“The industrial revolution was one of the most important events in history,” (Nardinelli). Industrialization is the process of converting an agrarian society to one in which production of goods, services, and income dominate a country’s values (Industrialization). Industrialization first began during the 18th and 19th centuries in western Europe and North America, giving them a head start to becoming economic superpowers and models for developing countries (Industrialization). Despite industrialization centering around economic growth, many social, environmental, and psychological changes have resulted from it. Through historical analysis, it becomes evident that during the process of industrialization, human quality of life in urban areas …show more content…
The onslaught of migration from rural areas to urban areas was unmanageable and exceeded the demand for labor in industrialized communities, resulting in unsanitary, polluted, and overcrowded living conditions that served as breeding grounds for disease (Industrial).These cramped living conditions did much to deplenish quality of life because farmers would be moving from their own plots of land and homes to a small living space that they had to share with other workers. With the excess amount of available labor, factory workers were paid low wages for tedious and dangerous work, and unskilled workers had little job security (Industrial). Clark Nardinelli accounts for these poor wage conditions by stating “For many centuries before the industrial revolution, periods of falling income offset periods of rising income.” This shows that initially, wages decrease before finally reaching a plateau and beginning to increase. Nardinelli also states also states …show more content…
Poor conditions for workers were not the end of it, however. Industrialization introduced the concept of child labor into factories, which did much to decrease opportunities for education for children in struggling families that depended on income from all members. During the 1860s, children made up one-fifth of British textile industry workers and were especially paid lower wages for performing hazardous jobs like cleaning the machinery, which they could easily get caught in (Industrial). The machines were not the only hazards in factories that could cause harm to children. The fumes and toxins produced by the machines caused illness, chronic conditions, and disease (Eastern). Not only did industrialization affect the health of children, but it also harmed their educative opportunities. Long hours of child labor limited educative opportunities, and many children did not go to school, and if they did, they attended school at intervals (Eastern). Industrialization did not just affect children and the labor force, but society and its customs as a whole. By focusing on industry and production, countries such as the US, Russia, UK, and Japan, gain economic power and become models for
Imagine being forced to work in conditions that might cause you to lose a limb, to be beaten daily, or to be left with long term respiratory conditions. These terrible conditions were realities to families who worked in textile factories in the 1700’s. England was the first to adopt textile factories which would benefit with mass production of cotton material. According to the power point, “Industrial Revolution; Life in English Factories”, low and unskilled workers, often children, ran the machines and moved material, this helped lower the cost of goods. During this time, commissions investigated the working conditions of the factories.
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.
Industrialization is the process in which an economy is changed from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing approach and manual labor is replaced by machines in factories. Industrialization brought a more diverse amount of goods and more total goods and improved living for many but, for others it resulted in harsh working and living conditions for the poor and working class. Many positives and negative were present during the industrialization of the U.S. Positives such as more goods being distributed, easier way of doing things, and being able to mass produce. Negatives like children working long and difficult jobs and many workers having poor working conditions.
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
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
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
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 Industrial Revolution brought mass advancements in technology to the people in Great Britain, Europe and in other places in the world during the time of 1750-1850. Britain’s wealth, population, technology, education and resources led to it being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. While the Industrial Revolution increased work wages, it also consequently resulted in harsh punishments, poor living conditions, and deadly accidents. The living conditions of Great Britain developed into a very poor country due to overpopulation because of the Industrial Revolution. The houses they lived in were very dilapidated and not in great condition for people to live in.
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...
Child Labor and England’s Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution in nineteenth-century England brought about many changes in British society. It was the advent of faster means of production, growing wealth for the Nation and a surplus of new jobs for thousands of people living in poverty. Cities were growing too fast to adequately house the numerous people pouring in, thus leading to squalid living conditions, increased filth and disease, and the families reliance upon their children to survive.
During the 18 and beginning of the 19th century in certain regions of the U.S child labor made up more than 40 percent of the population (Wolensky). That’s almost half of the working population. Since the beginning of time children have always been known to help their families with domestic tasks. Most of these kids worked in factories because they were easy to control and paid less than adults. Kids earned less than half of what adults made in the work force. In these factories they usually cleaned under and inside machines while functioning because of their small size.. That’s how these kids felt as it was described in a article in our history book. They were always in danger of getting hurt or even dying, which many did. Kids as young as five year olds worked 12 hour shifts, seven times a day with no breaks or lunches. Children during this time period of the 18th and 19th century, worked just as hard as adults did and did not even get to live a regular childhood where they played outside with each other. Child labor was a big problem and the majority of kids were forced to go to work because their family needed the money to make a living in America. Child labor showed us how children worked in some of the most dangerous environments risking their lives for just a dollar a week and working as hard as adults did by doing these exhausting 12 hour shifts that tired them out.
First, during the industrial revolution, bad working conditions were almost for sure. So many people had been stuck with a dangerous job, and on top of that the way they worked was even worse. Even little kids had to work in these terrible conditions. Children were forced to work where adults had a hard time working, mostly things that were easier so that way it wasn’t too complicated to where they couldn’t do it or slowed production. People took pictures to show how children worked in industries and factories. Lewis Hine was one of the people who took pictures. In one of his photographs he captures how just kids are working on big machines, these kids are running around these factories barefoot and with no protective gear on (Hine, 1908). Most of these kids are working for money around machines most parents today wouldn’t let their 16yr old kid go near. Many of these bad working conditions caused people to lose an arm or a leg, literally! Because people would work on machines without safety equipment and get their hand or arm caught in a belt...
These advances making it much easier for newcomers to enter into markets due to the advantages previously mentioned it becomes at this point good to note that over the course of the time period roughly around the turn of the nineteenth century, the population in England grew by near one hundred percent (O’Rourke). This becomes very important when we consider the state of resources at the time in history was very cheap and very accessible due to new deposits of coal and new methods as previously mentioned of obtaining them; as well, labor was at hugely valuable despite that technological advances were replacing many. Therefore, because capital and resources were cheap and at the time the working class was one of the richest in the world it made
Even though the pay was low for adults, it was still too much for the factory owners to afford. They also needed workers who were small enough to fit into the tight spaces in the new machines. Child labour is the only option. There were many more dangerous jobs which children had to perform, some included crawling under the wool and cotton machines to fix threads. These children had to work for the majority of the day with little or no breaks.
The Effects of Industrialization on Society The Industrial Revolution changed society from an agriculture-based community into a thriving urban city through many interrelated changes. One of the most important changes was the quantity and rate of products produced to meet the rising demand. Large industrial factories increased efficiency and productivity, which caused a shift in the economy. Karl Marx’s believed that the new changes overturned established economies as well as society.