The Children Who Built Victorian Britain
Freddy Alban
Professor Gilchrist
Hist 112
May 15, 2015
In the documentary “The Children Who Built Victorian Britain” by BBC, talks about the children of the industrial revolution, it shows the jobs they had, where these children came from, their motivation and the progression of laws against child labor. Before the industrial revolution people used to manufactures their goods in their homes using simple machines, but in the late 1700’s this shifted drastically in Britain. They started to implement new ideas of modernization using industries to manufacture goods at a larger scale. The steam engine, iron and textile industries were one of the many industries that played a key role to improve economy, transportation and living conditions in the late 1700’s. Without the industrial revolution we wouldn’t have the technology that we have nowadays, but the industrial revolution also brought a dark chapter for history, the exploitation of children.
The 18th and 19th centuries inventors and entrepreneurs were able to be successful not only because of their minds and inventions, but because they counted with the help of one key factor, children. These children played a vital role in the industrial revolution; they were the first generation of working class in Britain. Mills and factories were built far away from the cities they needed rivers to power up their huge factories, due to the fact that it was
This population boom led to not only the increased of the products but products being bought. Before this boom the quality of life was low and around 75% of kids under the age of 5 died, thanks for the growth in population that number lowered down to 30%. According to Document 15: “The Factory system led to a rise in the general standard of living, to rapidly falling urban death rates and decreasing infant mortality---and produced an unprecedented population explosion.” (15). Furthermore the overall impact of this boom gave families a source of income as children could work for the well being of the family. With the growth of population products began to be mass produced therefore making them cheaper and more accessible. A main concern in during the Industrial Revolution was bad working conditions and child labor which may have been a impact in some factories but in document 3 it states “...children would thrive better when employed in our modern factories, than if at home in apartments too often ill-aired, damp, and cold. (3). Decisively it is clear that the Industrial Revolution not only contributed to the growth in population but the growth in families, companies, and the overall well being of people. On the other side working conditions were not always the best. In both Document 11: The Conditions of the Working Class in England and Document 7: Picture of Outdoor Factory Environment. They both show how disease could be spread and how roads and the safety of factories could cause injury to workers; however this was only some factories and as the factories grew so did the necessity for safety and that danger soon turned into a safe working
During the industrial revolution there was new technology being created such as the flying shuttle which allowed you to weave faster but was also very dangerous if it got loose, possibly and injury to the head. People were making more money then usually which was great but the working hours and conditions were not so good especially for children. Children were not making as much money as adults. Children's jobs were
The biggest problem about the industrial Revolution was the matter of Child labor. Child labor was used and favored by many businesses because children could be paid less than women that could be paid less than men. According to the conversation on document 7,C: What time did you begin work at the factory? B: When I was six years old. (Document7) This part of the conversation on document 7 directly mentions child labor. Child labor began in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Children would work in mostly textile factories. Textile factories made cotton clothes to be sewn into clothing.
Strong economy led to a stabilized banking system that lent money to people to make inventions and machines, and also encouraged business people to invest in new machines. In a document titled Modern Inventions , the author described the success of the machines and inventions as he said that “great advancements in medicine and technology accompanied the industrial revolution in England”(Doc I). As the creation of new inventions and machines skyrocketed, conventions in England contributed to the future around the world. Goods would eventually became advanced enough to not only provide goods for the people in Great Britain, but moreover contribute in developments of technologies across the world. Not only women and old women had to go through the hard labor during the industrial revolution. Children were also put into labor with poor working hours and conditions, and many of them did not get proper education. A document on the subject of child labor proclaimed that “children had weaker bodies and were more likely to get sick from the dusty air or become deformed from accidents with machines”(Doc
The term “Industrial Revolution” brings to my mind images of women and children working in unpleasant and dangerous environments, but it should be learned that women and children worked in agricultural economies too. They were always expected to work. The only thing that changed with the Industrial Revolution was the type of work they did and the situations under which they worked.
The Industrial Revolution was a major turning point in history that took place between 1760 and the mid 1800’s. During this time frame, a variety of different machines were invented and put in factories to make workers and everyday people’s lives easier. These machines had to be run by people such as women and even children because the men were mostly in coal mines. Some of the many negative consequences about these new jobs and new machines being invented were; child labor, physical abuse on the job, and unsafe working conditions. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because more jobs became available, it was actually a negative thing.
