Ap World History Dbq Essay

466 Words2 Pages

The Industrial Revolution was a period in time where the invention of machines came to life in the 1700s in England. After spreading to many parts like Europe and the United States, the idea of using machines to work was later introduced in Japan. The use of the machines in Japan made it easier and more convenient for the workers to use. It also sped up the work progress and provided more production, but there were some disadvantages. Therefore, the costs did outweigh the benefits of having machines in Japan. Although some negatives like working with dangerous equipment and working endless hours were a part of working in a factory, there were some positives as well. While working, the workers would be able to socialize with each other while …show more content…

Women and children were the ones mostly risking their lives working in a factory. “In a factory in Japan, the women had to pull threads off silkworm cocoons and put them into a hot water basin” (Doc A). These silkworm cocoon threads were then threaded together to make clothing. This process might’ve been long and tiring as well as dangerous because they could get easily burned while working with these unsafe equipments. This is negative because the workers could’ve worked with equipments that weren’t as unsafe. These women worked very hard, but sometimes weren’t being treated fairly enough. “There were more females (12,519 women) than males (1,109 males) working in the factory” (Doc A). This means that women had to do most of the work. A worker’s day at work was another hardship. “They would commence their work at 4:05 am and end at 7:30 pm. During those 15 hours of hard labor, the workers would only receive 40 minutes in total for breakfast, lunch, and an extra break time” (Doc B). Waking up early in the day wasn’t their only hardship. They also had to work very hard, but only received a little for their work. These Japanese worker’s daily wage was also another cost. While men made 27 yen for their work, women were being paid with only 13 yen. This wasn’t even enough to buy what they needed such as food or other necessities. “For a female worker to buy a pound of sugar, she had to work 15 hours