The Impacts Of The Industrial Revolution

From around 1750 to 1900 Britain went through major changes or transformation in industry, agriculture and transportation that affected everybody’s lives. For some it generally improved their lives, however not all were so lucky. The industrial revolution brought with it many changes good for some and bad for others.

The working conditions of the new arrivals were hardly any better, as employees of factories were often overworked, underpaid, and penned up in dangerous conditions. Perhaps the horrors of these conditions can be highlighted by the devastating 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. Tragically, over one hundred young women lost their lives in the fire, as there was no way to get out, and the doors were locked, trapping the women inside. Safety was not the only problem, as workers initially were not given the right to organize into unions, essentially doomed to the repetitive motions of factory operation. This meant that they had no way to protest against child labor, wage slavery, and unhealthily long working hours. Eventually, with their growing clout and ever-present industrial dependence on their labor, workers organized and demanded reform along all aspects of hazardous working conditions.

“People were forced to work in harsh, dangerous conditions in order to be able to provide for their families” (Document 8). Although most people were grateful to have a job, the conditions that they were forced to work for in order to provide for their families were unfair to them, and their families. Just because they obtained a job one day, doesn’t mean they would have it the next day, for example, if an employee was sick, or injured and had to miss a day of work the employee wasn’t guaranteed to continually have the job after they finally recovered. “I am at work in a spinning room tending four sides of warp which is one girl’s work” (Document 1) working conditions such as these are very harsh for the employees, not only do they have to keep up with the work of four people. Not only do the employees have to keep up with the sea of work, they also have to attempt not to get injured with the very harsh conditions lots of employees did in fact end up with serious injuries. “5 in the morning till 9 at night…” (Document 7) Those were the harsh working hours according to twenty-three year old Elizabeth Bentley. Long hours such as those were very common for factory workers, which made life hard for employees. Not only was harsh working conditions bad, but also the worst consequence that came about through the Industrial Revolution was child

Dangerous factory conditions also had a negative effect on society. Although the factory system positively helped to advance technology, its environments were horrendous. Firstly, these horrible conditions brought on multiple types of health risks (Document 3). Due to epidemics spread from factories, workers could be subdued to respiratory problems and could gain permanent deformities on their body. Secondly, when workers

Mortality rates were decreasing rapidly. This was not only an effect of the poor living conditions, but also of the high pollution that was being created by the factories. Conditions for adult and children in the factory during the Industrial Revolution were unrelenting in its enforcement of tough rules, long hours and its unsanitary and, sometimes, dangerous environment. According to author, the mill work that Sam and the other children did was dangerous nor particularly difficult. Children of the Industrial Revolution perhaps suffered more than the adults also “some of the children had their hands terribly lacerated by the carding machine”. Owners realized that children were easier to train and control and they were forced to work as young as eight years old. They worked for many hours in factories and were denied their education. At such a young age, education and the support of family would have been instrumental in the development of such an impressionable mind. The innocence of what it means to be a child was exploited by the business owners who wished only to gain more

The Industrial Revolution was a predominantly negative period in history, greatly affecting the lives of the poor working-class. Starting in 1750, rapid urbanization occurred, resulting in the higher and middle-class benefiting; but only because they were rich before it began. The working-class, however, became even more unfortunate as the era went on and were forced to become factory workers or miners. These men, women and children all faced harsh environmental factors, including the new technology of advanced machines and a shift in their family lifestyle.

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

During the 20 Century, working conditions began to get worst. Many workers were earning wages they were not satisfied with. Factories that the worker were working in contained dangerous machinery that put the employees in harm of being badly injured. They had no safety from which protected them in case of an emergency. Thus, them not having protection workers would lose legs, fingers, and arms.