One reason why the Industrial Revolution had a negative impact on the world is because it started child labor. Child labor is when businesses and industries take kids from any age and make them work in dangerous and inhumane places. In the document from a British industrial worker, the Sadler Committee in 1832 investigated the workers’ conditions in British factories. It says, “ ‘... When did you first begin to work in the mills? When I was ten years of age … we began at five in the morning and stopped at nine at night … at times we were frequently strapped [whipped].’ ”. This statement from the document shows a negative impact in the Industrial Revolution because kids at young age are sent to work for long hours and are frequently whipped.
The practice of Child Labor in America in the early 1900s had a devastating impact on generations of children. This mainly impacted children of poor and disadvantaged families; these families tended to suffer from generations of debt or were new immigrants to America. These children worked long hours which they did not get paid nearly enough for. They worked hard, dangerous jobs daily. In the 1900s, children chose to support their families in times of need rather than furthering their education, for which they did not get paid nearly enough. These jobs affected their health poorly and had a negative impact on their childhood and development. Children of poor families in cities suffered the most during the Industrial Revolution, because they had to work long hours, did hard jobs, and often sacrificed their health and education to support their struggling families.
Before the Industrial Revolution, children learned how to farm and perform other chores by helping their parents. After the Industrial Revolution, children in
One of the many reasons why Industrialization is a negative impact on society is that it caused child labor. Child workers vary from ages 5-17.Child labor is when child work for money to support their family. There were not a lot of different types of jobs for child, but some of the job opportunities were coal miners, factory workers, and
However the industrial revolution was not all good. The working class had no other option but to turn up at the factories for work. The factory system resulted in over-crowding and unhygienic conditions and also the development of slum areas. Many factory owners who needed cheap, unskilled labour, profited greatly by using children and women to run the machines and because they were small and could fit in tunnels as well not only that they were more suited for factory life because they could adopt more quickly and easily than men. By the age of 6, many children were already working twelve hours a day in factories. These children had no free time to do anything plus they earned low wages. Hardly any of the children went to school they had to work in factories to earn money. Quite a lot of the people who worked at factories got sick and died because of the toxic fumes in the factories. While others were severely injured because the machines didn't have safety guards so many children got killed by machinery when they fell asleep and got caught up in the machines. Many of the children who were orphans, hired by the employers would
To begin, people debated whether child labor during the Industrial Revolution was a social problem or a political problem. During the Industrial Revolution, the extent of child labor changed due to Britain becoming more industrialized. In the article “Child Labor during the British Industrial Revolution,” Wade Thatcher stated that the majority of scholars argued that since there was a plentiful supply
The roles available required long hours and supplied little pay. The poverty level became very excessive and each capable member of the family was required to work in order keep the family above deprivation. Families migrated from the rural farm areas to the newly industrialized, crowded towns on the lookout for work opportunities. in the course of this revolution, children became one of the groups that had been extensively affected due to the fact they were referred to as to workers within the factories. A family could no longer be capable of earning enough itself if the children weren 't employed. This caused the excessive rise of child labour in factories. Children worked long hours on their family’s farms when they were living in the rural areas but in the cities the children worked extensively hard for very long hours for larger companies
In the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century of England, the Industrial Revolution occurred. It is marked as an important movement in history because it introduced steam-driven machinery, large factories, and a new working class. With new manufacturing, job opportunities opened up. As the demand for employees rose, that is when the working class also began to rise. However, it not only included adults but children as well. The main reason for children to work is because it benefits the employers and their families economically. Employers made profit by having children work for low wages, and the money the children made would go towards the family income and necessities to survive. The low adult wages would not suffice for a neutral family or extended, so children had no choice but to work and help support their family. Although in need of money, there were too many dangers involved when the children were working. As a result of this, the state legislation had Acts passed for the children’s safety. The Industrial Revolution had many upsides in modernizing England, but it also uncovered that children should not be seen as workers needing money, but as young human beings that need education and protection, and the only way to initiate this is with the involvement of the state.
The Revolution also affected children. When coal became necessary to fuel steam engines, many people were needed to work in coal mines. Children were hires to go into narrow passageways and pick coal. Boys and girls were put to work doing dangerous things that children should not be expected to do. Children also worked in factories. Their small hands came in handy to retrieve broken threads in machines, however many children lost fingers while doing this.