Life in the Industrial Revolution

Factories and Factory Acts

From Cottage industries to Factories

Cottage industries are replaced by factories

Machines were too big and production too fast and efficient to be contained in one home

Need a large building (factory) for new machines and power sources (steam engines)

Need lots of workers = city

Move from rural cottage or farm to city/ factory is very dramatic/ shocking

The Factory Richard Artwright: designed

very efficient factories

Could have all the parts of one industry in one building: fibers to thread, spin thread, woven to cloth, cut/ sewn to product

Workers homes could be attached to the factory, many rented from the factory owner and bought food (etc.) from a company store

The Factory Pay extremely low wages to limit cost

(maximize profits) Resisted paying anything to improve

working conditions (unnecessary cost)

Take part of wages in food for lunch (poor quality)

Forced to work long hours and overtime

Physical punishment No help for injuries, no recourse if fired

Child Labour No Public education Wages so low children need to help to

make ends meet

Work in machinery (in looms to pull out caught threads, etc.)

As chimney sweeps (crawl in and clean) Coal mining tunnels (open doors/ bring

water)

Exposed to industrial pollution (coal dust, soot, textile dust)

result in physical deformities for many

Poverty Severe conditions for poor workers –

crowded, filthy – one room per family Poor sanitation, lack of sewer systems/

running water

Disease – scarlet fever, Tuberculosis, tetanus, cholera

Church and rich women (social reformers) gave out charityo Unregulated and inconsistent

Government Workhouses:o Last optiono Horrible conditions – very similar to prisono Work menial jobs for basic shelter and little foodo No real chance to ever leave

The Chimney SweepRead Primary Source p. 148Answer Questions # 1, 3, 4

Irish Potato Famine Potato is main crop in Ireland Poverty stricken region/ potato is

staple in diet

1845: potato is struck with disease and entire crop fails

Millions of Irish are starving

Irish are forced to abandon their farms and move to cities or emigrate to colonies to live

Scotland Clearanceso Enclosures come to Scotland

o Poor farmers (crofters) are forcibly removed from farms to use land for sheep grazing

o Forced to sell and land burned to prevent them from returning

o Result: many move to cities to work in Factories, or emigrate to colonies

Emigration to Colonies Why would

anyone leave Britain?

Why go to the colonies (Canada)?

Increased population in Britain Enclosures take away land/ way of

life poor conditions in Cities and

Factories motivate people to look for another option

Colonies (like Canadian wilderness) seem like an escape from poverty; an opportunity to own land and work hard to possibly improve their lives

Factory Acts Social reformers – try to improve working

conditions and give charity Workers try to use old trade guild model to

unite and look after each othero Takes until 1824 for workers to legally be

allowed to create workers associations = Labour Unions

Government against reformer parliament controlled by businessmen who profit from lack of regulations

Laws eventually change = factory actso 1802: Children can no work over 12 hours in

cotton millso 1819: no child under age of 9 in textile industry

Problem: no inspectors to enforce these rules