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Child labor during the industrial revolution in Britain
Industrial Revolution in Great Britain
Industrial Revolution in Great Britain
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The Industrial Revolution was a time of great change in Great Britain and the rest of the world. The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the enclosure movement, and a need for efficient living. Then, many factories began to emerge and people started to work at factories instead of at farms like they were used to. The first factory was the textile factory. The people that worked at these factories had terrible working conditions and living conditions. Children had to do the more dangerous, difficult jobs like coal mining and fixing broken machinery. The reform movements of the 19th century were a response to the working conditions, living conditions, and child labor found during the Industrial Revolution.
The working conditions found during 19th century Britain were a response to the Industrial Revolution. (DOC. 2) suggests the tough working conditions while coal mining during 19th century Britain. Coal mining was also a terrible issue during the Industrial Revolution because it often decreased the average life span of the coal miners 10 years. It was dangerous because of the frequent accidents, damp conditions, and constant breathing of coal dust. The coal miners during the Industrial Revolution were mainly women and children. (DOC. 5) suggests the idea of changing the working conditions to turn it into a more manageable level. During the Industrial Revolution, the workers eventually began to form unions which would allow them to strike for better working conditions and more manageable working hours. (DOC. 6) talks about how legislation tries to improve the conditions and make labor more manageable but always ends up in a reduction of the worker’s wages or deprives them of employmen...
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...st Factory Act of 1910 tried to restrict the working age and the number of hours children should work as represented by (DOC. 4).
The working conditions, living conditions, and child labor were very similar between 19th century Britain and the Industrial Revolution as presented above. The working conditions were often very dangerous and would cause many injury and early deaths. The living conditions were very unhygienic and led to the spreading of cholera and other diseases. Children were often required to do the most dangerous jobs in the industry due to the fact that they had small hands which would fit into small spaces. This led to many early deaths and the death rate dropped more than fifty percent due to this (from 38 years to 17 years).As you can see the ideas of 19th century Britain were a response to the ideas and conditions of the Industrial Revolution.
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.
Working conditions in the Industrial Revolution were very harsh. It was a time when people wanted mass amounts of production and were not concerned about how things got done as long as they got done. Chadwick and Sadler both took initiative to try to change and protect workers’ rights. As worker’s health became more public, people began to realize how bad they were suffering, the Parliament knew they had to make changes. The Parliament put in many acts and laws that would limit work hours and give workers more rights and better health.
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
The Inhuman working conditions of the Industrial Revolution clearly demonstrates the suffering of the working class. For example, The Ashton Chronicle by John Birley 1849, “Frank once beat me till he frightened himself, he though he has killed me” this describes the brutal beatings from not doing work
Young children were exploited and quick pace but an unnecessary burden on the children. In the early 1800’s, it was common to put children on dangerous machinery because of their small quick fingers, such as tying broken threads on the machine, while the machine was running. Child workers were separated from parents and placed under the supervision of strangers. Parents extremely disliked the unorthodox method of having their child work under someone outside the family. The improvement in machinery, humanitarian concerns, and parents convinced Britain to pass child labor laws in 1833. Not having children in the workforce created a new belief that childhood was for education, not for work. Labor discipline was one of the major reasons why child labor laws came into
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...
Throughout history, children have always worked, either as apprentices or servants. However, child labor reached a whole new scale during the time period of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the time frame of late 1800s-early 1900s, children worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little wages. They were considered useful as laborers because their small stature allowed them to be cramped into smaller spaces, and they could be paid less for their services. Many worked to help support their families, and by doing so, they forwent their education. Numerous nineteenth century reformers and labor groups sought to restrict child labor and to improve working conditions.
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. The exploitation of children hit an all time peak in Britain when generations of its youth were sacrificed to child labor and the “Coffers” of England.
Many children came to work with their families to helped support the family. Child labor began because factories and mills needed people to work for them that accepted decrease wages, increased hours, and people with small hands to work the mills. By 1880, 32.5% of males (ages 10-15) and 12.2% of females (ages 10-15) were in the labor force. By 1910 nearly 2 million children were in the work force. Employers relished having children on their payrolls, as they were cheap unskilled labor. Children often worked in hazardous occupations under appalling working conditions without any advocate to speak on their behalf. Child were often beaten and deliberately denied an education for fear that once educated they might strike for higher wages. The Keating-Owen Act was one of the most influential child labor laws, establishing important standards regarding child labor. As a result, no child under the age of 16 could work in mills or factories. Other advocates like the National Child Labor Community (NCLC) also helped to establish child labor reforms (Child Labor,
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.
Working conditions during the industrial revolution made labor laws and rights happen. Thinking back to the 19th century in England, working conditions have improved tremendously. Unfortunately it had to start with devastating conditions of employment for people, but look at where England is today.
Many states were involved and enacted laws by the 1920s. Overall 36 states set laws against children, under the age of 16, working in factories at night or over eight hours. As a result, a lot people began to see the negative sides of child labor and advocated for children. More kids went to school for free and worked until they were 16. Thanks to the International Labor Organization, they’ve kept an eye out to regulate work since the twentieth century.
In the time period of Queen Victoria's reign the population alone of Britain had grown from 10 million at the start of the 1800's to over 26 million by 1870. The British Empire grew and now held over a quarter of the world's population. When the empire was at its climax, it was the largest in history. The industrial revolution in Britain came with fantastic outcomes, such as huge technological revolutions and production of iron, coal, and cotton cloth increased dramatically. This increase in population and industrialization flooded the cities with peasants looking for jobs. Most of these people were living in poverty and hazardous conditions. This was when the first railway took form, allowing people to spread out and not crowd in the cities. Although people spread out, many still lived in slums and working conditions at the time were atrocious. Around 1833 through 1844 the Factory Act was finalized controlling child labor. Now children could not work...
The Industrial Revolution was a time of great change in the world and changed the way many products were manufactured. Originating in England and Great Britain, its effects spread across the globe and influenced the way people lived and worked and lead to the modern world known today. While it did not always have positive effects, through imperialism, Britain’s Industrial Revolution brought about technological innovations that transformed the world and its economies.
That being said, the jobs that children worked back in the 19th century had risks that included malnutrition, injury, and even loss of life. More often than not, children had a lack of education due to working. A child much younger than the average 16 year old would work a 50-70 hour week, making much less than minimum wage. As the years progressed more people began to become enraged and demanded some kind of labor law regarding children. It took a long time, but in 1899 the U.S. started to make child labor laws.