After the civil war, up until the early 1900s, the need for a larger workforce grew as industrialization expanded. Samuel Slater brought the industrial revolution from England, and even since then, there were people trying to get better working conditions. Due to the growth in population by immigrants and expansion of industrialization, the working conditions became worse and worse, causing workers to suffer. Many people fought to solve this problem and changed many American’s lives for the better. The working conditions in factories were so bad during this time that it often led to sickness, injuries and death. People who worked in mines had to face many dangerous disadvantages every day. The working conditions in mines were very unsafe, with top rock falling on top of workers, often crushing them to death. The powder, smoke, and bad air caused miners to suffer from lung diseases such as “black lung”. Children also began to work in mines and lost their education at young ages. These children often developed health issues such as “miners’ asthma” due to the bad air in the mine. Not only was the work laborious and dangerous, but miners also received low pay. The majority of profits went to those who owned the mine (Doc 1). For those who worked in factories, life wasn’t any better. Workers received very low pay and worked long hours. Some workers had to work seven days a week, and sometimes those workers were children. Workers under 16 had to labor long hours and received even less the pay as an adult. The factories were unsafe as well, so not only were workers receiving low wages, but they also were putting their lives at risks. Women’s hair would get caught in machines, limbs would get stuck in a machine, and children would fall... ... middle of paper ... ...labor in sweatshops. Jane Addams and Jacob Riis increased awareness of problems in child labor. Others also exposed business abuses that put the safety of the workers at risk. Sanitation issues, fire hazards, and machines quality were all brought to attention and eventually addressed by President Roosevelt. Child labor was eventually put to rest and workers started to receive the rights they deserve. No one should have to suffer working in deadly conditions for insensible amounts of time for very little pay. There were many problems that came with the industrial revolution, although we wouldn’t have the lives we do if it didn’t happen. Eventually, the government, union groups, and courageous individuals took the initiative to improve the lives of Americans. By the early 1900s, working conditions improved and the value of a working man increased as it should.
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 factory whistle blows right in the middle of your favorite dream. You wake up in a startle as you glance at the clock. 5:30 am. You rush to get out of bed, seeing that you have to get to work in 30 minutes. You splash some water on your face, brush your teeth, put on some fine factory clothes, pull your hair back, grab an apple and run as fast as a gazelle. The Industrial Revolution had both positive and negatives on the lives of adults and children during that time period.
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
Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after this fire, and the work industry would never remain the same again.
The Parliament tried to change these conditions through the Factory act of 1833. This act restricted the starting age limit of child workers to have to be at least nine years old to work. It also put restricted hours on child labor. Kids from nine though twelve were only allowed to work eight hours per day. From ages thirteen through seventeen they were allowed to work up to twelve hours per day. Mining conditions were even worse than factory conditions. People were constantly getting diseases and dying from working in mines all day long. To change this, they came up with the Mine Act of 1842. This stopped woman and children from working in the mines. They also put a ten-hour work limit which limited the work day for people who worked in the mine with the Ten Hour act of 1847. This was a big deal for workers who were used to working eighteen hours per day. This slowed down mining but saved many lives in the
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.
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
The working class faced conditions in the factory that wealthier skill workers did not have deal with. These men were not in a comfortable financial situation at home, and could not find comfort in hazardous working conditions with the dangerous machines they had to operate. Workers were harmed daily and among these injured employees were children (Shi 62). Many of these children were as young as nine years old, and due to financial reasons their families sent them away to work in workshops, mines, and even in factories surrounded by dangerous machinery. Realistically, these children were doomed to working in a factory for their entire lives. They did not attended school and worked to help provide for their families. With no education, they would not be able to find a more prestigious job with higher pay. The waged for factory workers were low, but they were not always guaranteed. The Knights of Labor pushed for a federal law that would force employers to “pay employees weekly, in full, for labor performed during the preceding week” (Shi 62). These people were only working in harmful conditions to survive but were not guaranteed enough money to feed their families. Charity handouts did not necessarily help feed a poor family, but aimed to “... produce most beneficial results to [the] community” (Shi 60). This meant that the wealthy didn’t directly give citizens money, but
Coal miners, especially had it rough since the falling rocks from the mines can kill them. In document 1, the author wrote that “powder, smoke, after-damp, bad air- all combined to bring furrows to our faces and asthma to our lungs” (document 1). This suggests that the working conditions were so unsafe that fumes of toxic chemicals were traveling down their respiratory system, which would eventually kill them in the end. To resolve these unsafe working conditions states started passing laws that required companies to improve working conditions to stay in business. As shown in the illustration in document 2, in 1912, New York State, passed laws that required factories to have fire escapes, fire drills, and fire-resistant windows in factories (document 2). This passing was result from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, an event in which the workers of an industrial company couldn’t escape a fire because of the unsafe working conditions. As a result of the issues with unsafe working conditions, states passed laws that required companies to improve the working
With the increasing amount of factories, nearly every citizen belonged in one, working away hours. Work in the factory was described as long, cramped, and monotonous. Workers were compelled to eat in the company lunchrooms provided with food that could be eaten by animals. As well as the fact that they were forced to live in the company houses, sleeping with complete strangers. Many factories initiated contracts, forcing people to maintain their jobs for at least two years (Bimba 67-70). It is evident that the increase of industrialization created the horrible working conditions. When farming was around, citizens were able to choose their own hours, stopping when the pain became too much. But now that factories were maintaining places of land, citizens were forced to join the more modern way of living, by enduring long hours in factories. Eventually citizens recognized the pain they suffered because of the factories, citizens of “all different classes and groups of people took part in the revolts” (Lawrence 248-249). Essentially, the owners of factories created the terrible environment for the citizens, further proving how industrialization caused the increase of horrible working
During the latter part of the 19th century, many laborers faced numerous problems. Some of these problems included, “mechanization of industry, emergence of giant corporations, nationalization of labor, public sentiment greatly admired the ‘Captains of Industry,’ and immigration” (Farless). After years of knowledge, man was introduced to machines. When machines played a part in the latter part of the 19th century, it caused trouble with the laborers. These new machines would replace laborers, which meant more laborers were remaining unemployed and that there were lower wages (Farless). Another problem laborers faced were the introduction to immigrants. Immigrants were coming to the United States of America from foreign land to work. With these immigrants, it kept the wages low because the immigrants were new inexpensive labor (Farless).
During the 20th century, there was a high demand for products. Various machines were created to increase the creation of products. This lead to the need of workmen to work at these machineries. Many of these workmen were receiving low pay and working long hours under poor conditions. This created a controversy throughout the public and fought for their rights to receive higher pay and less work time. Labor unions did not ruin the free market, instead, they desired to improve the living and working conditions of the poor and abolished the exploitation of children.
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)....
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.
The increasing amount of people left destitute and helpless regarding the hasty fundamental changes of the Industrial Revolution; which occurred economically, socially, and on the conditions of the workplace, affected the living standards of all, but did not occur obscure. Reform actions begun to take place; for even industrialists like Robert Owen were sincerely concerned of the direction industrialization was headed in. Endorsing with legislation, politicians together were able to ultimately relieve the working classes predicament, as well as regulating laws for child labor. Regardless of this, the expense of suffering paid by the previous working generations for this advancement in addition to our present contented standards of living was undeniably an awful one.