Manufacturing goods has always been a pivotal part of a successful economy for a state. Those without it will quickly fall as they are unable to produce anything to support their nation. Having a strong industrial center allows for people to live with all their needs and many of their wants. The rise of mass production through the gilded age onwards through the early 20th century allowed Americans to live these lives. The exponential growth of mass production in early 20th century America was a beneficial thing to happen to Americans, despite strong concerns of poor working conditions. The most beneficial thing to come from this age would be the rise of the middle class. Before this age, there was no strong middle class in the country. There …show more content…
One might bring up the point of poor working conditions within these factories. The most famous case of which was in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. In this factory women worked in extremely cramped spaces. Furthermore, the doors were locked from the outside to ensure that everyone was working as they should; the factory was also equipped with zero fire sprinklers and the fire escapes were in terrible condition. These women worked with extremely flammable clothes, so it was only a matter of time before there was a fire in the workplace. On March 25 1911, the fire occurred, 146 women were killed in the fire from either suffocation or jumping from windows (Bingham, Jane. “Women at Work: 1900–1920.” Women at War, Facts On File, 2011). Those who claim it mass production bad will say that these factories did not care for their own workers and simply wanted to maximise their profits. These conditions were rampant through factories. Aside from lack of fire safety workers were exposed to a plethora of hazardous situations; such as exposure to toxic chemicals, unsafe heavy machinery, loud noises, extreme heat, and locked doors. Causing many workers to live in a constant state of agony (Reef, Catherine. “Introduction: Working in America.” Working in America, Facts On File, 2007). They will likely bring up the use of the new philosophy called “Taylorism.” This idea was brought to light by …show more content…
Skilled and unskilled workers were able to come together and create labor unions to ensure that they were able to live in adequate conditions. One union the IWW, which was accepting of any sex or race, fought for better wages, working conditions, and working hours. Many of these unions were able to successfully get what they were fighting for. In states such as Oregon, some businesses were required to only have a maximum of at least 10 work hours per day. By 1923, many states had also enacted minimum wage laws ensuring that people were no longer being trapped in poverty by their wages (Helgeson, Jeffrey. “Labor and Livelihood in the 20th Century.” American Centuries, Volume 5, Facts On File, 2014). Furthermore, many big businesses were not cruel to their employees. Henry Ford would pay his employees a 5 dollar wage, which was extremely rare for factory workers during this time; proving not all businessman were cruel leaders ("The $5 Day." Henry Ford 150. Ford,
Factory workers worked twelve to fifteen hours a day in hazardous condition. There were no protective rules for women and children and no insurances for job-related accidents or industrial illness. The workers were obliged to trade at company store
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire most of all impacted all forms of industry, and changed the way workers worked. Along with the legislations that impacted women and children, laws also centered on the safety and well being of all workers. One of the main reforms and changes came through the formation of the New York Factory Investigating Commission, or the FIC: a legislative body that investigated the manufacturers for various infractions. They were based on protecting the workers: both their rights and their lives. The FIC investigated countless factories and “enacted eight laws covering fire safety, factory inspections and sanitation.” The FIC was highly focused on the health and safety of industrial workers, making reports and legislation that focused on “fire safety, building construction, machine guarding, heating, lighting, ventilation, and other topics” and on specific industries like “chemicals, lead trades, metal trades, printing shops, sweatshops and mercantile establishments.” Thirteen out of seventeen of the bills submitted by the FIC became laws, and “included measures requiring better fire safety efforts, more adequate factory ventilation, improved sanitation and machine guarding, safe operation of elevators” and other legislations focused for specific establishments.” Fire safety and new fire codes such as “mandate emergency exits, sprinkler systems, and maximum-occupancy laws,” such as the Fire Prevention Act of 1911, were put into place to limit the likelihood that another fire like the one at Triangle would occur, or be as drastic and deathly. Other organizations like the Joint Board of Sanitary Control “set and maintain standards of sanitation in the workplace,” as well as actually enforcing these stand...
