Transcript American History Chapter 6: The Expansion of American Industry

American History
Chapter 6: The
Expansion of
American Industry
III. Industrialization and
Workers
Objectives of Lesson: Key Concepts
• What factors led to a growing American work
force between 1860 – 1900?
• What was factory work like at the turn of the
century?
• Why was it necessary for entire families to
work?
Attention Getter
• Students, write down the words and phrases that you
associate with the idea of work. Then circle all the
positive words and phrases on their list.
• How many are there verses negative words?
Recall Prior Knowledge
• Why did people come to work in industry?
Setting the Scene
• What do you know about child labor in the US
in the late 1800s?
• Are children permitted to work in this country
today?
• Do other countries in the world permit child
labor?
• Read the quote by Sadie Frowne found on
page 243 of your textbook.
• What is your opinion on child labor?
A) The Growing Work Force
• Most of the new work force is immigrants and
farmers
• Immigrant are people who move to this country
from another country
• Farmers moved to the cities because of poor
economic conditions in the rural areas.
B) Factory Work
• 10 -12 hour work day – 6 days a week
15) piecework: those who worked the fastest and
produced the most pieces earned the most
money
16) Sweatshops – place where employees worked
long hours at low wages with poor working
conditions
• Frederick Winslow Taylor studied workers
movements to improve efficiency. He
choreographed movement so there would be no
wasted time or energy. In other words more work
less pay. It worked so people were actually laid off
because workers were more efficient.
a) The Division of Labor
17)Division of labor – workers performed only
one small task, over and over – efficient
but boring
b) The Work Environment
• Discipline was strict – fined for being late –
talking – or refusing to do a task
• Not safe – fatigue, bad equipment, careless
training – no shortage of labor though
• Jacob Riis – wrote Children of the Poor, gave a
very accurate and critical look of children
workers – helped stop the practice of children in
the workplace.
• Pictures: children in the workplace
C) Working Families
•
•
•
•
Children helped feed the family
Left school at 12
Mothers left children with family
Illness or accident of mother, father or older siblings
meant 6 year olds had to work.
• Unemployment insurance did not exist. Workman’s
compensation did not exist.
• Social Darwinist believed that poverty resulted from
personal weakness – unemployment money would
encourage idleness.
• Picture: after the workday and family dinner – this
family sits down to work on a second job before
bedtime.
Summarize and Review
• What factors led to a growing American work
force between 1860 and 1900?
• What was factory work like at the turn of the
century?
• Why was it necessary for entire families to
work?
Process Information
• On a scratch piece of paper, write down a
schedule for a 17 year old worker’s daily life
during the turn of the century. Then write down
your schedule for today.
Finished Section 6.3
• Once you finish, go back to the web-page and
download and print quiz 6.3. After completing
the quiz, send an e-mail to me with your
answers. In the subject line put (your first and
last name – quiz 6.3)
• When you finish with that – check with the
syllabus to find out when section 6.4 needs to
be completed
• Good Luck!