The Industrial Revolution

983 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Industrial revolution factory worker

Conditions of laborers and the role of women in society has been constantly evolving over the course of history. However, these two major groups experienced the most drastic alterations during the Industrial Revolution. Between the 19th and early 20th centuries, laborers diversified in age, while labor conditions declined. During this same time period, the role of women was reinvented as females searched for work and changed their role within the family. To begin, industrialization was the instigator of mass factory production across the globe. The increase in factories meant the increase of job opportunities. Since poverty was rampant at this time, a mass of people looked to the factories in search of work, even though factory owners payed them so little. “Low as these wage rates were, they were nonetheless much more than these paupers could earn in any field open to them (Hessen, 105).” The people searching for work were men, women and children alike, however the most common factory worker at this time was the child. “Factory children went to work at the insistence of their parents (Hessen, 106).” Because of the overall lack of income of poor families, there was seldom any other choice for parents except to send their children to work in order to earn enough money to survive. This unfortunate truth eventually lead to factory managers taking advantage of their minor workers. Working conditions for young children as well as women and men declined during the first half of the industrial revolution. “...whether a worker was employed in a textile factory (the most extreme case) or a small workshop, he suffered a marked deterioration of his life at work – the obvious consequence of the quickening pace of industrialization (Hopkins, ... ... middle of paper ... ...ontinue to benefit all workers of all age and gender. The woman of the industrial revolution were the instigators of a woman's rights movement that has lead to the equality of women in today's society. Works Cited Hessen, Robert. "The Effects of the Industrial Revolution on Women and Children." Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal 105-111. Web. 25 Sept 2009. . Hopkins, Eric. "Working Hours and Conditions During the Industrial Revolution: A Re-Appraisal."Economic History Review 35.1 (1982): 52-66. Web. 1 Oct 2009. . Oxley, Deborah, and Stephen Nicholas. "The Living Standards of Women during the Industrial Revolution, 1795-1820." Economic History Review46.4 (1993): 723-749. Web. 25 Sept 2009. .

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Emma Griffith's Liberty Dawn

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Female employment was concentrated in a very small number of low paid areas. The memoirs provided by Emma Griffith in her book are mainly from male perspective. Therefore, the information provided by them can be misleading and in my opinion, often a lot is missed out of what men did not consider as relevant but in fact is the information which really needs be shared. Above that, the stereotype existed during this time. Men were considered as the breadwinner and women were supposed to do the household work and take care of children. But in fact, Industrial Revolution in part was fuelled by the economic necessity of many women, single and married, to find waged work outside their

    Read More

  • Industrial Revolution Dbq Analysis

    475 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Industrial Revolution was a terrible time for women and children. For example, in document ten, the image shows an overweight man in a carriage, being pulled by young adolescents. This shows how factory owners treated the workers. Another example is located in document six. Which states how upper class citizens would treat the lower class when times would get hard. Most factory workers were women and children, which was unfair.

    Read More

  • The Effects of the Factory Act of 1833: The Decline of the Demand and Supply of Child Labor

    1761 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Labor Force since the First Industrial Revolution

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The New Republic - Women's Rights

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    A huge part of the economical grow of the United States was the wealth being produced by the factories in New England. Women up until the factories started booming were seen as the child-bearer and were not allowed to have any kind of career. They were valued for factories because of their ability to do intricate work requiring dexterity and nimble fingers. "The Industrial Revolution has on the whole proved beneficial to women. It has resulted in greater leisure for women in the home and has relieved them from the drudgery and monotony that characterized much of the hand labour previously performed in connection with industrial work under the domestic system. For the woman workers outside the home it has resulted in better conditions, a greater variety of openings and an improved status" (Ivy Pinchbeck, Women Workers and the Industrial Revolution, 1750-1850, pg.4) The women could now make their own money and they didn’t have to live completely off their husbands. This allowed women to start thinking more freely and become a little bit more independent.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein Expectations Of Women

    1712 Words  | 4 Pages

    The industrial revolution was an important occurrence that played an important role in the late 18th and 19th century, causing a sharp discrepancy between the roles of men and women. The expected gender roles greatly differed since women were seen as the weaker of the two genders, possessing less intelligence and inferior to men. In many ways, they were often seen as a mere complement to their husbands, and were expected to care for their husband’s interest and reflect credit on him (Fortin). The mindset, social roles and expectations of women during that period of time were clearly depicted and reflected in

    Read More

  • Dbq Industrial Revolution

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Northern Middle-Class Women in America Dbq

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    Industrialization had a major impact on the lives of every American, including women. Before the era of industrialization, around the 1790's, a typical home scene depicted women carding and spinning while the man in the family weaves (Doc F). One statistic shows that men dominated women in the factory work, while women took over teaching and domestic services (Doc G). This information all relates to the changes in women because they were being discriminated against and given children's work while the men worked in factories all day. Women wanted to be given an equal chance, just as the men had been given.

    Read More

  • Domestic Life And Gender Roles In The 1820's

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    When factories began to open more often throughout America in the 1820’s, the way women appeared in society began to shift. Not only did men work in these factories, but women began to work there too. Families moved from rural country into the cities to work in factories, “One, common in the mid-Atlantic states, brought whole families from the farm to work together in the mill. The second system, common in Massachusetts, enlisted young women, mostly farmers’ daughters in their late teens and early twenties.”

    Read More

  • Government Corruption In The Progressive Era

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Industrialization of the 19th Century

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women's roles in society greatly changed after the growth of industry. Women who once were mere housewives and caring mothers now became an active part of the working class. They no longer stayed at home during the day taking care of their husband and children seeing to it that they acted properly and had high moral values instead. Wealthy women were privileged few who were able to stay at home and devote themselves totally to their families.

    Read More

  • How Did John Birley Use Textile Factories In The 1800s

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Women's Rights In The Late 1800s

    512 Words  | 2 Pages

    The social reform movement for women's rights was one fighting for equality which had begun around the 1840’s. Industrial work had a major impact on women and family life. Women which could not afford servants had always worked a myriad of household chores. In early years of industrialization, even with factory work being available, this was never the main occupation of working women. Most women who sought paid employment became domestic servants in spite of low pay, drudgery, and risk of sexual abuse by male employers. For those jobs that were available, on average, women earned one third to one-half as much as men. Times were tough; young unmarried women worked to support themselves, married women took factory jobs to support the family when their husbands were

    Read More

  • Delving: An Explication of Seamus Heaney’s “Digging”

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Work and Poverty." - Children and Poverty, Early Industrial Society, Child Labor in Industrial Society, Family Economies. The Gale Group, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Industrial Revolution

Open Document