There were many problems in the working class, during the Industrial Revolution, some of the problems were: the long hours they had to work, poor hygiene, their physical appearance, life expectancy. These things made up some of the working classes major problems. Some children had to work really long hours, “Typical day at the mines starts at 7:00 A.M. and ends around 6:00 P.M.: ‘I get my dinner at 12 o’clock, which is a dry muffin, and sometimes butter on, but have no time allowed to stop to eat it, I eat it while I am thrusting the load….’”. Because of the long hours the children had to work they finally enacted laws to protect child labor. “Factory Act of 1833 outlawed the employment of children under the age of nine in textile mills.” These laws helped over time but people still snuck into factories and worked. Sometimes the children had no choice but to work their families were poor and needed money to survive. …show more content…
In most parts of the world people would throw their waste out on to the streets. “Sewage filtered or flowed down into the lower areas where the laboring populations dwelt.” ("Health and Hygiene in the Nineteenth Century") Sometimes the water would not work, “A neighbourhood of twenty or thirty families on a particular square or street would draw their water from a single pump two or three times a week. Sometimes, finding the pump not working, they were forced to reuse the same water.” ("Health and Hygiene in the Nineteenth Century") The physical appearance of the women in the working class was depleted, “pale, emaciated women who walk barefooted through the dirt to reach the factory.” The kids were worse than the women, “The young children who worked in the factory appeared to be clothed in rags which are greasy with the oil from the looms and frames.” Sometimes these jobs led to a shorter
Child labor was a big deal and parents have to worry about their child not starving. The food use to be sitting out. If you would it; you would most likely become sick. The kids didn’t get any free time because they were working Child labor law was passed so that only a limited age can work. They would also low pay them for working. In the article (A History Of Child Labor) it states “In the United States it took many years to outlaw child labor. By 1899, 28 states had passed laws regulating child labor. Many efforts were made to pass national child labor law. The U.S. Congress passed two laws, in 1918 and 1922, but the supreme Court declared both unconstitutional. In 1924, Congress proposed a constitutional amendment prohibiting child labor, but the states did not ratify it.” Children coming home late is a problems because the crimes in the city.
Conditions of factories were not safe for anyone, let alone a small child. Due to these conditions many children died before their prime. Many children “began work at age 5, and generally died before they were 25” (www.victorianweb.org), America was beginning to lose an entire generation due to these working conditions that so many had to endure. Children were hired at an alarming rate. “In 1870, the first time census reported child workers, there were 750,000 workers in the United States age 15 and under, not including those who worked on family farms or in other family businesses” (“Child Labor in America”), these numbers were not something that was looked over, it astonished many. “A cotton manufactory of 5 or 6000 spindles will employ those 200 children” (Bremner 232). The workforce would continuously grow, hiring more and more children each day. Factories were good for using children as a means of their productivity. “Textile factories, for the most part […] were in the forefront of this industrial revolution, and children formed an essential component of the new industrial workforce” (Bremner 232). Many times without these children working some of these factories would not have survived through the revolution.
In 1833, the Factory Act of 1833 was passed to improve the working conditions for children who labored in factories. A source reveals, “Young children were working very long hours in workplaces where conditions were often terrible,” (Document 10). As this came to the government’s attention, the act was produced by them in an attempt to lessen the abuse of working children, and to treat them more like children. First, the Factory Act limited the hours children could work in factories. The act states, “Children of 9-13 years to work no more than nine hours a day; children of 13-18 years to work no more than 12 hours a day,” (Document 10). Children were also not allowed to work at night. By having working hours reduced, children were able to fit in time to play, sleep, and get an education. It also reduced fatigue, as the children weren’t on their feet as long, and they got in more time to sleep. Secondly, within the act, there was a rule limiting the age children must be to work in factories. No children under the age of nine were allowed to work in the factories,” (Document 10). Although this decreased the amount of money coming in for each family, it allowed the children to get educations, have more free time, and help their
In the late 1700's and early 1800's, power-driven machines began to replace hand labor for the production of nearly all manufactured items. Factories began to pop up everywhere, first in England and then the United States was soon to follow in their footsteps. There were numerous factories and to meet the needs of the owners of these factories they had to get creative and find people of all walks of life to put to work. Sadly, their solution to the in demand workers was putting children, sometimes as young as three years old, to work. Operating the machines did not require adult strength, and children would work for much less than adults would. By the mid-1800's, child labor was a major problem.
