Child Labor During The British Industrial Revolution

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The Age of Stolen Innocence: Child Labor during the British Romantic Period “Innocence is like polished armor; it adorns and defends (South).” Children in Britain during the British Industrial Revolution had their armor stripped away; they were left vulnerable and unprotected from the harsh realities of the world. Child labor was prominent during the British Industrial Revolution which led to the corruption of children in Britain. Many children were forced to work and lost their chance to have a childhood. The factories the children worked in were filled with machinery and left in harsh conditions leading to the awareness and advocacy against child labor. This was led by literary authors and poets including: William Wordsworth and William …show more content…

Since children were forced to work, they had little time for school. In result of not attending school, children had experience little to no education. A young girl once testified, “I never went to school; I go to Sunday School, but I cannot read or write.” (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia). Since children had unalterable working hours, they had to work ranging from “14 hours a day” to “70 hours a week” (The Industrial Revolution) which led to many health issues such as: insomnia, migraines, irritability, enuresia, and asthenia. Children did not have a chance to interact or engage with other family members or friends, due to work leading to the lack of social skills and …show more content…

This revealed the physical damage that children endured while working in factory which was the effect of child labor. Some adolescents were “killed in gas explosions (Industrial Revolution).” Some of the children lost their limbs, while others were burned by the machines. Not only were adolescents harmed by the machines, they were also abused by the supervisors in which they were shackled if they ever tried to escape the factories. “... sometimes they beat me, if I am not quick enough with their hands; they strike upon my back (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia).” One boy testified, “…. child laborers in that mill were locked up night and day.” Majority of mills such as textile or cotton, were run with heavy chemicals such as formaldehyde, azo dyes, benzidine and many other chemicals. Children had no choice but to inhale these chemical which deteriorated their bodies. The continuance of physical, and mental abuse toward the children revealed the deterioration of adolescents’ emotional state. By working in factories, children were kept away from families and friends which led to isolation. The isolation led to the result of depression. Due to depression, some victims of child labor turned to “drug use (J. Humphries 4).” This depression caused children to lose hope and to lose drive in

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