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The impact of the industrial age
Industrial revolution and child labor
Consequences of industrialization on society
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Recommended: The impact of the industrial age
In “Child Labor During the English Industrial Revolution”, the text states, “Children worked under deplorable conditions and were being exploited by the industrialists” (Tuttle). During the Industrial Revolution industries were booming and opportunities were developing. This caused the need of an abundance of workers in factories - specifically children. Child labor during the Industrial Revolution created a wide range of views on how the children were treated, which led to Act’s being passed and laws being created.
Firstly, were the children’s diminutive wages and long hours of working. The kids worked long, harsh hours every day with little breaks and little pay. In “Child labor in Factories During the Industrial Revolution”, the text states, “Children sometimes worked up to 19 hours a day with a one-hour total break”. The factory owners would push them to the extreme and sometimes get away with paying them nothing at all for all the hours they have worked. They would say that giving them food and shelter was good enough.
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The children were treated impetuously by the factory owners. In “Child labor in Factories During the Industrial Revolution”, the text states, “the people who the children served would beat them, verbally abuse them, and take no consideration for their safety”. They would receive beatings and other harsh forms of being punished. For example, if they were late they would be “weighted” which meant they would tie a heavyweight around their neck and start walking up and down the factory. That punishment would lead to serious injuries in the neck and back. Another punishment was that the boys would be dragged naked from their beds to make sure they arrived at work on
They were forced to work long days, sometimes 12 hours without breaks for meals. They worked Monday thru Saturday making the material and cleaned the machines on Sundays (even children were forced to work these long days). According to John Birley, who was a textile worker as a child, the workers were abused on a regular basis. Birley stated that his master had beaten him so badly he almost died. On another occasion, Birley was beaten so badly it resulted in a broken elbow, causing him lifelong pain. Birley and his co-workers wrote letters documenting the abuse and requesting the factories be investigated. Before the investigators arrived, workers had been bathed, were neatly dressed, and were threatened by their master. They were told to say they were treated fairly, that there was no abuse in the
The lives of large section 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.
These comforts and conveniences included better and more developed homes, cheaper clothes, more tools and utensils to work with, and faster and cheaper travel. One of the most important concerns of this time period is the effect of child labor. Document 7 states: Large machines and rising demand for products quickly led to the growth of the factory system. The building of these factories led to the hiring of massive numbers of child workers, the youngest at 11 to 12 years old.
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
Children as young as young as five or seven years old worked in dangerous factories. Many times if the children fell asleep while on the job, they would slip and get stuck in the machines, resulting in death. Child labor in the late 1800’s was very unsafe and put the lives of young children in danger. The children worked in very dangerous conditions, most of the time it was factories. The conditions were very poor, the factories were dirty and unsafe for children. The children would work for up to sixteen hours with little to no pay.
The labor conditions that children faced were very demanding for a human being from such a small age. For example “In the Manayunk district of Philadelphia, children as young as seven assisted in spinning and weaving of cotton and woolen goods” (Wolensky 2). The children working in the factories had their childhood freedom taken away from them. “In 1830 in a sample of 43 Manchester mills, 22.3% of the workforce was under 14 and 32.4% under 16” (Cunningham 412). This means that about 50% of the workforce in the mills were made up of children under the age of 16 and in today in the United States, a person cannot work until the age of 16. “And it is a hard thing for small children to be confined in a tight close room all day long. It affects their growth, makes them pale and sickly” (Nason). The time these children spent in the factories prevented them from spending time with their neighbors, friends, and family. The fact that young children had to work in these textile mills, created changes to American culture on how childhood years are supposed to be spent.
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
"Child Labor during the British Industrial Revolution." EHnet. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2017. (-- removed HTML --) .
In 1900, there were 1.75 million child workers in the United States alone, that was 18 percent of all American workers at the time. In southern cotton mills 25 percent of the employees were below the age of fifteen, with half of them being below the age of 3 (History.com). Child Labor is the the use of children in industry or business when considered illegal or inhumane. Child Labor is a social issue that was at its peak during the Industrial Revolution and still occurs today, but has declined drastically over the years due to the unions against it and laws put in affect.
Cotton production during the Industrial Revolution played an important role in English history. The revolution was brought on by the development of new technologies, which included the invention of machines capable of producing large amounts of cotton fabric. The resulting shift in cotton production from home to factory began in 1760 and was complete by about 1830. The industrialization of cotton production transformed England in many ways, including rapid urbanization and the introduction of children into the factory workforce. It can be argued the cotton industry would not have been so successful without the use of children; however the effects were detrimental to their well-being and eventually led to the passage of a series of laws to limit child labour.
Child labor is very different in the industrial revolution compared to the chocolate industry, however there are some similarities. This issue occurred back then but is still around now, especially through different aspects of child labor; such as how these children are treated, which is not very friendly. Even the political role plays a major part in this situation. On the other hand there are some benefits from it, but it is still a terrible and unfortunate thing to happen to the children.
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.
Imagine waking up at five in the morning to walk over a mile to a factory where you work until noon where you get a half hour break for lunch, then it’s back to work until nine or ten at night, when you are finally allowed to go home and you are only eight years old. Today that seems unimaginable, but during the early 19th century it was the everyday life of thousands of children whose ages range from as young as five until you died. During the Industrial Revolution many children were required to work dangerous jobs to help their families.
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 is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school.” Back then in the U.S., children were working between ages 5 to 17. Between the 1800s and 1900s, many children worked in agricultural fields, fishing, mining, manufacturing, and even drug trade and prostitution. Even though child labor laws are still avoided around the world, the effects on child labor in the US, before, was unbelieveable. Children were suffering from health issues, reform movements grew and other countries followed enforced child labor too.