The Factories Of The North In The Mid-1800s

Industrialization changed the Northern section of America in unbelievable ways. Americans would gain more jobs in factories, mills and banks, city life was booming, and both woman and men being employed in the cities. Money revenue would be generated and profited in mass production. Transportation became easier with the production of making parts or materials to build roads, steamboats, and railroads. Industrialization would trigger people to become invertors. Inventors seek new ideas of everyday use products to be easier or improve the machines to work faster and longer.

In the workplaces were new machines like Spinning Jennies and other textile machines that would assist people such as Mary Paul in the Lowell Mill (Document 1), or child laborers in other factories. The Industrial Revolution produced many machines which would later evolve to become our modern day utilities. Without this period of time, we would not have the technology we use or the lives we live. Production became faster through these large workplaces, especially places “such as...textile factories that appeared” (Document 3) during the time. These factories would have long lasting effects, not only positive. It would leave behind much waste, and later cause pollution; yet it would also make nicer clothing. Because of the work it did, products could be made quicker by less people. Finally, Industrialization produced faster transportation that completely changed the world. “Railroad travel was fast. Going to San Francisco from New York City took only six days. Before the railroads, the trip took months.” (Document 5) Through the frequent use of railroads, more business opportunities were available and more businesses could output their goods to more places. The more places that could be reached, the more money could be made. People could “travel cheaply from place to place, and not only travel at less expense, but travel ten times quicker,” (Document 9). This key factor is only one reason why the effects of the Industrial Revolution were, overall,

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.

Wages were very low for the amount of work people were expected to do. People would only make anywhere from $1.25-$1.50 for the entire 10-12 hour workday. Not only were these wages extremely low, but employees often lived in expensive company housing which left barely any money for the other necessities of life. Nobody was satisfied with the wages during this time period but another struggle was the long hours. People worked 60-80 hour work weeks in the hot overcrowded factories, only doing one monotonous job. Lastly, the boss was very distant from the work crowd and there was little to no contact between the two groups. Also, the workers were very controlled by the foreman. The doors were locked on all floors to prevent theft during the day and bathroom breaks would be monitored by a floor manager. Overall, during the late 1800’s everyone was overworked and underpaid and this led to many troubles as years went on.

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.

During the early 1800’s in the United States of America, both the Early Industrial Revolution and the Westward Expansion contributed to the sectional tension between the North and the South. While the North had factories popping up everywhere, the South had more and more land dedicated to plantations. To stay at the pace of the North, the South decided it would be beneficial if they were to become their cotton suppliers. With the invention of the cotton gin, cotton was being mass-produced and sent to the North to be made into items such as clothing. Whilst this was going on, the point of slavery became a big issue and the debate over it began, dividing the North and South more and more over time. The North didn't support slavery and instead, hired workers to work in the factories (specifically low-wage woman), while the South supported slavery and used African slaves to work on plantations. This caused many problems as both sides wanted more land to promote their opinion on slavery for either plantations or factories. Due to each of the sides having contradictory points of view on slavery, the Missouri Compromise and the addition of other territories such as during the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Treaty, and the Annexation of Texas, much strife occurred in the Senate. The Westward Expansion led to the desire for more land, therefore the United States expanded their land from the East coast to the West coast. The Westward Expansion promoted the addition of new land and

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.

The Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain and America around the late 1700’s to 1900. This revolution improved the production of goods using new mechanisms and machines. Human labor was in high demand in order for the highest production rates. Factories employed low to middle-class people that were as young as three years old (Document 9). These workers were benefited with money, shelter, and clothes, but the working and living conditions were not satisfying. The average industrial worker experienced a variety of factors that can be classified as good or bad, including the positive effects of labor, like the shelter, money, and food they were given; and the negative effects of the factory,

The working conditions and working rights in the late 1800s and early 1900s were lacking and required some help to make more humane. Before any of the laws that helped reform our nation, working in mines or factories was dangerous and not worth the effort. Secondly, the hours were unethical, as workers sometimes had to toil away for 12 hours, seven days a week with a one day break every two weeks. Workers who were fighting for their rights were not alone, as there were some people who also believed morality was more important at the moment. The changes made were for the better and made the world of hard labor a better place. Thankfully, these rules were not ever taken away and people now live to know that they will earn the money and rights that they deserve.

A Connecticut minister, Horace Bushnell, once said that the industrialization of the United States north produced a “complete revolution” in Americans’ “life and manners.” The complete revolution that Bushnell speaks of was an era of industrialization triggered by a population growth, an increase in literacy rates, and the development of labor-saving technologies in the northern region of the United States. This dramatic economic and social transformation instigated a series of outcomes, both positive and negative, for the United States during the early to mid nineteenth century. Many aspects of life for United States citizens were changing, such as the growing population in the north. In addition, women and people of color were finding

Reforms were made during industrialization to help improve the poor working conditions present in mines and factories that had been created by the rapidly expanding workforce. Workers often worked in conditions that had detrimental effects on their long term health and had many hazards. Miners were exposed to heavy falling rocks, excessive smoke, poisonous gas and bad air. They often got what is known as miners’ asthma and many died from it (Doc 1). Factory workers worked in cramped, unclean buildings that had many fire hazards and safety issues.

These big machines in the factories can and are very dangerous. In a document from an industrial worker, Joseph Hebergam who also testified before the Sadler Committee in 1832, says, “ ‘... nature of your illness? I have damaged lungs. My leg muscle do not function … causes of your illness? … caused by dust in the factories and from overwork … brother’s death … ? He was cut by a machine and died of infection.’”. This statement from the document shows a negative impact in the Industrial Revolution because it shows that workers get sick and die from working around these dangerous

In the time around 1900, “25-35,000 deaths and 1 million injuries per year occurred on industrial jobs” (The War Between Capital and Labor). Serious injuries were very common, and this was due to the fact that employers and the government did not care about the conditions that they were working in. People also worked extremely long hours. Men, women, and children were “employed in dangerous factories making glass, steel, or processed chemicals, and worked up to 18 hour shifts” (Child Labor in the Gilded Age). The workers worked these long hours almost every day of the week. Child labor was another reason how robber barons earned their

The working conditions of the average laborer during the industrial revolution were oftentimes harsh and dangerous as seen in documents in 1,2,3 and 5. According to the Sadler Committee of 1832, men were forced to work excessively long hours and were whipped to stay awake. (Doc. 1) Additionally, the Sadler Committee revealed that many workers have suffered from infections, disease and muscle problems. (Doc. 2) This shows that industrial factory owners oftentimes exploited their laborers for profit. Andrew Ure’s The Philosophy of Manufactures reveals that children in the factory

(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