The Industrial Revolution, Working Conditions, and Child Labor

1. The Industrial Revolution,Working Conditions, and Child Labor By:  Lauren Adams, Betsy Kay, and Zack Liley Period:  2-B

2. The Beginning of a Revolution... • The Industrial Revolution began in the late 18th century in Great Britain and lasted throughout the 19th century •  Changes were noticed in manufacturing, mining, transportation, and industry.  • Factories took jobs away, as factories could produce goods faster and quicker than humans could. • The economy expanded at double the pace that it had before the revolution began. • England began to promote itself the "Workshop of the World" and became the first industrialized nation in the world. • Industrialists were optimistic and progressive. • "The history of human society is a history of progress, forever forward, forever upward."-Richard Price

3. Changes... • Society changed from an agricultural-based society to one powered by Industry and Manufacturing. • [Before: Farms were shared by tenant farmers, trading farm land for goods produced. Also, Individuals focused on the creation of individual products due to their individual skills.] • A new materialistic view of the world errupted. • Mercantilism arrived in England. • Moving goods around in Europe was highly expensive due to taxes and duties. England had monopolized trade routes with North American Territories through war, so it created an easy, cheap way to spread ideas and products. • Political Reform came with the Reform Bill of 1832. •  20% of the male population could now vote, whereas before only 6% could voice their opinions politically.

4. Inventions... Charles Babbage(1791-1871) was a math professor at Cambridge and invented the calculating machine (first computer).

5. Sir Humphrey Davy invented the safety lamp, which aided the coal mining industry.

6. George Stephenson invented the steam locomotive. Its name was "Blucher" and was tested on the Cillingwood Railways on July 25, 1814, moving 4 miles an hour pulling 8 (30 ton) carts of coal.

7. Working Conditions... • Millions of people lived in slums. • Distinct lack of sanitation, law and order, schools, or decent food or clothing. • People walked miles to work at mills or factories. • The day typically began around 5:30 AM  and ended after 11:00 PM. • People drank heavily and took opium as a means of escape from deplorable conditions. •  2,200 Chinese men died in construction of the main line in British Columbia (1882). • The democratization resulted from extension of franchise. • Women entered workforce as teachers, professional writers, and social reformers. • Servants made no more than 40 pounds a year.

9. Child Labor... "Chained, belted, harnessed like dogs…black, saturated with wet, and more than half-naked, crawling upon their hands and knees, and dragging their heavy loads behind them’” -  Ivor Brown • Children were better "tools" in the workforce because they provided cheap labor with more mobility compared to elder employees. • Kids could be employed as house servants, chimney sweeps, factory workers, mining jobs, or if they were lucky, apprentices.  • Many households depended on children working to provide extra money for the families to stay alive. • Education did not compare to providing money. The education of Victorian children was neglected. In 1840, only 20% of students attended school. • The dangers these children faced were extreme. They could be mangled, beaten, or crushed to death while also having a great chance of catching an illness.

11. Sources • http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Science/Inventors.htm • http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/INDUSTRY.HTM • https://www.msu.edu/user/brownlow/indrev.htm • http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventors/a/Stephenson.htm • http://www.fashion-era.com/victorians.htm#Working Conditions • http://fathersforlife.org/hist/railroad2.htm • http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/victorian/welcome.htm  http://www.learningthroughhistory.com/newsletter/archives/82007.php • http://www.arlde.com/childlabor.htm