Working Conditions in Factories During the Industrial Revolution

Key Points

• Shift from home-based production to factory-based production.
• Factory owners aimed to maximize profits by increasing production and reducing costs.

Working Conditions

Long Hours

• Shifts lasted 12-14 hours, sometimes longer during busy periods.

Low Wages

• Men: 15 shillings/week
• Women: 7 shillings/week
• Children: 3 shillings/week
• Employers preferred hiring women and children for lower wages.

Harsh Discipline

• Punishments included "strapping," hanging weights, and physical abuse.

Fines

• Fines for talking, whistling, leaving without permission, or not cleaning machines.

Accidents

• High accident rate due to dangerous machinery, especially for children.

Health Issues

• Pneumonia due to temperature changes.
• Dust led to chest and lung diseases.
• Noise damaged hearing.

Parish Apprentices

• Orphans forced into labor under the guise of "apprenticeship."

Child Labor

• High demand for labor led families to move to cities.
• Entire families, including children, worked to survive.
• Children operated dangerous machinery, leading to frequent accidents and injuries.
• Poor treatment and neglect of children's safety.

Urbanization and Living Conditions

Pollution

• Coal burning led to smoke and air pollution.

Overcrowding

• Rapid city growth led to slums and poor housing conditions.

Disease

• Typhus, typhoid, tuberculosis, and cholera were common.

Waste Disposal

• Improper waste disposal polluted water supplies.

Roles of Women

Transition from Cottage to Factory System

• Cloth production moved from home to factory.
• Women operated machines, earned low wages.

Impact of Mechanization

• Inventions like the spinning jenny and powerloom revolutionized textile production.

Risks and Challenges

• Women faced machinery-related injuries.
• Reliance on men for financial survival.

Changing Class Structure

New Social Classes

• Emergence of industrial capitalists and urban middle class.
• Increased social mobility but a wider gap between rich and poor.

Middle Class

• Comprised professionals, merchants, and managers.
• "Cult of domesticity" ideal for women.

Urban Poor

• Poverty-stricken workers living in slums.

Education

Pre-Industrial Education

• Limited formal education, many children worked instead.

Advances in Education

• Government support for schools increased.
• Technical schools developed for industrial training.

Dame and Ragged Schools

• Provided rudimentary education for poor children.

Changing Energy Sources

Key Developments

• Transition from natural sources to coal, steam, and electricity.
• Coal and steam powered industrial machinery and transportation.
• Electricity later revolutionized production and daily life.

Environmental Impact

Greenhouse Effect

• Increased carbon dioxide emissions led to rising global temperatures.

Air Pollution

• Industrial towns like Coketown (from Charles Dickens’ "Hard Times") depicted dark, polluted environments.