The Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution  Industrial Revolution - History Channel Industrial Revolution - History Channel  The Industrial Revolution - History Channel 2 The Industrial Revolution - History Channel 2

Industrial Revolution in the U.S.  19 th Century, followed Industrial Revolution in Europe  New technological innovations  Higher productivity/production, higher agricultural output  New auto industry, steel and oil industry  Expansion of railroad system  Better transportation, goods and people are more easily moved from place to place

New Jobs in the Industrial Revolution  Mill workers  Factory workers  New automobile industry  Textiles  Assembly lines more common  Mine workers  Newsboys/Newsies  Large Farm workers

Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution  It fostered the growth of big industries in the U.S.  The country became more urbanized, as most factories were in cities  A lot of factories and mills were in the northern U.S.  The southern U.S. was still more agrarian  1800: 0 cities with populations >100,000  1900: 18 cities with populations >100,000  Rural/Urban % Populations  1800: 93.9/ : 39.6 / 60.4

Consequences of Industrialization  Greater movement from the country to the city  Goods were cheaper to produce and sell  Workers didn’t need to be skilled  More women and children in the work force  Also provided jobs for immigrants to the U.S.  They could work long hours doing monotonous tasks

Background Day 2Background Day 2

Victorian Work SongVictorian Work Song

Child Labor BasicsChild Labor Basics  Children worked in jobs all over the United States, in rural and urban settings  Older children were more often employed than younger ones, but children of all ages worked

What kind of work did children do?  In factories and mills  As newsboys– sold newspapers on the streets  On farms and in agriculture – picking fruit and other crops  As bootblacks polishing shoes and peddlers selling goods on the streets  In mines, underground and as breaker boys

Why would firms employ children?  It’s all about ECONOMICS and choices  Human Resources: Children were cheaper to employ  If you pay your workers fewer wages, you make more money/profit  They were easier to manage than adults (the alternative)  Smaller size was more appealing for certain jobs  They didn’t unionize (at first)

Why would children choose to work?  Again, it’s all about economics and choices  Most often, to help their families make money  But also to make their own money  Some kids wanted to feel independent

Consequences of Children in the Labor Force  By 1900, nearly 20% of workers in the U.S. were under the age of 16.  Children were forced to give up an education to make money for their families  Children competed with adults in the workforce  More families in poverty, even though children brought in an income as well

Child Labor bad wages & no education Deterior- ating labor standards Adult unem- ployment Family poverty

Decline in Child LaborDecline in Child Labor  The Fight to End Child Labor The Fight to End Child Labor  Labor Unions fought for an end to child labor  Though many people in the early 20 th agreed child labor was wrong, laws were not passed or followed…  … Until the Great Depression when adults didn’t want any more competition for jobs

Child Labor LawsChild Labor Laws  1916: Keating-Owen Bill– first child labor bill  But was shot down by the Supreme Court  1941: Fair Labor Standards Act upheld  Prohibited the employment of minors in “oppressive child labor”