Child Labour And Social Problems During The Industrial Revolution

654 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Negative impact on child labor during the industrial revolution

During the Industrial Revolution (During a period between the 18th and 19th century which created major technological advances were created) in Britain a number of social problems arose. Two of the major issues were the state of working conditions for lower paid workers including child labour and the lack of general sanitation practises and infrastructure. Despite the early social problems of working conditions and sanitation created by the Industrial Revolution the long term social reforms including the Factory Act in 1833 and the Public Health Act in 1848 outweigh the short term issues encountered. The use of child labour was common in the 18th and 19th century but in the years of the Industrial Revolution exploitation particularly of children was rampant. Children were exploited due to their lack of knowledge and small bodies. Mostly children were aged between 6-15 years old and worked to supplement their family income. This practise was carried out mostly in the UK but it was commonplace in other countries as well. In addition, the sanitary measures that we have today were non-existent. Countless people died every day because of diseases and unchecked infections. During the Industrial Revolution, working conditions for children and adults alike were appalling, worked long hours for very little pay was the norm. For example, two boys worked on pushing a cart up and down a tunnel filled with coal for up to 19 hours and don’t see the light of day. Also in textile factories there were many machines with exposed parts run by unskilled labourers which led to many accidents. Poor working conditions including child labour has been in use for many centuries but in the industrial revolution the work conditions were particularly po... ... middle of paper ... ... town had to supply clean drinking water as well as improved sewage and drainage systems. These short term social problems of sanitation and working conditions resulted in long term social reforms of the Factory Act and The Public Health Act. The introduction of these long term reforms overcame the short term problem encountered. The use of child labour from very young ages had allowed employers to gain very cheap labour but with the Factory Act this exploitation was no longer legal. Also the basic needs of sanitation were not met until the Public Health Act was implemented and addressed these needs. These reforms led to further improvement over the years that resulted in the working conditions we have today. To conclude the short term issue encountered were vastly outweighed by the reforms they caused giving the general public safer and cleaner working conditions.

Show More
Related

  • Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before considering the reasons for and impact of child labour, it is necessary to provide a brief overview of the Industrial Revolution in England. The 14th century saw England shift from an exporter of raw wool to manufacturer of quality woollen textiles. The two main events that took place, which allowed this to happen were: the Hundred Years’ War and Bubonic plague. The Hundred Years’ War was a battle between the English and French, which, began in 1337. During the war, King Edward III of England created a wool monopoly in an attempt to raise funds to help support the war effort. This was achieved by taxing the export of wool to Flanders and the Low Countries. As a result, the production of woollen textiles decreased, and provided England the opportunity to capitalize on the shortage. It was also during this time the Bubonic plague struck Europe killing somewhere between a third to a half of the population. The effects of the plague were devastating for the most part, but...

    Read More

  • Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children during the industrial revolution worked just has hard as adults did but were treated even worse, worked the same hours and barely made enough to buy bread for their family. “By 1810, about 2,000,000 school-age children were working 50- to 70-hour weeks. Most of them came from poor families. When parents could not support their children, they sometim...

    Read More

  • Cotton Gin Positive Effects

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Industrial Revolution raised the standard of living among many people, most being a part of the middle to upper class. Those in the lower working class experienced little improvement for their situations as factory workers continued to receive low wages as well as having work taken away from them by machines. Due to the need to mass produce goods, production shifted from the traditional settings of homes to factories. This eventually led to a large scale construction of factories in large cities. With the creation of cities, also came the flow of population. In the mid-18th century there was a large population shift from the countryside to the cities as to find jobs. In the work place children labor became quite common, used to do highly dangerous tasks due to their small size such as fixing machines. The growth of child labor was also paralleled by the worsening of working conditions in factories around the country. Work environments were overcrowded and all around

    Read More

  • Child Labor

    1869 Words  | 4 Pages

    Child Labour has been in existence in different forms from the beginning of time but it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that it became the problem it is today. With the arrival of the factory system in the 18th century, Children as young as 5 were being used as workers in England. During this period, a law called the English Poor Act gave the government the responsibility to care for children that had no parents or whose parents were too poor to care for them. Under this law, the government would take these ‘pauper children’ and place them in jobs where they could become apprentices and learn a trade. The law was not usually affective because when the children were handed over to the factory owners, they usually became slaves. Other children were sold by their parents as indentured servants. Children were used to tend to machines in factories and many worked in the dark, damp coalmines, carrying coal on their backs up ladders. Many children would work 10 to 15 hour days with a small break for lunch. On top of this, the children were paid a starvation wages.

    Read More

  • Child Labor Industrial Revolution Essay

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Industrial Revolution in the United States, which took place during the years 1760-1840, was a remarkable turning point in history. During this era, many advances were made, including the increased use of steam power, the invention of machine tools and the development of factories. While these improvements contributed greatly to the economic success of our country, this progress also resulted in a very unfortunate consequence. Child labor increased greatly during the Industrial Revolution and led to disease, injury and even death for many children.

