Impact of Industrialism

Nature of Work The Cottage Industry (homemade goods) was replaced by the Factory System (machine-made goods). Working Conditions: Work day was 12-16 hours (only 1 hr break) Work week was 6 days (plus ½ day on Sunday) Wage for Women & Children = 3 Pence/day (3 cents a day) Wage for Men = 15 Shillings/day ($1 a day) Differences in wages would lead to competition for work between men and women & children Orphans were not paid at all – factory owners claimed that food and clothing counted as wages.

Nature of Work Factory Owners preferred to hire children because it kept costs low and profits high! Owners of mines and factories held enormous control over the lives of their workers Beatings, “Weightings”, and refusing to pay workers for not producing enough were all common forms of control.

Injuries and Death Machines were often highly dangerous and often broke down or had exposed parts that caused injuries Children as young as 6 or 7 were hired as scavengers to climb under the machines to collect loose cotton Older children were hired as piecers to climb between or inside machines to tie loose threads back together

Injuries and Death Coal workers were exposed to unventilated conditions, breathing in coal which led to black lung disease

Impact on Slavery The cotton gin increased the demand for slave labor on American plantations. The United States and Great Britain outlawed the slave trade and then slavery. (Only after Britain had imperial colonies, like India that also produced cotton, and after the Civil War was fought in the US)

Social Effects Reform: by 1833, Britain passed a series of laws to regulate child labor. (Factory Act of 1833) Social reformers exposed conditions inside factories and industrial towns. Education: access to public education increased the standard of living for all social classes Suffrage: as women left the home and entered the factories, they became more politically involved – demanding better working conditions and their right to vote.

Labor Unions Organized workers together to fight for better wages and working conditions They used labor strikes as a means of bringing attention to their problems and get factory owners to negotiate with them They also lobbied governments to pass laws that would improve the lives of all workers, even women and children. The ability of workers (union) to negotiate with factory owners (management) for improvements in working conditions is known as collective bargaining Coal Miners’ striking

Tenements

Tenements

Tenements

Tenements