Factories and Slums in Victorian England

The Industrial Revolution in America began to develop in the mid-eighteen hundreds after the Civil War. Prior to this industrial growth the work force was mainly based in agriculture, especially in the South (“Industrial Revolution”). The advancement in machinery and manufacturing on a large scale changed the structure of the work force. Families began to leave the farm and relocate to larger settings to work in the ever-growing industries. One area that saw a major change in the work force was textile manufacturing. Towns in the early nineteen hundreds were established around mills, and workers were subjected to strenuous working conditions. It would take decades before these issues were addressed. Until then, people worked and struggled for a life for themselves and their families. While conditions were harsh in the textile industry, it was the sense of community that sustained life in the mill villages.

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. 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.

Referred to as “A Time of Troubles,” the Early Victorians began with a foreboding precursor: industrialization. The grand opening of a railway between Liverpool and Manchester catalyzed England’s transformation from a landscape of widely dispersed towns, to that of a bustling enterprise, newly awakened by the scent of pungent manufacturing. This ‘scent’ was accompanied by the ever-present murmur of an unhappy, discontented working class. But labor discontent was not the only blight England suffered. The Irish Potato Famine, the worst famine in Europe during the 19th century, killed off half of the Irish population, primarily the rural poor. “Time of Troub...

Industrialization In 17th And 18 Century Britain in the eighteenth century was an all round different place. It is said that the fastest thing on the planet was a galloping horse. People had to rely upon themselves and their communities to provide the vast majority of the things that they needed. The main occupation of the time was agriculture. Clothing was produced locally, making use of animal hides and furs. The people being generally poor, nylon wasn’t an option and cotton wasn’t imported in large quantities. Educational facilities were also very poor, only the rich being catered for by nannies and private tutors. The few schools and universities present weren’t available for ordinary men and women. Politics was carried out on the basis of land ownership and military honors won, with women and ordinary men given few rights over the rich and the privileged. Thus, life for them was a constant battle with famine, a wicked landlord, an egotistic politician, overwork and sheer bad luck. It was horsepower or nothing. For most of the people, life was limited to their village, with their families living in a place for generations, as it is said, horizons were limited and life was slow. Daylight and the seasons ruled the countryside. All this, however, was about to change. In 1769, James Watt invented the steam engine. In the beginning, for several decades, his monopoly prevented noteworthy development and kept prices high. Nevertheless, in the nineteenth century that the real impact of steam was beginning to be fully felt. Steam hit Britain like a nuclear bomb and changed the whole outlook of the country. It was faster and more powerful, and most importantly could work without the natural power resources, such as water. Traction en...

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the industrial revolution as “a rapid major change in an economy marked by the general introduction of power-driven machinery or by an important change in the prevailing types and methods of use of such machines.” But along with those changes, another change came. The industrial revolution, which occurred in Britain, also affected the lives of the workers, the families of the workers, and the general population. And while one can argue that the industrial revolution in Britain created some problems, I believe that the industrial revolution provided in Britain provided for a better lifestyle for the workers and the general population.

These early industrial towns created problems in areas namely; living circumstances, working circumstances and the social formation. To start with, towns built so hurriedly were built carelessly. Residences were overcrowded together all along narrow streets, poorly constructed, and incredibly crammed. For example, the population of Manchester increased as from 25,000 in 1772 to 303,000 by 1850 whereas Liverpool’s population rose 80,000 in the initial half of nineteenth century to 397,000. Entire families were organised into cellars or solitary rooms. Sanitation was practically non-existent, making fresh water a luxury held in reserve for the wealthy. Unbolted sewers ran along the streets carrying water contaminated with manufacturing and human excrement. Illnesses for example cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis often came to pandemic proportions. Append to problems of air contamination and undernourishment and one acquires a depiction of unmatched human misery. Alcoholism, felony, prostitution, and substance abuse were natural outcomes enduring these circumstances. Away from residence, working surroundings were even shoddier. Depending on a workday, it could extend up to 19 hours daily, six out of the seven days. The job itself was hard, dull, and tedious. State of affairs around vapor engines and in mines was hot and from ti...

They lived in very poor conditions, were paid very little for their boring work and were treated very badly by the employers. Later on, the government in Great Britain started intervening in the factories and setting some rules by passing laws. These laws included improvements such as higher wages, less hours of work, safer conditions at work and better sanitation in the houses for the workers. One of the examples is the factory act in 1833. It’s aim was to improve the conditions for children who work in the factories and it included such rules as: “no child workers under nine years of age’’,“employers must have an age certificate for their child workers’’,“two hours schooling each day for children’’, etc. Nevertheless, there are some historians who argue that the living conditions for the working class improved as the revolution began. These historians base their decision upon the income per person; “British income per person (in 1970 U.S. dollars) rose from about $400 in 1760 to $430 in 1800, to $500 in 1830, and then jumped to $800 in 1860.’’ Still, the slow rate of increasing income in middle 1700s, together with the rising prices overall shows that the working class was was better off before the revolution. Therefore, historians mostly agree that the standard of living was miserable for the working class during the industrial revolution in Great Britain, especially in the early stages of the

The Industrial Revolutions, spurred by technological innovation and the discoveries of new materials, created new industries. One of the first to be mechanized is the textile industry. From James Hargreaves’ creation of the spinning jenny, workers, mainly women, were able to mass produce goods from home. Thus, the cottage industry was born. However, with the development of Richard Arkwright’s water frame, John Kay’s flying shuttle, and Edmund Cartwright’s power loom, factories soon replaced the domestic system and the women who lost their jobs now moved to the factories. Nevertheless, the factories were very successful due to high demand and cheap cotton sources in the Americas and in India. Ironically, American cotton was the product of slavery, which the British had banned in 1838.

The American Revolution between 1820 and 1840, change the landscape of small towns, counties and major cities including Lowell Massachusetts for the future. The population growth was steadily advancing due to increase of immigrants and the local increase birth rates contributed to increase population. Similarities, life in the small towns was changing dramatically because of the major improvement in the infrastructure. For the most part, farming was the small towns’ main source income for generations and generations. The vast majority of the land was passed down in the family from parents to children down to grandchildren. The seasonal income was allowed to provide income to their families and hired field workers. The income was enough for the families to provide shelter food for their love ones and enough to sustain them until next crop season. Therefore, the American revolution was a major shock for most and in this essay, I will discuss how the American industrial revolution was a result of advance transportation and communication systems, the growth of manufacturing technology, and the increase population

In the early nineteenth century, you could easily determine that the rapid changes of the Industrial Revolution triggered a lot of positive and negative emotions. Many documents of this time considered that the Industrial Revolution was a time of growth and a great expansion of opportunities. Due to the immense growth of factories and production systems in them, it created many jobs for middle class individuals. Now that people had steady jobs, there was money that could be disbursed. Common goods, such as textiles, became in higher demand because they were being produced so fast for such little money. Various ways of transportation were being invented at this time as well, allowing for trading to be done faster; this also allowed for international trade. Production triggered the local economy to grow and eventually become more of a global economy. With each invention came a higher demand, and more jobs, which was very stimulating for the world, economically and technologically. However, there are also documents that indicate that the Industrial Revolution has also been seen as a time of misery and unfairness among ordinary people. The concept revolving around factories seemed great at first, they were mass-producing at such low prices yet making so much money at the same time. Everything was great outside of the factory walls, but the circumstances inside the factories were appalling. Between the long hours and awful working conditions, the wages given did not makeup for any of the disadvantages. Furthermore, the pollution that the factories produced was very harmful to the workers and people living in the surrounding areas. I believe that, with change, there will always be many trials and tribulations. I agree that the nineteent...