    Read More

  • Why Is The French Revolution Bad

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    At the end of the 16 century and into the early 17 century Britain was striving. With an abundance of coal and a strong Navy they could transport their goods all around Europe. Britain could also produce goods extremely fast in there new factories and mills. Children were a prime target for Mill and factory owners because there small hands could unjam and fix things an adult hand wouldn't be able to. They were also severely unpaid and always in fear of losing their job. Factory owners forced children to work 14 hour days and they often beat the child if he took a break. Although the Industrial revolution brought fame and fortune to Britain, Its weak laws allowed children to be beat, underpaid, and controlled.

    Read More

  • Children During The Industrial Revolution

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the Industrial Revolution, children were forced to work in factories and in terrible working conditions, causing many to die from illnesses. They needed the money to support their families, as workers received very low wages that they couldn’t live off of. (Document 9). Factory owners did not consider the natural rights of their workers, and some children worked 16 hours a day with one 40 minute period to eat. (Document 7)

    Read More

  • Progressive Working Conditions

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    child labor was horrible in this time period because back then many companies would have children working because they knew they could get away with paying them less, and they liked doing that due to that fact they get to keep more money, but they also had children stick limbs into machinery if it was clogged because they were smaller and able to do it better than adults, that was when bad working conditions came in because the machinery was horrible, how dirty, rusty, and old it was, so this would often cause children to lose arms, legs, and fingers so they could keep working and doing so if they would get to hurt, and not be able to work for a week, or do the specific job

    Read More

  • Labor During The Industrial Revolution

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the industrial revolution emerged in Britain many things changed, including labor and the effects that the labor had on men, women, children, and the society. Before the industrial revolution the days were long and the work was rough. However, small enjoyments such as days off, family togetherness in the workforce, and the rare ability to flex the hours to meet the needs of the employee, made the work bearable. But then the workforce became warped by the industrial revolution and many of the old ways that employees were used to, disappeared due to an increase in demand for merchandise and wealth. These changes also had varying effects on the people of and society living through the Industrial Revolution which

    Read More

  • Essay On Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution

    1864 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout history children have participated in various forms of labor such as slavery and indentured servitude, but it was not until the Industrial Revolution that their work became increasingly severe to the point where those surrounding them became weary and deemed it necessary for restrictions to be placed on the policies of child labor. The benefits that children received from their labor were minimal considering the harsh and unsafe conditions they endured. Child labor during the Industrial Revolution was so harsh that it became a necessity for the formation of labor unions and committees, including the National Child Labor Committee in 1904.

    Read More

  • Essay On Child Labour During The Industrial Revolution

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the problems with child labor were the health problems. According to Ducksters.com, “Children often had to work under very dangerous conditions. They lost limbs or fingers working on high powered machinery with little training. They worked in mines with bad ventilation and developed lung diseases (Industrial Revolution). This evidence is saying that children, whose minds and bodies are still developing, are surrounded by chemicals and machinery that are harmful to them. Years later, “the 1900 Census showed that over 1.75 million children between the ages of ten and fifteen were working in gainful occupations” (National Child Labor). Child labor was still a big issue in the early 1900s, meaning there were many children working in dangerous conditions and ruining their health. In

    Read More

  • Workers Conditions in 19th Century Europe

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    While working conditions was a big problem during this time period, there were some solutions that did have some affect on the prob...

    Read More

  • Industrialization And Child Labor

    448 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Child Labour During The Industrial Revolution

    1505 Words  | 4 Pages

    The age of the Industrial Revolution was a significant period in Western History. During the period from 1760-1850, profound economic change took place in Great Britain, as a result of a flood of technical innovations, increases in manufacturing production, a resurgence of world trade and rapid population growth in urban areas. The use of child labor was the crucial ingredient, which allowed Britain’s Industrial Revolution to succeed. Although children had been helping around the house or farm as well as in family businesses prior to this period, the young ages and long hours required of young children were never before seen. Edward Thompson alleged, “That the exploitation of little children, on this scale and with this intensity, was one

    Read More

  • Benefits Of The Industrial Revolution

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    For example, more industrialization meant more factories, and more factories led to more pollution. The waste produced by factories was expelled into the water as well as into the air, as described by Professor Michael Faraday (Document 1). Faraday was greatly affected by the contamination of the air and water that he observed because never before had anyone seen such filth in nature. In addition, Document 6 portrays the filth of the city from the factories. This filth was a curse to all people because they became more prone to disease due to the increase in contaminants in the air and the decrease of air quality. Furthermore, the Industrial Revolution also decreased the living standards of workers (OI: “Urbanization”). Poor families were forced to live in small tenements because they could not afford to live an extravagant life. These tenements lacked in many ways, including space and sanitation. Due to the packed conditions, diseases spread rapidly. Overall, the housing of the working class was unpleasant and many fell ill to diseases because the risk of developing a disease in a cramped environment was higher. In Document 2, it is evident that the tenements were not an ideal living space. Document 6 portrays that factories were ideally designed for the machines and not for the workers, and as a result the working conditions were also harsh. Working shifts were beyond the control of the workers and the job was not necessarily stable because workers could be fired at any time for any reason (OI: “Working Conditions”). Moreover, the working environment was cramped and caused many problems to arise, such as the death of workers. The working class suffered greatly from the consequences of the Industrial Revolution. However, they also experienced many improvements in life such as the decrease in

    Read More

More about Child Labour And Social Problems During The Industrial Revolution

Open Document