Conditions of laborers and the role of women in society has been constantly evolving over the course of history. However, these two major groups experienced the most drastic alterations during the Industrial Revolution. Between the 19th and early 20th centuries, laborers diversified in age, while labor conditions declined. During this same time period, the role of women was reinvented as females searched for work and changed their role within the family.
To begin, industrialization was the instigator of mass factory production across the globe. The increase in factories meant the increase of job opportunities. Since poverty was rampant at this time, a mass of people looked to the factories in search of work, even though factory owners
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Furthermore, “By the 1830's the normal working
day...was considered to be 12 hours...though longer hours might be worked by children in domestic workshops (Hopkins, 55).” This shows the exact extremes to which laborers worked; half of his or her day was literally spent in the factory.
To continue, as the Industrial Revolution progressed, woman began to revolutionize their own roles within the workforce. “...the impetus of technology, science and medicine freed women from the biological constraints, opening up new job opportunities (Oxley, and Nicholas 724).” Not only could women now go out and seek employment, but they had the opportunity to shake the age-old tradition of a woman being caged within the walls of her own home. However, “...trades employing woman involved irregular employment, long hours, and poor pay (Oxley, and Nicholas, 739).” Woman had the opportunity to work, but most of the time they were better off staying at home due to the poor working conditions.
Also, because of the Industrial Revolution, woman's role within the family began to change. “Declining job opportunities in the paid labor market diminished the power of woman in the family, limiting their 'rights' to intrahousehold resources... (Oxley, and Nicholas 739).” Women were now not only less appreciated in the workforce, but their inability to maintain steady employment could also end up diminishing
Woman along with the children were affected while working during the industrial revolution. During 1834 and 1836 Harriet Martineau, a British feminist and abolitionist, visited America and enthusiastically embraced the social implications of the Industrial Revolution, (DTA, 223). Martineau compared the lifestyle of women to slaves and said the United States contradicted the principles of the Declaration of Independence. She did believe though with some progress that it could become New England’s new industrial order. One of the Mill factories Martineau visited, Waltham Mill, was a prime example of the scheduled lifestyle of women mill workers. Women Mill workers of all ages worked at Waltham Mill, which I compared to a boarding school because of their strict schedules. The ladies had a time to wake up, to be at work, to eat, and to go to school. A lot of women did not mind the harsh conditions they lived and worked in because they fought for their equality of rights for a long time now.
In the 19th century, the Market Revolution was created, resulting significance in American history by redefining the roles for genders, especially for women. During this time, factories began to appear changing the nature of work for men and women. Although, women were employed cheaper because at the time in Colonial America, men were considered superior to women, even in terms of morality. Some women worked effectively by applying their strength of factories, while other women adapted to a private lifestyle avoiding conflicts in the market economy. However, the privileges were determined based on a family’s class status, which were middle and upper classmen that gave a higher advantage than those who were poor. Those who were married had no
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.
During the long nineteenth century, political revolutions, industrialization, and European imperialism resulted in dramatic changes in the role of women in Western Europe and Eastern Asia. As industrialization spread in Western Europe, women were no longer able to fulfill their dual role as a mother and a worker. After the introduction of industrialization, laborious tasks were moved from the household to factories and women were forced to choose either the life of a mother or the life of a worker. Women who chose to leave their households were subjected to harsh conditions, low wages, and long hours. The majority of married and middle-class women were confined to the home, and deprived of an education and civil rights. Unlike the
With the help of the Industrial Revolution, women made significant strives in changing the traditional economic roles given to females. Before the industrial revolution the only opportunity for a woman to be financially secure was for that woman to marry a financially secure husband. This created women’s dependence on men because if the man died they would have no source of income. The Industrial Revolution provided many women with jobs of their own helping women to become self-dependant. This self-dependence allowed for women to pursue interests not involving men, such as
Industrialization took place earlier in the western countries than the other parts of the world. Through the introduction of machines that made work easier in the industries, employment was no longer a man’s thing and women found an opportunity to work (Carlin 318). The revolution created a shortage in labor and textile factories absorbed young single ladies from the rural areas. The
The Second Industrial Revolution had a major impact on women's lives. After being controlled fro so long women were experiencing what it was like to live an independent life. In the late nineteenth century women were participating in a variety of experiences, such as social disabilities confronted by all women, new employment patterns, and working class poverty and prostitution. These experiences will show how women were perceived in the Second Industrial Revolution.
