The Industrial Revolution brought great riches to most of the entrepreneurs who helped set it in motion. For the millions of workers who worked.

Hardships of Early Industrial Life

D.B.

The Industrial Revolution brought great riches to

most of the entrepreneurs who helped set it in motion.

For the millions of workers who worked in the new factories, however, the industrial age brought poverty and harsh living conditions.

In time reforms would alleviate many of the worst abuses of the time and people at all levels of society would benefit from industrialization.

Setting the Scene

The Industrial Revolution brought rapid urbanization

The movement of people to cities Some factors that caused people to move to cities

were: Changes in farming Soaring population growth Increasing demand for workers

Cities would grow around the factories that entrepreneurs built in small towns.

The British town of Manchester contained about 17,000 people in the 1750s. By 1780 over 40,000 people lived there and by 1801 over 80,000 people lived there.

The wealthy lived in pleasant neighborhoods while the poor struggled to survive in slums.

The New Industrial City

The New Industrial City

The poor would pack into tiny rooms in tenements. Multistory buildings divided into

crowded apartments No running water No sewage or sanitation system Wastes and garbage rotted in

the streets Cholera and other diseases

spread rapidly. In time reformers pushed for

laws to improve conditions in city slums.

Rigid Discipline

In rural villages, people worked hard, but their work varied according to the season.

Working hours were long. Shifts lasted from 12 to 16 hours

Machines had no safety devices. Many workers would lose fingers,

limbs, and sometimes their lives. Coal dust also destroyed the lungs of

miners If workers were sick or injured, they

lost their jobs

Women Workers

Employers preferred to hire women rather then men Thought women could adapt more easily

to machines and were easier to manage Most important, they could pay women

workers less than men. Factory work was hard for women

Gone from home 12+ hours a day Then go home and clothe their family,

clean, and cook.

Child Labor

Factories and mines also hired many boys and girls. Mostly nimble-fingered and quick-moving

children were hired for work in the textile mills.

Others crawled through narrow mine shafts pushing coal carts.

Parents accepted the idea of child labor. Also the wages of the children were

needed to keep the family alive.

Child Labor (Cont.)

Employers often hired orphans, making deals with officials who were glad to have the children taken off their hands. Children caught not working were

beaten. Some factories did provide basic

education and a decent life for child workers.

But in most factories children, just like their parents, were slaves to the machines.

As the Industrial revolution

started weavers and skilled artisans despised the “labor-saving” machines.

Some smashed machines and burned factories.

In a protest in 1819, soldiers charged the crowd killing a dozen and injuring hundreds. Unions were not allowed and

strikes were outlawed.

Protests

In the mid-1700s, John Wesley had founded

the Methodist Church. He stressed the need for a personal sense of

faith. Urged Christians to improve their lot by

adopting sober, moral ways. Methodist meetings featured:

Hymns Sermons promising forgiveness of sins and a

better life to come. Methodist preachers took this message of

salvation to the slums. Set up Sunday schools

Spread of Methodism

Consisted of merchants who invested their money in factories,

inventors, or skilled artisans. Middle-class families lived in solid, well-furnished homes.

The family would hire a maid-servant. The men of the middle class gained influence in Parliament while the

women would draw, play the piano, or embroider.

The New Middle Class

Reformers pressed for laws to improve working conditions. Workers’ organizations called labor unions won the right to bargain with employers for

better wages, hours, and working conditions. Eventually working class men gained the right to vote. Despite the low pay, unemployment, and dismal living conditions, the industrial age was

beneficial. New factories opened

Jobs created Wages rose Cost of railroad travel fell Opportunities increased

Benefits and Problems

The Bad The Good

Review

John Wesley Founder of Methodism

Ned Ludd Founder and leader of the

Luddites Urbanization

the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger

Tenements Multistory buildings divided

into crowded apartments

What was life like for women in the Industrial Revolution? Women were paid less

than men and still had to cook and clean.

Why did factory owners like to hire women? They could be paid

less.

What was life like for miners during the I.R.?

Very harsh working conditions that could end in death. What class of people benefited the most from the

I.R.? The new middle class

What were some reasons children were forced to work during the industrial revolution? Their family needed the money or they were orphans.

Review (Cont.)