Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, an era known as the Industrial Revolution saw significant changes in many nations' social, economic, and political institutions as well as in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation. The Industrial Revolution started in Britain in the late 1700s and by the middle of the 1800s had spread to other nations, especially the United States. It marked a shift away from manual production toward increased machine production. Even though this Revolution had many positive effects, it had a number more negative effects to outway the good that came of this Revolution. Because of the Industrial Revolution, child labor was introduced, poor working conditions became more prominent in the workforce, and rapid

Men were the best workers, but were more expensive to pay. So, factories across the country turned to children. They were cheap, in abundance, and were very easy to manipulate into working for that factory for most of their lives. Child labor was incredibly detrimental to the physical and mental well-being of children. Children were often exploited by employers to lower labor costs and maximize profits, resulting in low wages and a lack of basic rights. For example, The Urban game stated that , “Workers work long, hard hours in the factories. The average workday begins at 6:00 a.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m. There is only a 30-minute break for lunch.” This quote shows that the conditions in the favorites were not amiable to the workers, as they had very little time to themselves, and had quite long hours. And, most of these workers were children, so they received little pay as well. 6-9 is around a 13 hour work shift, and many others, children included, still had to help out their families apart from the jobs they had taken. Most were poor in the Industrial Revolution, so many lives consisted of work then sleep, and nothing else because they did not have the time.

It paved the way for modern technology, leading us to where we are today. But, it also made most people impoverished, sick, and vulnerable to all types of horrible things. The Industrial Revolution is known for its groundbreaking inventions, which are affordable, could help the average person make money and reach the higher classes. But alas, most were poor. In fact, the 3rd estate, which had 95% of the population, were all very poor and were all heavily taxed. This made it impossible for these people to use these new inventions, so they were stuck in an endless cycle of poverty and work. This high rate of impoverished people led to the low hygiene levels, which was the fire behind the spread of disease. Disease was a huge problem for the people of the Industrial Revolution, the 3rd estate. And since the Revolution was so sudden, most things were rushed, like housing. Housing was a rough topic for the people in the Industrial Revolution, as it was not what song is now. All houses were very poorly built, and therefore not very safe. Most people lived in houses called “Tenants”, which are similar to apartments. Many families and people were under one roof, but it was not as big as we know now. It was very tall, and since it was not well built whatsoever, many cases of them falling down and killing the residents were sadly common. This can be seen in