Often, children were forced to work due to money-related issues, and the conditions they worked in were terrible. Children worked in coal mining, such as at Woodward Coal Mining in Kingston, Pennsylvania (Doc. 7). Children were used to make the process of producing products cheaper, and they were paid low wages; the capitalists hired children just to keep the process of making products going and to make profit. One cause of child labor in harsh conditions was the unfateful fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City in 1911. Teenaged immigrant girls that were employed there worked under sweatshop-like conditions. The building they worked in was inadequately equipped in case of a fire, for the doors were locked, leaving no exit for the girls, and the single fire escape collapsed with the rescue effort; as a result, when the fire started, they were unable to escape. 145 workers were killed, but the company owners were not penalized harshly for this tragedy. This further demonstrates that capitalists were able to get away with the harsh conditions that they put their laborers, especially child laborers, through for their own benefit, which is making more money and using any means to get it, even if those means are low wages and harsh working
Many new industries were developed to support mass production of goods, such as, roads, tires, and all the items it took to build a vehicle for the automobiles.(David Shannon, 217) The chemical industry grew in the United States after First World War because America couldn't get the chemical anymore they had gotten from Germany. (Shannon, 219) Americans wanted the access to electric power which included: lights, radios, and washing machines. There was a mass movement of people from the country to the city looking for jobs. The rural life couldn't support a family like urban living could, people left the farming industry and moved to the manufacturing industries which damage the ability for agricultural to survive.(Shannon, 219) The effects of prosperity revolved around the automobile specifically younger people's ability to escape adult supervision.
Factory workers of this time had very little freedom. Aside from having to work outrageous hours for 6 days of the week, there was no job security, no solid way to survive day-to-day, and if a family member were to suffer an accident, families had no financial means to carry on. In the early 1900s, there were no labor laws, including the right to organize, an eight-hour day, safety standards, or unemployment/disability pensions. M...
A more successful collective bargaining union was known as the American Federation of Labor (AFL) founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886. This organization focused on practical issues that involved craft unionization of skilled workers. The craft workers were successful in organizing because unlike the unskilled workers they could not be replaced easily. This union bargained for thing such as 8 hour work days, higher wages did not deal with social reforms. Women’s wages were not considered because the AFL dealt
Many factories became short-handed and had to hire women to cover the jobs. The factories were very dangerous and unhealthy, and the women were only getting paid half the wages of men. The women were not unionized because the Labor Union said that they had to hire many women to replace one man and that the skilled tasks were broken in to several less skilled tasks. They had no protection, so their lungs and skin were exposed to dangerous chemicals. Many women worked in munitions factories, where they worked with sulphur.
On March 25, 1911, 146 garment factory workers their lives in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. In less than an hour, these workers died from asphyxiation, burns, or jumping to their deaths in a futile attempt at escape (McGuire, 2011). The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory the eighth through tenth floors of New York City’s Asch building, and employed approximately 700 workers, 500 of them young women and girls (McGuire, 2011). A fire quickly broke out on the eighth floor shortly before the end of the work day. Loose fabric was strewn about the floor and stuffed under equipment, providing kindling for the fire to quickly become an inferno. As women attempted to exit, they were met with locked doors and forced to find other means of escape, including jumping from the eight floor windows, climbing down elevator cables, and scampering down the fire escape - each route of escape tragically failed, costing many their lives. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is an example of how quickly dangerous and neglectful conditions can quickly take many lives, but it has also served as the impetus for great changes in workplace and fire safety codes and regulations, including the development of Fire Safety Codes, implementation of state-based worker’s compensation laws, and the formation of New York State’s Industrial Code. The impacts of these changes and many others are still felt today, more than 100 years later. There is, however, still work to be done in the area of workplace fire safety, as evidenced in the Kader Toy Factory fire and the Imperial Chicken Processing Plant fire.
