Technological Advancements During The Industrial Revolution

Throughout history, children have always worked, either as apprentices or servants. However, child labor reached a whole new scale during the time period of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the time frame of late 1800s-early 1900s, children worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little wages. They were considered useful as laborers because their small stature allowed them to be cramped into smaller spaces, and they could be paid less for their services. Many worked to help support their families, and by doing so, they forwent their education. Numerous nineteenth century reformers and labor groups sought to restrict child labor and to improve working conditions.

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.

“I believe in the children of the future,” are lyrics of The Greatest Love of All, made famous in 1977 and 1985 by George Benson and Whitney Houston respectively. They believed in the value of children in our society and that they should be protected. However, those people believed in a child 's capacity to change the world in the future. While people in the past saw children as a way to change the world while they were children. In the late seventeenth century, industrialization arose in England ushering in a new era of industry in our world. More industry means more workers, including children. With the rise of industrialization in a nation, child laborers are viciously abused due to their niche roles in production and their families

The use of children sped up production and made the pool of employees much larger. The benefit of child labor for the workers being able to have more people in the factory. The disadvantage was the fact that children are young and should be spending their time learning and playing opposed to operating machines for 16 hours and never attending school (Document 1). Some communities made child labor an option and enforced education at the same time. These communities were known as working societies. They focused on making nice conditions for children that worked. They took good care of kids and paid them in exchange for work. Safety was a big concern so death rates were very low (Document 5). However, not all companies treated their kids well. Some factories abused child labor, allowing kids as young as three years old to help out (Document 9). Politicians are managers claimed that the kids were just fine and even benefited from working. “I have visited many factories, and I never saw a single instance of corporal chastisement inflicted on a child. They seemed to be always cheerful and alert” (Document 4). Child labor was a debatable topic during the Industrial Revolution because many people depended on it but many other people wanted it to stop because it was

“C: What time did you begin work at the factory? B: When I was six years old” (Testimony on Child Labor in Britain) Children started doing strenuous work at such young ages. Children would often be mentally or physically tormented in life because

The places that children would work were never heated in the winter or cooled in the summer. Most of the time these conditions would end up getting the children injured or sick. The worse part about child labor is that half of them didn’t know what

child could not earn much, but even a few pence would be enough to buy

One problem in the 1900s was child labor, which was not an uncommon sight in the factories. The children who worked at these factories would be exposed to harsh chemicals and could possibly lose and arm or limb to the machineries. Children as young as 16 years old would work in those unsafe, overcrowded factories instead of going to school to receive an education. To resolve the child labor issue, many states begun passing laws that made child labor illegal. As shown in the illustration in document 7, the state of Georgia passed the Georgia Child Labor laws, which took children out of Georgia Factories and into schools for education (document 7). Also shown in document 2, in

Child labor became a major problem shortly after the Civil War had been drawn to a close. This era of industrial growth completely changed American society, it created a new class of wealthy entrepreneurs and a very comfortable middle class. This group of workers was made up of millions of new immigrants and many families that had migrated from other areas with high hopes of job security. Rural families relocated to the cities to find work, with a dream of a better life for themselves and their children. However, most were shocked when they arrived and discovered that the truth was not at all what it seemed to be. The only jobs that were readily available required long hours and offered very little pay. In most situations, every able family member was needed to work to simply keep

“The demand for labor grew, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries many children were drawn into the labor force. Factory wages were so low that children often had to work to help support their families. However, child laborers rarely experienced their youth” (National Archives). Child labor was a “normal” thing to many people

This quote I found from an online article explains what kids went through during this harsh time. It almost sounds like they were slaves by how low they were getting paid. Most of us have never even heard of kids working late at nights doing jobs that today no one can possibly do because they have been replaced with machines from the dangers they carry. Children worked some of the most dangerous factory jobs that existed and they didn’t by choice. They had no choice but to work because either their family was poor or they were orphans.

Throughout history children have been used as slaves and workers, but during the industrial revolution the number of child laborers drastically went up. With a hope of a better life families all over the states moved into the cities to find work. Most were disappointed when they arrived and discovered that the truth was not as perfect as they had been led to believe.

Child labor was very common in the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s in many places. Child labor usually took place in a factory working on a manufacturer line or doing as much physical labor as they could possibly do, being as young as they are. These kids who took part in child labor started some as early as the age of four or five, and then kept working until the day they died. Most of the time these kids has to work as much or sometimes more than even adults nowadays work. They would go to the factory while the sun comes up, work all day, and then go home at night to eat; and then wake up and do it all again the next day. These kids also were not working easy jobs, these jobs were very physical and hard labor. Also, the working conditions these kids worked in were not always as good as they needed to be. Sometimes they would even be put in situations where they could die any time of the day while at work. The wage for these kids were not to good either, some would get paid very, very little, and some would not get paid at all. Kids had no choice but to work and if they didn’t work they would not survive, therefore they would really work for any price. Which was usually a lot cheaper than any adult would work for.

Although children had been servants and apprentices throughout most of human history, child labor reached new extremes during the Industrial Revolution.There was a big impact on the daily life of a child labourer as poor children often worked full time jobs with minimal pay in order to help support their families. Young children worked long hours in factories under dangerous conditions. children were easier to manage and control than adults because their size was perfect as it allowed them to move in small spaces in factories or mines.The practice of child labor continued throughout much of the Industrial Revolution until laws were eventually passed that made child labor illegal.

(Laslett, 1970) Coupled with these innovations was the new concept of applying scientific methodology to industrial processes. (Laslett, 1970) All of these changes, while beneficial to businesses, did little to improve the lot of the industrial laborer. (Laslett, 1970) One of the key complaints of an entirely unregulated labor force in the late 1800s was the extensive use and abuse of child labor. In 1870, nearly three quarters of a million children between the ages of ten and fifteen worked in hazardous aspects of manufacturing, agriculture and street trade. (Laslett, 1970) By 1880, that number was over one point one million, or one in every six children in that age group. (Laslett, 1970) By 1900, that number doubled. The conditions under which children worked were very dangerous. They worked the same shifts as adults (about 12 hours a day, six days a week), denying them the opportunity for school and play. (Laslett, 1970) The factories, mills, mines and other work venues in which they labored were unsafe and unregulated. Children were also often used in the most dangerous aspects of industrial work, such as clearing jammed machines or working in confined spaces too small for adults. (Laslett, 1970) In 1881, only seven states had any kind of regulation laws for child laborer. Desperate for money to survive, immigrants and working-class Americans forged