limited the amount of hours allowed for children to work based on age. Children nine to thirteen were only permitted to work an eight hour shift. Fourteen and eighteen year olds could work no more than twelve hours a day. Also, children under the age of nine were no longer allowed to work at all. This made a huge improvement in the education of the children because they had to go to school for two hours a day at the minimum. Later, in the 20th century, activist went even further to protect the working children. The Hull House was founded by Jane Addams and the Children’s Bureau was established in 1912. This made it possible for child labor to be