Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution

How did the concept of human rights get fully established? How did unions, child labor laws, and other workforce reforms get set up? During the industrial revolution, a large population developed due to advances in the medical field. With a larger set of hands, factories and production soared, yet the treatment of employees was terrible. The living conditions which included child labor, factory setups, and economic issues were sure setbacks for a growing society. With these changes there came a voice of the people. Urbanization, created by the abrupt changes to humanity, was the sole reason why radical social and governmental views of the industrial age came to be.

Most of the people during this time were poor or close to destitute, and

The few breaks would usually last one hour, and sometimes children would be punished for taking too many breaks or being late. Additionally, children who were lazy would be beaten as an example to other workers. They were also paid very little, and sometimes were not paid at all (“Child Labor in Factories”). One mother who was a textile worker stated, “My children have been in the mill three years. I have no complaint to make of their being beaten...I would rather they were beaten then fined.” This powerful statement shows the mentality and how people struggled to get paid (Reese). These cases were everywhere and with a growing population, good pay was hard to find, so children working instead of going to school was just accepted as a part of life. Charles Dickens, author of Oliver Twist and Hard Times, was a novelist who wrote the conditions of the poor and the youth in the industrial age. He knew first hand of laborious, factory work and his voice let owners know that the people wanted change. For example, Dickens in Hard Times writes, “So many hundred hands in this Mill; so many hundred horse Steam Power.” Dickens tells of the power of all the laborers, including the youth that

One reform was that the working conditions in the mines were regulated. The mine life was a dangerous job, so women and children (over 10) could only work a certain number of hours. Another reform was labor unions, and when all the workers banded together (primarily men), they had a voice and conditions got better for laborers. For women the fight was not over, it was hard to find work for women, since the bosses preferred to hire men. Women received less pay, and would also be expected to care for the family, even when they got home from a tiring day. Most people lived in tenements, which is like low-income housing today, and there they had terrible sanitary conditions (Lesson: Industrial Revolution). When labor unions were set up, and the government passed laws to protect their children and women. After all this, only middle class men had the right to vote, but jobs were safer. Karl Marx realized that there were a lot of poor, working people, much like today, and very few rich people. His view of history was that economics (money) was the cause very mostly everything. In other words, the rich make all the decisions in this world. He described the “haves” as people who held power, and had the ability to produce, which made them become even wealthier. The “have-nots” were