Industrial Factories For Children: The Conditions Of Child Labor

During the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s child labor was a social issue that developed in the United States. In the early 1900’s, so many children ages 16 and under were working in American mine and factories. Our kids should not be forced to work at such an early age, they need education and a good childhood that they will always remember. Some children that are as young as 4 years old are being forced to work in crammed, dangerous factories. These factories are full of poisonous fumes and diseases that can obviously kill. Kids as young as 13 are being forced to work around 13 hours a day. Working these 13 hours is exactly what most adults are working at the time. Kids are also earning a lower wage since they are minors, employers

“This is the main reason why targeted boycotts of the products of child labor turn out to be counterproductive (at least in the short term): they focus, in a limited geographical area, only on the effects of child labor—its products—but typically fail to investigate the structural reasons for the occurrence of child labor—namely, poverty.”

Conditions of factories were not safe for anyone, let alone a small child. Due to these conditions many children died before their prime. Many children “began work at age 5, and generally died before they were 25” (www.victorianweb.org), America was beginning to lose an entire generation due to these working conditions that so many had to endure. Children were hired at an alarming rate. “In 1870, the first time census reported child workers, there were 750,000 workers in the United States age 15 and under, not including those who worked on family farms or in other family businesses” (“Child Labor in America”), these numbers were not something that was looked over, it astonished many. “A cotton manufactory of 5 or 6000 spindles will employ those 200 children” (Bremner 232). The workforce would continuously grow, hiring more and more children each day. Factories were good for using children as a means of their productivity. “Textile factories, for the most part […] were in the forefront of this industrial revolution, and children formed an essential component of the new industrial workforce” (Bremner 232). Many times without these children working some of these factories would not have survived through the revolution.

“Children worked in very dangerous conditions in the picture represent in document 8” (Document 8). The children working in the factories have to be careful not to get their limbs or foreign objects lodged into the machines. If they got injured or ill and had to miss work in order to properly recuperate. “You are considerably deformed in person as a consequence of this labor? Yes I am” (Document 7), a woman that worked in a flax mill as a young girl was left deformed from all the harsh labor that was forced upon her while growing up. Not only did the parents have to work in order to be able to provide for their family, but their children had to work in order to contribute to be able to put food on the table for the whole family due to the parents lack of pay. “Children were uneducated and were unable to attend school as seen in document 6” (Document 6). Because of the lack of education many adults were illiterate, which caused many problems for example, learning basic life skills would be more difficult and time consuming because people are unable to self-educate by reading informational books on how to acquire basic skills “I am at work in a spinning room tending four sides of warp which is one girl’s work” (Document 1) Children were over worked the girl that spoke in the text about was forced to do the work of four separation girls all in one. Furthermore is unhealthy for anyone at any age

The disgraceful practice of using children in factories and mills to work tedious hours and after dangerous tasks was a widespread problem in the U.S. These children who should’ve been in school getting an education, were instead hired because of their small hands and bodies which were

In the early 1900’s, children were often forced to work long hours with very little pay. In addition, the conditions in these factories were considered highly dangerous. Because the children were required to work in these labor conditions to support their families, they were unable to get the education they deserved. The working conditions during the Industrial Revolution were poor; however, the working environment for minors today has significantly improved. There is a long list of physical demanding jobs that are not allowed to employ children.

The Industrial revolution took place in the 19th and 18th century it began it Britain and spread to other parts of the world, it was a time of rural society in Europe and America because industrial and urban. It was the process of going from hand tools to industry and machinery. The Industrial revolution brought many new developments such as economic changes with brag wealth, agricultural improvements, and increased international trade. During the Industrial revolution, children of all ages would face child labour at work some even six years old; they work long hours some hours expanding to 15 hours with little pay. They have terrible working conditions and have much body issue from the pressure that work gives them.

Child Labor is one of history’s most wicked phases, having brought along years of psychological, emotional and mental abuse upon children. A prime example of such torture would be the child labour present in 19th century England and it’s capitalist exploitation on children, or whom they referred to as “little adults”. It was an outrageous time to be a child in that era, with intense family and societal pressure; poverty conditions, and uncertainty of ones own safety constantly hounding their developing

the book “History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain” it says “the children who labour in mills are victims of frightful oppression and killing toil. They are often cruelly beaten by the spinners of the overlookers- that their feeble limbs become distorted by continual standing and stooping and they grow up cripples. If indeed, they are not hurried into premature grave.” This quote proves that they are being treated badly. This quote also proves that they are unhealthy. Also “accidents were very admitted to the infirmary, though the children's hands and arms having been caught in the machinery in many instances a finger or two might be lost.”

With many limbs lost and fingers penetrated off, children throughout the Industrial Revolution proved themselves strong in order to survive the conflict and compromise ahead. For example, some children were abused while they worked and others died in order to earn income for their families (Industrial). There was conflict within many regions of child labor. Such as the societal disagreements of what the children’s working conditions were and how they could still be improved. There was compromise with the laws and safety of all the children working at such a young age and in dangerous working conditions.

They had no say in anything and the factory owners did not care for them. Instead of getting an education they had to work to maintain economic stability for their family. Some children in fact dropped out of school in order to help their family financially. The treatment of the child laborers was usually inhumane and relentless the youngest children who worked in factories were demanded to work in textiles. According to “child labor in factories” majority of the child laborers were over the age of fourteen.

The source informs us about the harsh working conditions present in factories, particularly for children. The unhygienic state of the factory, and the fact that kids are permitted to climb on dangerous equipment without footwear, only supports this claim. The lack of safety gear exemplifies the disregard managers hold for their

To continue, children are forced to work in dangerous conditions. Many children do not wear shoes and work with dangerous equipment that could kill them. The children should not be put in the position where they do not know better than to reach over something, but this could be a life-altering decision. Their clothes could get caught

Factories where children worked housed some menacing machines, working fast enough to easily dismantle small limbs (Eastern Illinois University, 2014). The young workers breathed in dangerous chemicals which often led to illnesses and disease (Eastern Illinois University, 2014). In addition, children were paid very low wages considering their working hours (Burnette, 2008). This can be seen in Figure 3.1 (Burnette, 2008). The tough labour can be seen through stories of child labour. For example, an eleven year old girl, Ellison Jack, who worked in a mine during the Industrial Revolution, had to push a tub, which weighed over 200kg, on twenty journeys every day and would be whipped if she slackened off (History Learning Site, 2014). "In the absence of regulation, the evil tends to increase,” said Sidney Webb, who was a British socialist, about child labour (Nardinelli, 1980). The enormous amount of child labour proves that the Industrial Revolution was built on

Not only were textile factories not safe for the working class adults, they were definitely not safe for the children who couldn’t stand up for themselves. Some of the dangers include the children being underfed, overworked and/or injured. Some of the children have been interviewed and their stories are terrible. In the interview with John Birley he said “No time was allowed for breakfast, no sitting for dinner, and no tea.” (T.A.C)