Child Labor in the Textile Industry in the Early Nineteenth Century

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Child Labor in the Textile Industry in the Early Nineteenth Century In article C the use of language and style indicate its origins as an official document in many ways. In the title it states that it is an 'act', this is a term used for a legislative law that has been passed by parliamentary. Further confirmation of this can be found by the use of the words 'regulation', (control by rule) and 'enacted', (a law), and in the final sentence it states that this is 'law'. The style of writing is Old English and very formal this also indicates that it is an official document. It is addressed to the 'Masters' who were the owners of the cotton mills and factories and informed, them that they would be 'fined' if they broke the 'law'. In 1819, the date of the article, it would only have been the government that would have had the power to enforce such a regulation and punishment for non-compliance, confirming that this document would have originated from an official source. Each of the sources in A and B provide different views and perspectives on children working in factories. The extracts were taken from evidence given before a Select Committee in 1816 and a debate in the House of Commons on the Factory Bill in 1818. This act was concerned with the health of young people employed in the cotton mills and factories and whether legislation was necessary for the protection of those children. The extracts given confirm that the people concerned all agreed on the necessity of children to work in the factories. They did however disagree on many other issues including whether the young age of the children and the number of hours worked affecte... ... middle of paper ... ...uring. The reduction in the accepted age of a child worker, the number of hours worked and compulsory food breaks were a step in the right direction. However these improvements did not provide an effective solution to the problem of child labour in the 19th century, as many issues essential to the well being of children were not addressed. These included a safe working environment that protected the children from danger and provided them with necessary sanitary provisions. Time off for holidays, with out requiring to pay back this time and proprietors' often dictatorship attitudes and ill treatment of children. Therefore 'The Factory Act of 1819' only provided a starting point for tackling the problems associated with child labour, effective long-term solutions would only be resolved with further extensive legislation.

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