The owners of these factories had no incentive to look out for the child’s safety or health. The workers also followed a very strict schedule. All workers had to be at the same place at the same time allotted to them. If a worker was injured, he was easily replaced. Another negative was the working conditions.
Industrialization was a period of rapid expansion in the 19th and 20th century for the United States and had a profound effect on the country. Although there was much success across the country, such as massive population growth and manual labor becoming easier, the negative effects of industrialization outweigh the positives.
Young girls were not allowed to open the windows and had to breathe in the dust, deal with the nerve-racking noises of the machines all day, and were expected to continue work even if they 're suffering from a violent headache or toothache (Doc 2). The author of this report is in favor of employing young women since he claimed they seemed happy and they loved their machines so they polished them and tied ribbons on them, but he didn 't consider that they were implemented to make their awful situations more bearable. A woman who worked in both factory and field also stated she preferred working in the field rather than the factory because it was hard work but it never hurt her health (Doc 1), showing how dangerous it was to work in a factory with poor living conditions. Poor living conditions were common for nearly all workers, and similar to what the journalist saw, may have been overlooked due to everyone seeming
The Industrial Revolution that took place after the Civil War made for a more economically sound country. American workers, however, were becoming more and more dependent upon their wages; a fear of unemployment also stemmed from this. Workers didn’t share in the benefits that their employers reaped. In a chart representing the hours and wages of industrial workers, from 1875 to 1891, it shows that even though their wages were subtly increasing, their 10-hour work day remained the same (Doc. A). Factories were headed by large corporations; this, in turn, meant that new machines lessened the amount of workers in certain fields. As a result of these unsuitable conditions, labor unions were formed. The challenges that these unions faced weren’t easy. If the workers involved in organized labor got too far out of line, these corporations could get federal authorities involved. Moreover, these companies could enforce “ironclad oaths” upon their employees. In a Western Union Telegraph Company employee contract, in 1883, it states that the employee will not be affiliated with any societies or organizations (Doc. E). Despite such setbacks, by 1872 there were over 32 national unions.
The documentary strived to show us how factories were corrupt that they couldn’t provide good working conditions for the workers until we lost people. This documentary is about the tragic fire that took place on March 25, 1911 in the Triangle factory. We can clearly see through this documentary that these people didn’t matter to the factory owners because their needs were not met. The documentary shows that the year before the fire took place the workers led a strike asking for better working conditions, but obviously their voices were not heard. After the fire took place this is when factories started improving working conditions. It is sad to learn that it took 146 lives of innocent people in order for factory owners to be convinced that they need to improve the poor working
For example, factory workers were expected to work 14-16 hour days, six days a week. The dusty, dirty, unlit mills along with few break times made working there a living hell. “Breaker boys suffered from chronic throat trouble and respiratory illnesses that were caused by inhaling coal dust. Above ground machinery, particularly coal crushers, were dangerously loud. If a breaker boy worked long hours around the coal crusher he often suffered from hearing loss (Wagner). Due to the fact that there were no safety laws in place, ear plugs and masks were not used. In fact, no safety equipment was. The dangerous machines with unprotected parts made children susceptible to injury and death. If someone were to get injured, they were immediately fired and not paid compensation for their health care. “If a boy was caught wearing gloves, the boss would beat him. A skin condition that miners termed “Red tips” was brought about by prolonged contact with sulfur from the coal. Breaker boys’ fingers often became cracked, bloody, and swollen from sorting (Wagner)....
Ford used Taylor’s scientific management principles and come up with the mass production and assembly line. This benefitted the motor vehicle industry highly. The effects of Taylorism and Fordism in the industrial workplace were strong and between the period of 1919-1929 the output of industries in the U.S doubled as the number of workers decreased. There was an increase in unskilled labour as the skill was removed and placed into machines. It lead to the discouragement of workers ability to bargain on the basis of control over the workplace.