Transcript Reform of the Industrial Revolution

Reform of the Industrial
Revolution
Birth of the Labor Movement
• The Industrial
Revolution concentrated
labor into mills, factories
& mines
– Individually, workers had
little power to stand up to
employers
– Together, they could
influence employers;
how?
• Withdraw their labor
(strike)
• Slow down their production
Birth of the Labor Movement
• Employers had a decision to
make …
– Give in to union demands for
better wages, work conditions,
etc
– Suffer the cost of lost
production
• First workers to organize
were skilled labor
– Harder to replace
– Formed trade unions,
organized around a particular
skill set
Birth of the Labor Movement
• Employer reaction to unions
– Got laws passed to make
unions illegal
– Hired security forces to fight
against unions
– Fired union organizers
• By late 1800s, unskilled
labor organized, too
– Painful process: many strikes,
violence
– Socialist politicians drew much
of their support from union
workers
Working Conditions
• Factory work day went
from 5:00 AM to 8:00 PM
– Break at 7:30 AM for
breakfast
– Break at noon, for lunch
– Eat dinner at home
• Factories
– Few / no windows
• Low light led to accidents
• Little to no ventilation
– No heat during the winter
Working Conditions
• No safety devices, on
machines
– Arms, hands crushed
– If injured, worker fired
• Textile (and mine)
workers developed
lung conditions
• Steel workers risked
injury / death
• Cave-ins buried
miners alive
Working Conditions
• Children as young as
6 years worked in
factories
– 14-16 hour workdays
– Beatings were frequent
– Pay was sparse
• Child laborers were
actually preferred
(why?)
• Result of unregulated
industry
Child Labor Reform
• Factory Act of 1833
– Illegal to hire
children under age of
9
– Children from 9-12
could not work more
than 8 hours / day
– Children from 13-17
could not work more
than 12 hours / day
Child Labor Reform
• Mines Act of 1842
– Prevented women,
children from
working
underground
• Ten Hours Act of
1847
– Women, children
working in factories
limited to 10 hours /
day
Living Conditions in the 1800s
• Poorest lived in oldest,
most central part of city
– Lived in tenements
(apartment buildings)
• Few windows, poor
ventilation
• No indoor plumbing / toilet
– Extended family lived in
the same space
– Disease was common
(overcrowding)
– Infant mortality rate (50%)
– No sewers = garbage in
the street
Living Conditions in the 1800s
• Middle class lived on
outer edge of city
– Row house or
apartment building
– Homes often had patch
of lawn
– Many middle class
belonged to clubs /
teams / organizations
(sense of community)
Living Conditions in the 1800s
• Rich lived in the best
areas
– Millionaires built
mansions with large
lawns, maintained by
staff of servants
– Lived like royalty
(artwork)
– Threw lavish parties
for their contacts,
friends