Problems of industrialization

1. Problems of industrialization Social Studies 9: Industrialization Unit

2. Class Objectives • To know what the Factory System involved and how it had an impact on working conditions, including for women and children • To understand that Industrial progress came at the expense of social conditions and safety • To understand that Industrialization without regard for sustainable/safe practices can widen the poverty gap • To understand the changes that were brought about by the reform acts

3. The Factory System What were the benefits of change? Labour Supply Greater efficiency in Agriculture  More food produced Excess Labour supply   People are healthier People move to cities   People can work longer People work in factories

4. The Factory System What were the benefits of change? Technology Inventions created promoting Mechanization  Machines needed power & space  Cottage industries became obsolete  Large factories created to hold machines, power, labour and production

5. The Factory System What were the benefits of change? Profit • Overhead is all of the expenses a business owner has to pay out before they can make a profit. • Labour costs were part of overhead, so factory owners had to pay people before they could profit • To make more profit, factory owners decided to get the most out of their labour for the least amount of money

6. How did Factory Owners Manage to Make Profit? • Extremely low wages • Very long working hours • Dirty working conditions • Unsafe conditions with dangerous machinery • Taking advantage of the poorest families who needed money to survive…including the children • Poor worker housing

7. Creating a Wealth Gap • Between the “Haves” • And the “Have nots”

8. What happens when there are “Haves” and “Have nots”? Initial Changes (slow steps to change) • social reformers pushed for change in working conditions • System of guilds for people to help themselves & band together • Private charities e.g. soup kitchens…. But there was resistance to change from government… • Parliament controlled by rich • Reform clashed with Laissez-faire goal of economy first • Made guilds illegal

9. Wait…this sounds familiar What does this remind us of? • The Stages of Revolution! So we have discontent, attempts to change, people trying to prevent change…so what comes next? PROTEST! • 1811 – LUDDITES ATTACK MACHINERY • 1819 – PETERLOO MASSACRE • 1838 – PEOPLES CHARTER

10. The Factory Acts • Eventually Parliament members changed and so did their priorities • News laws called the “Factory Acts” were passed 1802- illegal for children to work more than 12 hours 1819 – illegal to hire children under 9 1824 – workers associations became legal But this was all just the first step…

11. British Society Prevented Change • Laws introduced were not regulated • The British Class system maintained the gap between rich and poor

12. The Poor Law • Been in existence, and unchanged, since 16th century • Supposed to help the needy • Run by local parishes • Needed to help solve problems of cramped cities Greater #people in need = more stress on poor law What prevented it from working? • Money raised by taxes on middle/ upper class • They complained suggesting giving hand outs encouraged people to have children they couldn’t afford….leading to more needy people • Suggestion that the old Poor Law kept wages low as people could get help from the parishes

13. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act • stopped money going to poor people except in exceptional circumstances. • if people wanted help they had to go into a workhouse to get it. • The poor were given clothes and food in the workhouse in exchange for several hours of manual labour each day. • Families were split up inside the workhouse. • People had to wear a type of uniform, follow strict rules and were on a bad diet of bread and watery soup. • Conditions were made so terrible that only those people who desperately needed help would go there

14. Response to Amendment • Who opposed the Amendment? • Richard Oastler (a political campaigner) saw Act as cruel and unchristian. • In north England they rioted and attacked workhouses. • Many people thought that the act was wrong as it seemed to punish people who were poor through no fault of their own, for example the sick or the old. • Anti-Poor Law committees organised meetings and petitions calling for the act to be repealed. • Who supported the Amendment? • Landowners • James Kay-Shuttleworth(Poor Law Commissioner) believed that people were poor because of their own foolishness. • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/britishsociety/thepoorrev3.shtml

15. So how did things get better? • Population growth led to emigration to the colonies • Irish Potato Famine & Highland Clearances also pushed people to the colonies • 1832 – abolition of slavery – rise in wages • 1833 – remove child labour • 1838 Peoples Charter campaigned for parliamentary reform looking for: • Votes for all men. • Equal electoral districts. • Abolition of the requirement that Members of Parliament [MPs] be property owners. • Payment for Members of Parliament. • Annual general elections. • The secret ballot.

16. Problems of Industrialization Today • Problems still exist today, where the “have nots” continue to work in terrible conditions due to poverty and lack of options Homework • Read the 3 articles posted on the Bangladeshi factory • Write a journal response to the question: • Who was to blame for the factory disaster? Was there more than one person/group/factor that was at fault? • Can we balance our wants for consumption & profit with the needs of peoples lives? What do we need to change to make it happen?