Industrialization DBQ

The Industrial Revolution brought many changes to society in the nineteenth century. With the rise of factories following the Agricultural Revolution and Enclosure Movement, it allowed goods to be readily available to the public due to mass production from having a large and available workforce. This led to further economic growth within the urban areas. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of this economic growth, it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s negative effects were the lack of working conditions, child labor, and horrible living conditions.

The working conditions that time were extreme. The working environments were unsafe; on the other hand, they were unsanitary ones. More often, they created incidents that raised the public concerns (Barnes & Bowles, 2014). Employers hired children and women so that they can save by paying fewer wage. Individuals

In a photograph taken by Lewis Hine, he shows us “how dangerous the machines are that the children are working on and that they were practically working inside of them” (Document 8). Being in a room full of dust and sweat, small children could get all of the dust and lint stuck in their lungs. With no windows, this work habit is highly unsafe for the children. It is actually unsafe for anyone who is stuck in a small room with no windows for thirteen hours a day. In the same interview, Elizabeth Bentley was asked, “To explain what she had to do while working in the flax mill” (Document 7). Her answer was, “When the frames are full, they have to stop the frames, and take the full bobbins off, and carry them to the roller, and then put empty ones on, and set the frame going again” (Document 8). A six year old child doing all this work was a disaster waiting to happen because children could easily get hurt or hurt another person.

The younger boys who worked at the mines were called breaker boys. They didn’t work in the mine itself, but sat on benches and picked out the bits of rock from the coal. “These children worked in the picking room, a crowded, high-ceilinged vault, crisscrossed with rickety catwalks and crooked stairs, lit only by a wall of grime-choked windows” (Levine, Marvin J. "Mines, Mills, and Canneries." Children for Hire: The Perils of Child Labor in the United States. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. 21. Print.) Within factories, small children had to work fast at the machines, being very careful unless an unfortunate body part happens to get caught in the high-powered, dangerous machinery. For several long hours in rooms without fresh air, ventilation, and sometimes, no windows, the working conditions that the children suffered through were appalling. There are children who work in hazardous industries, risking accident and injury; there are others working in conditions that take a slower but definite toll on the children’s health (Basu, Kaushik, and Pham Hoang Van. "The Economics of Child Labor" The Economics of Child Labor (1998): 412-27. Print.).

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.

Industrialization was a turning point in history for countries across the globe in the 18th century and the 19th century. In the time period of 1850 and 1914, most of Western Europe and America had already experienced impressive economic and lifestyle adjustments thanks to industrialization. In this time of constant innovation and change, Japan and Russia were both trying to industrialize like Western Europe and America did. The goal for both: to keep their own identity and culture in the process and ultimately have great success. Although both Japan and Russia had a similar goal with industrialization, and both were driven by a state-sponsored industry, the experiences for industrial workers in Russia were significantly worse than those in

“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

In 1900, children as young as nine years old were once expected to work sixteen hours a day in harsh conditions. They were useful because of their small size and the owners being able to pay low wages. Child labor laws exist because brave men, women, and children fought for these rights. The conditions of the children’s working environment caused Lewis Hine and the newsies to act upon it.

Overall, the industrialization had a greater negative effect than positive effect on society for many reasons. The revolution had many positives that came with it, but I thought that there were just more negatives that overrode it in the long run. While some might argue that industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because child labor laws were not being abused was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s negative effects were bad working conditions, unfair working/ labor rights, and separation from life. I would stress that one of the main things that was negative for society is the water borne disease, which killed more people than the war did.

While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily negative consequences for society because of the horrible working conditions, it was actually a positive thing for society; Industrialization’s positive effects were the production increases, more efficient transportation and better living conditions. The assembly line and factories were forms of production increase. The railroads and automobiles are examples of efficient transportation, and tenements and urban renewal are examples of better living conditions. These come to show that the industrial revolution was a major improvement in product distribution, transportation and living quarters.

During the 18 and beginning of the 19th century in certain regions of the U.S child labor made up more than 40 percent of the population (Wolensky). That’s almost half of the working population. Since the beginning of time children have always been known to help their families with domestic tasks. Most of these kids worked in factories because they were easy to control and paid less than adults. Kids earned less than half of what adults made in the work force. In these factories they usually cleaned under and inside machines while functioning because of their small size.. That’s how these kids felt as it was described in a article in our history book. They were always in danger of getting hurt or even dying, which many did. Kids as young

As seen by the three sources, they all have different interpretations on the everyday lives of child workers, and what the conditions were like for them. However, due to their difference of both negative and positive views, it makes identifying the most historically accurate interpretation more complicated. The first source could be seen as relatively reliable as it provides insight into the working conditions in the textile factories, coming from someone with firsthand experience. As there is no mention of trying to sell the idea of working there or to change the conditions of the workplace, it provides a mostly unbiased view of everyday life in the factory. The Second Source could be interpreted as unreliable overall as it provides a mostly biased account of the author’s experiences with the many different factories Dr Ure visited. Although it is seen that in over a period of several months there was no instance of punishment inflicted, it could be taken into account that whilst he was touring the factories the owners would likely be trying to impress him. This could also factor into why the children seemed to enjoy what they were doing, as they could be fired from their much-needed jobs if they told the author about the true conditions of the workplace. The Third Source could be seen as the most unreliable, as although the writer provides justification as to why the interferences might disrupt the factory working, it provides no insight as to why they would be investigating the factory owners as ‘criminals’ and holding inspections of the workplace in the first place. This one-sided view prompts the conclusion that the source is mostly biased and is therefore an inaccurate account of the working conditions. Although it is near impossible to provide an account of any event without bias, the

Factories could hire these immigrants because the work did not require much skill. These factories, however, had terrible working conditions. Cities became dirty and overcrowded. Tenement buildings were skinny, small, unsanitary, and housed sweat shops. For immigrants, working meant long hours, very low pay, and unsanitary conditions. Child labor supplied many children jobs in coal mines and factories. Because these factories were hazardous, many accidents happened inside- it was very common for people to lose fingers, toes, and even their lives. Many factory owners would even lock the doors of the factories so that the immigrants couldn’t get out. In the Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire of 1911, for example, 146 workers died in a fire when factory owners locked the doors (Roark). The average work week was 59 hours and the average hourly wage was 21.7 cents. Many young homeless boys would serve as bootblacks or newsboys. An immigrant named Jacob Riis

While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of cheaper clothes, and houses were built better, it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization's negative effects were poor health, child labor, and bad living conditions.

Some factories, like the cotton trade, were very strenuous for workers due to the long periods of labour. The nature of the job performed in these sites produced a lot of heat and steam engines increasing the intensity of the heat. The areas where the machinery got installed was not protected by fencing, and workers could easily reach the moving parts of the machines when undertaking their duties. The children who worked in these factories were forced to move in between this machinery and were put in a great deal of danger where most of the got several injuries and death rates were high in the factories (More, 2013). Also, most workers worked for more than twelve hours a day in the hot and physically exhausting environment. The exhaustion made most of the workers slow, and this even worsens the situation in handling machines and made the working place more dangerous. The upper and the working class had had different views to the industrialisation. The upper class got made of those who were wealthy and other professionals. With the industrialisation, most of these professionals were very positive. However, the working class, were not well off. Most of the individuals in the working class got replaced by the machinery even though a few got the job in the industries with the machinery. The few who got replaced were negative about the