But child labor also provided the help needed in farming families and communities. Child labor was needed in the rural farming areas, dictated by essential daily chores and the requirements of the agricultural seasons. Poor families relied upon child labor in order to attain basic necessities and living essentials. The jobs allocated to children depended on their age and whether they were boys or girls. Farm work could be hard, but working conditions were not dangerous and at least allowed kids to breath the fresh air. The use of child labor, and the risks and working conditions of children, underwent a enormous change in the 1800's. Industry developed on an extensive scale and the mechanization of industry resulted in the abuse of children who were forced to work in terrible conditions in factories, mines and mills. This article provides the history of child labor in America during the 1800's, the following links provide facts and information about events that were particularly relevant to the subject of child
Child Labor accrued a lot during this time period. This was very common for children to be doing. In document 10 a picture shows the long fatigued faces of children working. These children had to work long hours and were very tired. Kids did not even have time to go to school during the day to get the education they needed.
During the Industrial Revolution, the quality of life improved for middle and upper classes, however for the lower classes the living conditions decreased. England built large factories that supported upper and middle classes with production of goods and large amount of laborers. Those
Working conditions were horrible and had very low wages. Child labor was common and the children could work in factories, mines, farms, and as newspaper sellers. The men that worked usually received $2 a day which was just enough to survive on. If children and women worked they would receive less
If it wasn’t in farms, then it was out in the hot sun of the fields, or even in factories. Kids were meant to work in their family’s farm, but when it was time to send them to work in other farmer’s farm it was to do so. Working in agriculture was difficult with the extreme temperatures. For some children high temperatures was normal because of how they were used to being out working. Others that worked in factories sometimes dealt with carrying heavy equipment and dangerous tools. Many factories had to do with fire and toxins that many worked around of. Being in factories they were useful due to their size, they’d fit anywhere that adults couldn’t reach into. They were easier to control for how young they were and even though they managed to do most of the work, they were paid less than the adults. All minors had long hours to work every day for such little pay. Sometimes hours reached at least ten to fourteen and didn’t give them much break that was supposed
Children working in the factories also helped families; it was another income in an era that would soon see a depression in the economy. However, work for children was incredibly dangerous and also took away from children schooling. Many children had to work instead of going to school and in the end hurt the children’s
Also, a group of people in the working class is child labour. The situation of children was not good: Children under 6 years old worked for a long time and they worked in very dangerous environments. In 1833, the government enacted the Factory Act. In this law, it required that no child worker under 9, employers had to have certificate, no work at night, limited the working time foe children, inspectors to enforce the law and so on (The Factory Act, 1833). However, According to Reports of Inspectors of Factories 1863, inspectors had to enforce the law, otherwise they would receive penalty. But data showed that the penalty was less than their salary, so to work quickly, they were still not abidance the law. A Factory Inspector (1836) mentioned [Children] stated to me that they commenced working on Friday morning, the 27th of
Throughout history children have been used as slaves and workers, but during the industrial revolution the number of child laborers drastically went up. With a hope of a better life families all over the states moved into the cities to find work. Most were disappointed when they arrived and discovered that the truth was not as perfect as they had been led to believe.
Child labor was very common in the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s in many places. Child labor usually took place in a factory working on a manufacturer line or doing as much physical labor as they could possibly do, being as young as they are. These kids who took part in child labor started some as early as the age of four or five, and then kept working until the day they died. Most of the time these kids has to work as much or sometimes more than even adults nowadays work. They would go to the factory while the sun comes up, work all day, and then go home at night to eat; and then wake up and do it all again the next day. These kids also were not working easy jobs, these jobs were very physical and hard labor. Also, the working conditions these kids worked in were not always as good as they needed to be. Sometimes they would even be put in situations where they could die any time of the day while at work. The wage for these kids were not to good either, some would get paid very, very little, and some would not get paid at all. Kids had no choice but to work and if they didn’t work they would not survive, therefore they would really work for any price. Which was usually a lot cheaper than any adult would work for.
They were taken advantage because they could be paid less and also for being able to get into small spaces to work. Children as young as eight years old worked in factories and mines. Their jobs were usually very dangerous and involved handling deadly equipment. Several states tried to make minimum wage and school attendance policies, but these policies were mostly disobeyed. Industries found loopholes by using foreign workers. Congress tried to pass laws to decrease child labor but the Supreme Court found them unconstitutional (child labor). Eventually the state legislatures enacted a law concerning the legal age children should work. The age varied from state to state but was usually between twelve and sixteen years old (American
Although children had been servants and apprentices throughout most of human history, child labor reached new extremes during the Industrial Revolution.There was a big impact on the daily life of a child labourer as poor children often worked full time jobs with minimal pay in order to help support their families. Young children worked long hours in factories under dangerous conditions. children were easier to manage and control than adults because their size was perfect as it allowed them to move in small spaces in factories or mines.The practice of child labor continued throughout much of the Industrial Revolution until laws were eventually passed that made child labor illegal.