Dbq Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution

339 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impacts of child labor during the industrial revolution

During the Industrial Revolution, children were used for labor to do the more dangerous activities in the factories. For example, children were often used to squeeze into tight places, because they were much smaller than men. (Labor) Most children worked in the mills to support their families, but had to give up their education in return. (“Modern World History”) In document four, Hebergram’s brother died by being cut from a machine, and later dying from infection. This shows that the factories did not have protection of covering the machines, causing many workers to die. Also, in document four it says, “...A boy was caught in a machine and had both his thigh bones broke and from his knee to his hip the flesh was ripped up the same as it had been cut by a knife.” This shows how unsafe the machines were because the shaft was not covered. …show more content…

The kids under the age of fourteen were sent to go assist with the textile workers. They then would beat and verbally abuse the child. And if children would show up late, they would be weighted. Weighted means to put a very heavy weight on the child's back and have them walk up and down the factory aisles for hours, so other children can learn from it. This then resulted in back and neck injuries. (“Child Labor in Factories”) While this all seems really cruel, there were many positives that came out of child labor. Children were still able to contribute to their families. Money was a big struggle, and it had a major impact for poor families. Children were also getting a wide range of opportunities and work experiences for the future ahead. Although it might not be the best way to get experience, they were still helping out there families and showing respect towards them. This shows that during the Industrial Revolution, children were used harshly for labor, and the positives and negatives out of

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Emma Griffith's Liberty Dawn

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Dbq Industrial Revolution

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Government Corruption In The Progressive Era

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Industrial Revolution Dbq Analysis

    475 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Industrial Revolution was a terrible time for women and children. For example, in document ten, the image shows an overweight man in a carriage, being pulled by young adolescents. This shows how factory owners treated the workers. Another example is located in document six. Which states how upper class citizens would treat the lower class when times would get hard. Most factory workers were women and children, which was unfair.

    Read More

  • The Effects of the Factory Act of 1833: The Decline of the Demand and Supply of Child Labor

    1761 Words  | 4 Pages

    Similarly, the change towards a factory-orientated nation was a harsh one for the industrialists. Many of the adult labor force had no training in how to use the machines and took awhile to pick up the new techniques (Basu and Van, 1998). It was more time consuming and costly to teach the adults than it was to hire children during this start of the revolution. Children could be molded into the ideal adult worker as they rose through the ranks in the factory. Studies indicate that about 50% of workers started working in the factories when they were less then ten years of age, from this overall amount 28% of these child workers started working when they were under the age of fourteen, while only 7.8% of workers started working in the textiles from the age of twenty- one or higher (Nardinelli, 1980). The aging of the generation of child factory workers improved the quality of adult factory workers and created a reserve pool of adults with factory experience. This pool of adults was particularly significant for men. As a child worker, they were exposed to many different positions and so learned a great deal amount of experience. Not only were the children fulfilling the basic factory needs but were creating a more work experienced labor force for the future. No longer where adults having to learn how to use machinery when entering the factory market but instead had worked in a textile during their childhood so had already obtained the human capital needed to work. The factory would then profit off of this future human capital and so keep on employing the massive amount of children in order to better themselves for the future while at the same time reaping the present value of cheap labor. With the underlying factors of cheap labor, inexpensive working conditions, and an ever-present labor market full of willing children, the industrial revolution had created a cost

    Read More

  • Upton Sinclair The Jungle Summary

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Lot of machines didn’t have any safety precautions this lead to a lot of injuries and death in factories. Breaks weren’t being given much to the employees and men were being paid about 10 cents per hour or maybe even less for hours worth of work. Women would make almost half of that. Children were paid less than 10 cents an hour as well for fourteen hour days of work since they were doing less complex work that didn’t take much skill. Cording to this article many children had physical deformities because of the lack of exercise and sunlight. Because of the mistreatment of children during that era the labor union was form

    Read More

  • Child Labor In The Late 1800's

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Labor Force since the First Industrial Revolution

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Child Labor In The 1800s Essay

    1934 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s big business began to boom. For the first time companies were developing large factories to manufacture their goods. Due to the new mechanics and cheap labor, factory owners could now produce their goods at a cheaper rate. As big businesses brought wealth and capitalism, it also widened the gap between the wealthy elite and the poor. One class in particular was horribly affected by the growth of big factories. This class was the poor working class. According to the article “Child Labor in the United States” written by Robert Whaples, a big proportion of the labour work force was made up of children: “In 1820 children aged 15 and under made up 23 percent of the manufacturing labor force of the industrializing

    Read More

  • Child Labor In 1900

    1377 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Did Child Labor Change In The Industrial Revolution

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    The way in which people work in the labor force and are managed has changed quite a big deal since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the Industrial Revolution many people worked on the land and worked at a pace that was applicable for them with no one looking over their shoulder to make sure work was being done. One of the biggest reasons for the changes to the industrial society pertains to the discipline and surveillance in the labor force. Some of the many changes that that occurred because of the how laborers worked and having a manager were: strikes, the ending to child labor, creation of the middle class, and new political ideology.

    Read More

  • Child Labor and England’s Industrial Revolution

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    Factory and mine owners exploited the situation by offering families a means to make more money, by putting their children to work. Industry profited from this arrangement by saving money, since child labor was more “cost effective”. According to one historian, Clark Nardinelli, “in 1835 56,000 children under the age of thirteen were working in textile factories alone. By 1874, the number of child laborers in the market hit its peak with over 122,000 children between the ages of 10 and thirteen working in textile factories (4).” ... ...

    Read More

  • Child Labor In The 19th Century

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States economy grew tremendously during the late 19th century. It was a time where new industrial and agricultural technology increased as well as an expanding population, improved transportation, and financial innovation. These new technologies provided agricultural and industrial productivity and the growing cities were home to many new industries where the amount of jobs available increased. The wages for skilled American workers were much higher than in Europe and this attracted millions of immigrants. Unfortunately these immigrants had to face inequality as they weren’t able to obtain the wages they hoped for. These workers are called unskilled workers and they worked in factories for long hours and little pay. The use of child

    Read More

  • Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Child Labor In The 1800s

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

More about Dbq Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution

Open Document