ipl-logo

Working Conditions During The Industrial Revolution

566 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The economic impact of the industrial revolution

The Industrial Revolution marked a significant turning point in human history. It began in the late 18th century and transformed society in Europe and North America, leading to unprecedented economic growth and technological advancement. As machines took over production, the traditional forms of labor were no longer adequate, and significant changes occurred in working conditions, social classes, the size of cities, and living conditions.

Firstly, workers during the Industrial Revolution were subject to harsh and dangerous conditions. Many factory workers were required to work long hours in unsafe and unhygienic conditions. They were forced to work in poorly lit, overcrowded spaces without ventilation, rest breaks, or sanitary facilities. Moreover, workers had no job security, and their employers exercised harsh discipline, including fines, imprisonment, and even corporal punishment. There were no safety regulations, and many factory accidents led to injuries, disabilities, and death. For example, in 1818, a steam boiler explosion in a Manchester factory killed 18 people and injured dozens more. These harsh working conditions made workers vulnerable and exposed them to significant risks. …show more content…

Workers organized unions and strikes to demand better working conditions, higher wages, and job security. They protested against the exploitation and oppression of the working class and called for greater political and social equality. For example, the Tolpuddle Martyrs in England were a group of workers who formed a union and were sentenced to transportation to Australia for their efforts. In the United States, the Haymarket Riot in Chicago in 1886 led to the establishment of the eight-hour workday. These protests and social movements were essential to the Industrial Revolution and shaped the future of labor rights, social justice, and

Show More
Related
394 Words | 2 Pages

Unsafe working conditions plagued next to, if not, all factories during industrialization. Thousands of workers grew ill or suffered injuries as a consequence of their labor, and would yield their jobs, surrendering their source of income. Taken in the early 1900s, “Lewis Hine’s picture depicts two children working on a very dangerous machine” (Document 8). The matter that children were allowed to manage these machines is awful enough, ignoring just how dangerous the machines were. In addition to this, the children did not appear to be well supervised, which made it all too easy for a disastrous injury to occur.

Read More
589 Words | 3 Pages

The Triangle Shirtwaist laborers, much like a lot of industrial workers in the New York at that time, worked for up to 13 hours a day. Not to mention that they only had a half-hour break during their shifts, which often consisted of working with unsafe, foot pedal-operated sewing machineries in poorly conditioned rooms. The workers were locked inside the rooms most of the time because the owners thought that that would be a good way to keep the workers from stealing any equipment. However, the poor work conditions made the people in the labor union unhappy and anxious to do something to stop the mistreatment of laborers. They called for a strike against Triangle Shirtwaist in

Read More
253 Words | 2 Pages

Although many people were being employed and paid, working conditions were very hazardous and payment was unfair. Workers would work twelve to eighteen hours a day, but got poorly paid by their

Read More
271 Words | 2 Pages

The factories were also not heated or cooled so the workers would get very hot or very cold. Back then there were no laws to protect the lives of the workers and most of the time the factory owners cared meore about the making of money than the employies which also didn’t help with the saftey issues. There were

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

Working conditions during the Industrial Revolution were unhealthy and dangerous for the low-skilled workers. This is seen most prominently in Joseph Hebergam’s 1832 testimony before Parliament, where in response

Read More
674 Words | 3 Pages

People may encounter obstacles at times, but the way they overcome those obstacles matures them. Horatio Hornblower encountered many obstacles on his journey, and he matured a lot through his actions with each obstacle. Through the book, Horatio matures and develops self-worth. When Hornblower first encounters Simpson, he sees that Simpson is very aggressive; this makes Hornblower timorous.

Read More
985 Words | 4 Pages

The amount of time most adults worked was beyond unhealthy, but, what made it worse was that kids as young as nine were sent into the mill to work 6 1/2 hours. This was from Document G as Document G also described that adults were working more than 12 hours a day in warm, and damp air in the factories. Being in warm and damp conditions for half of a day every day is beyond miserable for the body physically and mentally. Many sicknesses were passed as a result from this which resulted in many deaths. It was clear that the health of most adults were detoriating, but it was still ultimately decided to put kids to work like adults even though children generally are not as healthy as adults.

Read More
626 Words | 3 Pages

The Industrial Revolution brought about significant changes to the workplace. In Document 1, Thomas Bernhard describes the working conditions of children employed in Mr. Dale's cotton mills. While children in other factories faced harsh working conditions, Mr. Dale's factory had special regulations to protect the health and morals of those under his protection. Out of nearly 3,000 children employed in the mills from 1785 to 1797, only fourteen have died, and not one has been the object of judicial punishment.

Read More
1028 Words | 5 Pages

However, working in a factory usually meant harsh and unsafe conditions, a low pay rate, and long working hours (Carter and Wilkinson). The workers were also forced to live in crowded conditions, and often had poor housing and low sanitation (Betts). With this in mind, there was an increase in deaths not only from the disease, and many were killed or injured due to harsh conditions. Their work was more strictly monitored, and people had to work long hours, their time was managed by the factory owner, and was harmful to their health (Betts). As a result of employment, there was an increased demand for laborers, specifically children.

Read More
1038 Words | 5 Pages

Problems like these angered the workers and caused labor unions to form. Some labor unions included the American Federation of Labor (AFL), or the Knights of Labor (KoL), which were the first two industrial labor unions. The industrial unions did more physical rebellion such as strikes or walk-outs, but both the industrial unions and the farmer unions were formed due to the people’s

Read More
1433 Words | 6 Pages

The workers were often subjected to sweltering heat in the summer and frigid conditions in the winter. But, that was not it, at the time there were no laws in place that required businesses to ensure their employees' safety, and this regularly lead to many injuries and fatalities in the workplace on a daily basis. There was not a single work place that did not have injured or mutilated employees, and this was due to the unsafe working conditions of the factories, “Let a man so much as scrape his finger pushing a truck in the pickle-rooms, and he might have a sore that would put him out of the world; all the joints in his fingers might be eaten by the acid, one by one… There were men who worked in the cooking rooms… in these rooms the germs of tuberculosis might live for two years, but the supply was renewed every hour.” (109).

Read More
1367 Words | 6 Pages

But alas, most workers were in dangerous jobs, and a lot were hurt or killed. Working conditions were so bad, that labor organizations were formed, and strikes and protests began to have the government to step in and help the average american. Paragraph 2: With urbanization, corporations and companies looked for ways to cut corners, or increase their profit margin. This lead to some safety issues.

Read More
1383 Words | 6 Pages

The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes from 1760 to sometime in between 1820 and 1840. It was a major turning point in history that influenced almost every aspect of daily life. Before the Industrial Revolution women and men had jobs inside of the household. Some men worked outside and were getting paid to do so. Many were self-employed farmers, craftsmen, and other occupations.

Read More
799 Words | 4 Pages

Good morning to all! Today I will be talking about the working conditions during the industrial revolution. Well to start, the industrial revolution took place from the 18th century to the 19th century. The industrial revolution originally began in Britain in the late 1700s. To sum it up, The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes.

Read More
882 Words | 4 Pages

The Industrial Revolution was a major change in the nature of production in which machines replaced tools and steam and other energy sources replaced human or animal power. The Industrial Revolution began in England in the middle 1700s. During the Industrial Revolution, workers became more productive, items were manufactured, prices dropped, making hard to make items available to the working and middle class and not only the wealthy. Life generally improved, but the Industrial Revolution was also harmful. Pollution increased, working conditions were harmful, and capitalists employed women and young children, making them work long hours for low wages.

Read More

More about Working Conditions During The Industrial Revolution

Related Topics

Open Document