Factory System Sect 2-3

The Factory System Machines made work easier, and it was easier to learn how to run a machine as compared to being an apprentice. Women and children could operate machines just as efficiently as men, but their wages were lower. Early textile factories employed mainly children and young women. In the factory system each worker performed only a small part of their entire job.

Wage System The owners paid their workers wages based on the number of hours worked or the amount of goods produced. Several factors determined workers’ wages. First, factory owners wanted to produce goods as cheaply as possible. Employers set the wages in relation to other costs of production. If they had in increase in land or capital workers wages would then decrease.

Number of workers also affected wages. An over supply of workers brought wages down. Owners of textile factories would pay more to get young women to come to work for them instead of working as household servants. Men made twice as much as women. There were very few opportunities to advance within the factory.

Working Class Factory workers: Strict schedules to follow. They had to arrive on time. They could only eat or take breaks at set times. They could only leave with permission. They worked weather hot or cold, summer or winter, day or night. Breaking any rules would result in fines, pay cuts, or even job loss. Sanitary conditions were poor. Accidents happened frequently. No compensation if a worker was hurt on the job.

Working Class Average day consisted of working from 5 a.m. in the morning until 9 p.m. at night. They were beaten if late or worked to slowly. Start working at age 5. Lived in apartments know as tenements, a dozen people lived in a single room. Children didn’t attend school.

Middle class Consisted of Bankers, Lawyers, doctors, etc. Middle class gained social influence and political power. Well educated Rising social status could move up the social ladder. Men wore suits and women wore fancy dresses with frills and lace.

Effects on Women Women through out history worked just as hard as men and along side their men in family businesses. Industrialization brought the families to the cities. Women then took jobs within the textile mills or factories. Young women would take jobs as nannies, maids, and cooks. Middle class families had money so the mothers wouldn’t have to work. “It was often said that a woman’s nature equipped her only for these tasks.” Some women sought for work outside the home for independence and a way to earn a living. Their jobs consisted of nurses, secretaries, and telephone operators. The grow in public education opened up school teaching to women.

New methods and Business Organizations Capitalism describes an economic system in which individuals or corporations, rather than governments, control the factors of production. Industrialization changed the way people worked. Factory owners divided the manufacturing process into steps. The division of labor increased production and lowered cost of production which made it profitable for the owners.

New methods and Business Organizations The assembly line: system of producing large numbers of identical items is known as mass production. Division of labor, the use of interchangeable parts, and the assembly line are essential for mass production. Each part is made at different areas of the factory and then brought to a single location to assemble this saved time and money.

Rise of the Corporation Business organization became common, businesses formed groups called corporations. These corporations allowed people to buy stock in their companies. This allowed directors to run certain aspects of the companies based on their stock holdings. Some corporations gained almost complete control of the production or sale of a single good or service. These are called monopolies.

By the 1900’s several of companies/ monopolies combined to control every stage of the industry. In the Steel industry they would own the coal and iron mines, steel mills, and factories. These business combinations were know as cartels.

Monopoly of Steel J.P. Morgan Andrew Carnegie