In the means of health affected by the Industrial Revolution the negatives outweighed the positives. In document 4, Excerpt from the testimony of Joseph Hebergam to the Sadler Committee, is about a man who tells his story of working in a dangerous job in a factory. His health was impacted vigorously for the worse of things. From being overworked day after day his lungs were damaged so badly he was told he would die within a year. His leg muscles did not function right because of being overworked. Hebergam’s legs could not even support the weight of himself. The reason why he would die within a year was because of the dusts in the factory and having an insufficient diet. Others had died because of factory incidents. Hembergam’s brother died because he was cut by a machine and died of infection. The machines were not properly protected to the point of being the cause of many child deaths. Hembergam tells of a story from the last factory he worked at and how two siblings died because they both were severely injured. In document 1, an excerpt from William Cooper’s testimony before the Sadler Committee, tells about a man who had to work from seven in the morning to eleven at night with a very small amount of time to eat whatever he had brought that would spoil. The consequences of the small lunch period with what they had brought from their home where the health of the workers. Ice packs were not yet

-During this time factory workers faced harsh working conditions and had low paying wages. They weren't given basic rights as workers and they were certainly not protected. The conditions they had to work in were horrible having due that there weren't any reliable emergency exits and they were exposed to unsafe, dangerous equipment. In many cases workers lost limbs or were seriously

The introduction of factories and assembly lines created more jobs and this intrigued and influenced Americans to move near local factories to begin working. The creation of jobs in textile factories lowered the unemployment rate of the nation, but also gave migrant workers a way of making a living as they could work for cheaper and this outraged the community searching for jobs in the South. With the amount of people desperate for jobs, factory employers could set wages as low as they wanted, knowing that they could always find workers to agree to their terms. With the introduction of high-efficiency assembly lines and factories came the dangerous working conditions that employees had to face while working in factories. Many factories had machines that spat out smoke and this created health risks for many workers as they were covered in black soot at the end of each workday. Even children had to work in these rough factories and many of them developed deformities due to the lack of exercise and sunlight. Another health-related issue of machinery in factories was the amount of machines that had no safety precautions, putting American workers at risk every time they used the machines. Along with these harsh and dangerous work conditions, employees were only allowed two breaks per day; one for lunch and one for dinner. These conditions led to labor unions and protests

The working conditions in 1800’s factories were terrible. These factories were vats for diseases, sickness, and injury. They had overly long hours and minimal breaks. The people in working in these factories must have been mad.

The industrialization period that took place during the 19th century brought forth a great deal of change for workers. Although these changes made for more efficient production, the workers also faced harsh work conditions, which were extremely dangerous as well as believed to be the cause of early deaths for some. These conditions included long work hours without breaks, exposure to pollution and new machinery, and the use of child labor. Fortunately, the critique of these harsh conditions led to improved conditions for workers and new laws protecting the worker rights.

Often, the children were made to work “from five in the morning till nine or ten at night”, with “no time … for breakfast and no sitting for dinner and no time for tea”. These constant and long working hours not only can lead to mental and physical suffering, but they can also cause an increase in injury rates from working in general due to mental and physical fatigue. Additionally, the superiors of the workers often beat the children mercilessly. According to a firsthand account from John Birley, who was a child laborer at the time, a supervisor once “knocked me down knocked me down and threatened me with a stick. To save my head I raised my arm, which he then hit with all his might. My elbow was broken. I bear the marks, and suffer pain from it to this day, and always shall as long as I live...”. This act demonstrates the cruelty the child workers suffered at the hands of the superiors, due to the utter lack of regulation of these textile mills. In fact, the replaceable nature of their jobs and the Combination Acts essentially forced the children to endure this treatment, as they had no other way to support their families. This account is supported by similar accounts from an unbiased third-party doctor who investigated the mills. He stated that not only were the textile mills “nurseries of disease and vice”, the

During the Industrial Revolution, the laborious factories of big manufacturing companies posed no breezy task for their arduous workers. According to Sadie Frowne, a migrant worker in New York, “The machines go like mad all day…sometimes in the haste I get my finger caught and the needle goes right through it". In this quote, Frowne is describing the hazardous, rapid working conditions in a sweatshop in Manhattan. This shows that the workers’ safety