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Intro facts • Although children had been servants and apprentices throughout most of human history, child labor reached new extremes during the Industrial Revolution. Children often worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little money. Children were useful as laborers because their size allowed them to move in small spaces in factories or mines where adults couldn’t fit, children were easier to manage and control and perhaps most importantly, children could be paid less than adults. Child laborers often worked to help support their families, but were forced to forgo an education.
Using the information in this chart, write one general statement about the working conditions of children in the late 1800s.
William Cooper began working in a textile factory at the age of 10. This is how he described his typical day… • 5:00 a.m.-Work day begins (this means he would have to leave by 4 or 4:30 to get to work on time and eat breakfast on the way. • 12:00 p.m.-40 minute break for lunch. • ~3:00 p.m.-Children workers would start to get sleepy. Adults would often beat them to keep them awake. • ~6:00 p.m. -Child workers would have to eat on the run (while they were still working). There was no dinner break. • 9:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.-End of work day
Statistics • During industrialization, children made up about 20% of the workforce. • in 1900 there were 25,000 - 35,000 deaths and 1 million injuries occurred on industrial jobs, many of these victims would have been children. • Children had higher rates of injury and death at work than adults and over 50% of child labor was involved in hazardous and dangerous work. • The main causes of injuries were the factory machines and sharp tools. Children lost fingers, hands were mangled and some were scalped when hair that got caught in the machinery. • Some children were killed when they fell asleep and fell into factory machines. • Carrying heavy loads caused lifelong deformities and handicaps. • The health of children suffered working in back-breaking jobs in dark, gloomy environments with poor ventilation. They suffered from lung, ear and eye infections and unsanitary conditions led to terrible diseases and illnesses such as cholera, bronchitis and tuberculosis. • The horrible working conditions also caused children to suffer from mental stress. • The average factory worker in 1900 was paid about 12 cents per hour and made $400 a year, but children were always paid less. If business was slow, no one worked and no one got paid.
Treatment • The treatment of children in factories was often cruel and unusual, and the children's safety was generally neglected. The youngest children, who were not old enough to work the machines, were commonly sent to be assistants to textile workers. The people who the children served would beat them, verbally abuse them, and take no consideration for their safety. Both boys and girls who worked in factories were subject to beatings and other harsh forms of pain infliction. One common punishment for being late or not working up to quota would be to be "weighted." An overseer would tie a heavy weight to worker's neck, and have them walk up and down the factory aisles so the other children could see them and "take example." This could last up to an hour. Weighting could lead to serious injuries in the back and/or neck. Punishments such as this would often be dispensed under stringent rules. Boys were sometimes dragged naked from their beds and sent to the factories only holding their clothes, to be put on there. This was to make sure the boys would not be late, even by a few minutes.
Young Miners: South Pittston Pa., January 6, 1911 "At the close of day. Just up from the shaft. All work below ground in Shaft #6 Pennsylvania, Coal Co. Clement Tiskie, (smallest boy next to right hand end) is a nipper. Arthur Havard, (on Clement's right hand) is a driver. Jo Puma, (on Arthur's right) is a nipper. Jo's mother showed me the passport which shows Jo to be 14 years old, but he has no school certificate although working inside the mine. Frank Fleming, (boy on left of photo), a nipper. Works a mile underground from the shaft which is 500 ft. down.
Team WorkHartford, Conn., March 4, 1909. "A common case of 'team work.' Smaller boy, Joseph Bishop, goes into saloons and sells his last paper. Then comes out and his brother gives him more. Joseph said, 'Drunks are me best customers. I sell more's me bruder does. Dey buy me out so I kin go home.' He sells every afternoon and night. Extra late Saturday night and is at it again at 6 A.M Sunday.
Young DriverWest Virginia, September 1909. "Young Driver in Mine. Has been driving one year. 7 A.M. to 5:30 P.M daily.
Breaker BoysPittston, Pa., January 16, 1911 • "Breaker boys. Smallest is Angelo Ross. • Hughestown Borough Coal Co.Pittston, Pa." • "Breaker Boys" were used in the coal mines to separate slate rock from the coal after it had been brought out of the shaft. They often worked 14 to 16 hours a day.
Cannery Workers Eastport, Maine August 1911 • From the notes of Lewis Hine: "All these boys are cutters in a canning co. Ages range from 7 to 12. They live near the factory. • Seven-year-old boy in front, Bryon Hamilton, has a badly cut finger but helps his brother regularly. Behind him is his brother George, 11 years old. He cut his finger half off while working. They and many youngsters said they were always cutting themselves. • Georges earns a $1.00 some days, usually 75 cents. Some of the others say they earn a dollar when they work all day. At times they start at 7 a.m. work until midnight, but the work is irregular. • Eastport, Maine August 12, 1911."
Mill GirlLancaster, S.C., December 1, 1908 • One of the little spinners working in Lancaster Mills. Many others as small. • Lancaster, S.C."
Boys began working as doffers when they were seven or younger. It was their job to remove the whirling bobbins when they were filled with thread and replace them with empty ones. Many of the youngsters worked barefoot. That made it easier to climb onto the huge machines so they could reach the bobbins or broken threads. If they weren’t careful, they could fall into the moving machinery or be caught by it. The accident rate for children working in the mills was twice as high as it was for adults. . .
Personal Narrative • Construct a one page personal narrative placing yourself as a 12 year working during the industrial revolution. • Where do you work? Why? What are the conditions? How do you feel about this • Rubric: 1 page 1st person, 3-6 facts, genuine empathy and change and continuity (how has the industrial revolution changed your life? How are things still the same?)
