Problems of industrialization Social Studies 9: Industrialization Unit

Class Objectives To know what the Factory System involved and how it had an impact on working conditions, including for women and children To understand that Industrial progress came at the expense of social conditions and safety To understand that Industrialization without regard for sustainable/safe practices can widen the poverty gap To understand the changes that were brought about by the reform acts

The Factory System What were the benefits of change? Labour Supply Greater efficiency in Agriculture  More food produced Excess Labour supply   People are healthier People move to cities People can work longer People work in factories

The Factory System What were the benefits of change? Technology Inventions created promoting Mechanization  Machines needed power & space Cottage industries became obsolete Large factories created to hold machines, power, labour and production

The Factory System What were the benefits of change? Profit Overhead is all of the expenses a business owner has to pay out before they can make a profit. Labour costs were part of overhead, so factory owners had to pay people before they could profit To make more profit, factory owners decided to get the most out of their labour for the least amount of money

How did Factory Owners Manage to Make Profit? Extremely low wages Very long working hours Dirty working conditions Unsafe conditions with dangerous machinery Taking advantage of the poorest families who needed money to survive…including the children Poor worker housing

Creating a Wealth Gap Between the “Haves” And the “Have nots”

What happens when there are “Haves” and “Have nots”? Initial Changes (slow steps to change) social reformers pushed for change in working conditions System of guilds for people to help themselves & band together Private charities e.g. soup kitchens…. But there was resistance to change from government… Parliament controlled by rich Reform clashed with Laissez-faire goal of economy first Made guilds illegal

Wait…this sounds familiar What does this remind us of? The Stages of Revolution! So we have discontent, attempts to change, people trying to prevent change…so what comes next? PROTEST! 1811 – LUDDITES ATTACK MACHINERY 1819 – PETERLOO MASSACRE 1838 – PEOPLES CHARTER

The Factory Acts Eventually Parliament members changed and so did their priorities News laws called the “Factory Acts” were passed 1802- illegal for children to work more than 12 hours 1819 – illegal to hire children under 9 1824 – workers associations became legal But this was all just the first step…

British Society Prevented Change Upper Class /Society Middle Class Lower Middle Class Working Class Laws introduced were not regulated The British Class system maintained the gap between rich and poor

The Poor Law What prevented it from working? Been in existence, and unchanged, since 16th century Supposed to help the needy Run by local parishes Needed to help solve problems of cramped cities Greater #people in need = more stress on poor law What prevented it from working? Money raised by taxes on middle/ upper class They complained suggesting giving hand outs encouraged people to have children they couldn’t afford….leading to more needy people Suggestion that the old Poor Law kept wages low as people could get help from the parishes

The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act stopped money going to poor people except in exceptional circumstances. if people wanted help they had to go into a workhouse to get it. The poor were given clothes and food in the workhouse in exchange for several hours of manual labour each day. Families were split up inside the workhouse. People had to wear a type of uniform, follow strict rules and were on a bad diet of bread and watery soup. Conditions were made so terrible that only those people who desperately needed help would go there

Response to Amendment Who supported the Amendment? Landowners James Kay-Shuttleworth (Poor Law Commissioner) believed that people were poor because of their own foolishness. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/britishsociety/thepoorrev3.shtml Who opposed the Amendment? Richard Oastler (a political campaigner) saw Act as cruel and unchristian. In north England they rioted and attacked workhouses. Many people thought that the act was wrong as it seemed to punish people who were poor through no fault of their own, for example the sick or the old. Anti-Poor Law committees organised meetings and petitions calling for the act to be repealed.

So how did things get better? Population growth led to emigration to the colonies Irish Potato Famine & Highland Clearances also pushed people to the colonies 1832 – abolition of slavery – rise in wages 1833 – remove child labour 1838 Peoples Charter campaigned for parliamentary reform looking for: Votes for all men. Equal electoral districts. Abolition of the requirement that Members of Parliament [MPs] be property owners. Payment for Members of Parliament. Annual general elections. The secret ballot.

Problems of Industrialization Today Problems still exist today, where the “have nots” continue to work in terrible conditions due to poverty and lack of options Homework Read the 3 articles posted on the Bangladeshi factory Write a journal response to the question: Who was to blame for the factory disaster? Was there more than one person/group/factor that was at fault? Can we balance our wants for consumption & profit with the needs of peoples lives? What do we need to change to make it happen?