PROBLEMS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION

Social Studies 9: Industrialization Unit

Class Objectives To know what the Factory System involved

and how it had an impact on working conditions, including for women and children

To understand that Industrial progress came at the expense of social conditions and safety

To understand that Industrialization without regard for sustainable/safe practices can widen the poverty gap

To understand the changes that were brought about by the reform acts

The Factory System What were the benefits of change? Labour Supply

Greater efficiency in Agriculture

More food produced Excess Labour supply

People are healthier People move to cities People can work longer People work in factories

The Factory System What were the benefits of change? TechnologyInventions created promoting Mechanization

Machines needed power & space

Cottage industries became obsolete

Large factories created to hold machines,

power, labour and production

The Factory System What were the benefits of change? Profit

Overhead is all of the expenses a business owner has to pay out before they can make a profit.

Labour costs were part of overhead, so factory owners had to pay people before they could profit

To make more profit, factory owners decided to get the most out of their labour for the least amount of money

How did Factory Owners Manage to Make Profit?

Extremely low wages Very long working hours Dirty working conditions Unsafe conditions with

dangerous machinery Taking advantage of the

poorest families who needed money to survive…including the children

Poor worker housing

Creating a Wealth Gap Between the “Haves”

And the “Have nots”

What happens when there are “Haves” and “Have nots”?

Initial Changes (slow steps to change) social reformers pushed for change in working

conditions System of guilds for people to help themselves &

band together Private charities e.g. soup kitchens….But there was resistance to change from government… Parliament controlled by rich Reform clashed with Laissez-faire goal of economy

first Made guilds illegal

Wait…this sounds familiar What does this remind us of? The Stages of Revolution!So we have discontent, attempts to change, people trying to prevent change…so what comes next?PROTEST! 1811 – LUDDITES ATTACK MACHINERY 1819 – PETERLOO MASSACRE 1838 – PEOPLES CHARTER

The Factory Acts Eventually Parliament members changed and so

did their priorities News laws called the “Factory Acts” were passed

1802- illegal for children to work more than 12 hours 1819 – illegal to hire children under 9 1824 – workers associations became legal

But this was all just the first step…

British Society Prevented Change Laws introduced were

not regulated The British Class

system maintained the gap

between rich and poor

Upper Class

/Society

Middle Class

Lower Middle Class

Working Class

The Poor Law Been in existence, and unchanged, since 16th century Supposed to help the needy Run by local parishes Needed to help solve problems of cramped cities Greater #people in need = more stress on poor law

What prevented it from working? Money raised by taxes on middle/ upper class They complained suggesting giving hand outs encouraged

people to have children they couldn’t afford….leading to more needy people

Suggestion that the old Poor Law kept wages low as people could get help from the parishes

The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act

stopped money going to poor people except in exceptional circumstances.

if people wanted help they had to go into a workhouse to get it.

The poor were given clothes and food in the workhouse in exchange for several hours of manual labour each day.

Families were split up inside the workhouse. People had to wear a type of uniform, follow strict rules

and were on a bad diet of bread and watery soup. Conditions were made so terrible that only those

people who desperately needed help would go there

Response to Amendment

Who supported the Amendment?• Landowners • James Kay-

Shuttleworth (Poor Law Commissioner) believed that people were poor because of their own foolishness.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/britishsociety/thepoorrev3.shtml

Who opposed the Amendment?• Richard Oastler (a political

campaigner) saw Act as cruel and unchristian.

• In north England they rioted and attacked workhouses.

• Many people thought that the act was wrong as it seemed to punish people who were poor through no fault of their own, for example the sick or the old.

• Anti-Poor Law committees organised meetings and petitions calling for the act to be repealed.

So how did things get better? Population growth led to emigration to the colonies

Irish Potato Famine & Highland Clearances also pushed people to the colonies

1832 – abolition of slavery – rise in wages 1833 – remove child labour 1838 Peoples Charter campaigned for parliamentary reform looking

for:• Votes for all men.• Equal electoral districts.• Abolition of the requirement that Members of Parliament [MPs] be property owners.• Payment for Members of Parliament.• Annual general elections.• The secret ballot.

Problems of Industrialization Today Problems still exist today, where the “have nots” continue to work

in terrible conditions due to poverty and lack of options

Homework Read the 3 articles posted on the Bangladeshi

factory Write a journal response to the question:

Who was to blame for the factory disaster? Was there more than one person/group/factor that was at fault?

Can we balance our wants for consumption & profit with the needs of peoples lives? What do we need to change to make it happen?