However, not only did women work in the fields they also produce goods, and services; such as clothing, personal hygiene items, and food to be sold in order to build -up their coffer’s through that of their overabundance of supplies. This impact took place during the 1700’s and beyond, when women from all aspects of life filled these domestic jobs while working for very little pay; getting absolutely nothing at all for their work. During the 1800’s, however, this all changed for women and soon these women we’re categorized as being unskilled workers this causing tremendous consequences for these women; especially when the men return for war and once again took on the gender roles to which women were now a custom too.
The Industrial Revolution was a period of industrial and urban growth in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. This period marked a transition from an agrarian based system, to one focused exclusively on economics and commodity production. Industrialization introduced innovative technology and the formation of factories would ultimately change how goods and materials were made. During the American Revolution, women were responsible for in-home production that aided the war effort, using their production as a means to contribute publically. As America transitioned from this period into the period of the Industrial Revolution, these widened roles became more restrictive, women were no longer producers, they were consumers, and it was not a common practice for women to work outside of the home. This generated an opportunity for women to challenge newly forming gender ideals in which women’s societal expectations were constructed according to the masculine majority and falling outside of these expectations was deemed inappropriate. The Industrial Revolution prompted an enlightenment period in which gender ideals suggested that men were intellectually superior to women and this perceived superiority helped to influence distinct public and private spheres of influence for both men and women and presented the idea that women had a specific set of virtues to uphold according to the “cult of true womanhood.”
In my thesis, I contend that the Industrial Revolution impacted women because women in the working and poor classes were a key labor force in mills and factories, they supported their role as the backbone of the household economy by completing housework in the middle class, and finally the Industrial Revolution made an impact on the contributions of ideas made by women.
The industrial revolution in both the United States and England relied heavily on roles in the household and society. Men, woman, children and minorities all had a set place in society before the industrial revolution. During the revolution and sense of enlightenment changed the roles of these individuals. In the middle of the 1800’s there was change in the role of men, the workplace was no longer a farm or working in the town, rather men were expected to be entrepreneurs. Men, unlike woman, were seen as aggressive and built to work in a savage work place were they could bring home the bread for the family. In England several factory jobs were quite laborious, as well as in the US, however many emigrants that came to the United States had a different sense of what labor as a man meant. Labor was no longer
During Britain’s Industrial Revolution, a multitude of different jobs were opened to the working class of men, women, and children. While this era offered a wide variety of new opportunities for everyone, women were somewhat excluded in areas such as occupation availability and wage due to the cultural norms of the time period.
The Industrial Revolution is the name given to the movement in which machines changed people's way of life as well as their methods of manufacturer. It brought three important changes: inventions of machines that simplify and speed up the work of hand tools, use of steam (and other power) versus human power, adoption of a factory system. Workers were brought together under one roof and were supplied machines. The Industrial Revolution began throughout the world relatively during the same time period, and although it had its beginning in remote times, it is still continuing in some places.
The industrial revolution swept through Europe and North America during the 19th century, affecting the class structure, economy, government, and even the religious practices of everyone who lived in or did commerce with these new "industrialized nations." It made the modern age possible, but it was not without its "growing pains." The position of women before the industrial revolution was often equivalent to chattel, and then as now, they were expected to take naturally to housework and child rearing. The history of working women in the Industrial Revolution is rife with accounts of abuse and tragedy, but overall it improved their position in capitalist societies. Below, I will explain the
The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was arguably the most important turning point in history. It transformed the manufacture of goods from craftsmanship to commercialism, exponentially increasing output and decreasing production cost leading to prosperity and an unprecedented supply of goods for the markets of the world. Industrialization and mass production was the fuel which ignited the flame of capitalism which was already established creating bringing sweeping changes in wealth and its distribution. Within a few generations the very fabric of society was virtually remade as millions left the farms and villages of the countryside for jobs in the cities. This monumental change did not immediately sweep