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Industrial revolution [child labour]
Social inequality in the workplace
Industrial revolution child labour
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The 1800’s, when people were moving from the countryside to the city. Now, families were in search of new jobs, but machines created a new problem because they were replacing people’s jobs. Owners of businesses and lands noticed the issue and realized that families needed more income in the household, so they were going to need every member in the family to work, including the young ones. Children were taken advantage of because they didn't have much power; therefore, we think industrial work was perilous for working-class children due to the lack of attention that was given towards the safety of the children. Also, the fact that children could die under the conditions they were put under, was not taken into consideration. First of all, children were often injured by the various machines in the factories. Dr. Ward tells us, “...accidents were very often admitted to the infirmary, through the children’s hands and arms having been caught in …show more content…
For example, John Birley experience was the following, “But before we were examined we were washed and cleaned up and ordered to tell them we liked working at the mill and were well treated… we answered as we had been told, not daring to do any other, knowing what would happen if we told them the truth.” (Doc C). Children were threatened to lie to the officials, so factory, mill, etc. owners wouldn’t be stripped of their cheap labor: children. Not only were they being threatened, but they were full of so much fear to what would happen if they were to tell the truth. They were aware of the punishments they could receive, meaning they had seen the punishments take place before and frequently. Another mistreatment children faced, according to “Children Who Built Victorian Britain: Part 2”, was sexual abuse. Children seemed vulnerable to the people that were in charge of them; therefore, they were taken advantage of and didn’t have a source of
English textile factories were very bad for the health of the working class families. As Dr. Ward stated, “Last summer I visited three cotton factories with Dr. Clough of Preston and Mr. Barker of Manchester, and we could not remain ten minutes in the factory without gasping for breath...¨ This shows that the conditions were so bad that they had trouble breathing because how bad the air was. Dr. Ward also says, ¨Cotton factories are highly unfavourable, both to the health and morals of those employed in them. They are really nurseries of disease and vice. These factories were very unsafe and you could get many diseases and injuries, especially if you were a kid as a lot were. The kids were in many accidents in the factories, as Dr. Ward states,
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. Although, Conventional wisdom dictates that the age at which children started work was connected to the poverty of the family. Griffith presents two autobiographies to put across her point. Autobiography of Edward Davis who lacked even the basic necessities of life because of his father’s heavy drinking habit and was forced to join work at a small age of six, whereas the memoir of Richard Boswell tells the opposite. He was raised up in an affluent family who studied in a boarding school. He was taken out of school at the age of thirteen to become a draper’s apprentice. The author goes further and places child employees into three groups, according to the kind of jobs that were available in their neighbourhood. First group composed of children living in rural areas with no domestic industry to work in. Therefore, the average of a child to work in rural area was ten. Before that, farmers use to assign small jobs to the children such as scaring birds, keeping sheep
Throughout the 19th century, industrialization was a turning point in the United States that led to huge changes in society, economics and politics. The incoming growth of factories had positives and negatives effects. Two specific changes were the new government regulations and the increasing immigration. These changes were extremely important because they settled the bases of the country.
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.
In the Gilded Age in America, there were children as young as three years old working. In the factories, the air quality was horrible. It was full of toxins that could cause serious health problems, especially in children who were still developing and had weaker immune systems. Children who worked in rural areas also worked
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
The outbreak of the war transformed the dynamics, structure and objective of many large companies as they adjusted to changing national needs and industry. As evident through the corporation of the Canadian Pacific Railway, workers were directly affected by so. Many car and locomotive shops were converted to munitions productions, rail and shipping services were vital for moving troops and supplies, and railway workers were recruited overseas in the early years of the war to construct and operate rails in France and Belgium. The federal government hired technical experts from the company in an effort to boost other wartime productions. General wartime shortages of qualified workers made it much more common for young men and women to hold skilled jobs in the company, and war veterans came home to discover that others had been
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
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.
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.
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.
A controversial topic in the 1800s, during the Industrial Revolution, was asked by many people, was whether or not textile factories are safe for not only workers in general, but most importantly children. Many were led to believe that the factories were indeed unsafe for children. This is because there has been many reports and accounts, in which children and adults have not only been wounded or ill from the conditions, but have lost their lives. So, is it or not? This is what medical professional, Dr.Ward, said on the situation,” We could not remain 10 minutes in the factory without gasping for breathe. How it is possible for those who are doomed to remain there twelve or fifteen hours to endure it?” (House of
For example, factory workers were expected to work 14-16 hour days, six days a week. The dusty, dirty, unlit mills along with few break times made working there a living hell. “Breaker boys suffered from chronic throat trouble and respiratory illnesses that were caused by inhaling coal dust. Above ground machinery, particularly coal crushers, were dangerously loud. If a breaker boy worked long hours around the coal crusher he often suffered from hearing loss (Wagner). Due to the fact that there were no safety laws in place, ear plugs and masks were not used. In fact, no safety equipment was. The dangerous machines with unprotected parts made children susceptible to injury and death. If someone were to get injured, they were immediately fired and not paid compensation for their health care. “If a boy was caught wearing gloves, the boss would beat him. A skin condition that miners termed “Red tips” was brought about by prolonged contact with sulfur from the coal. Breaker boys’ fingers often became cracked, bloody, and swollen from sorting (Wagner)....