Reform of the Industrial Revolution

World History - Libertyville HS

Birth of the Labor Movement• The Industrial

Revolution concentrated labor into mills, factories & mines– Individually, workers had

little power to stand up to employers

– Together, they could influence employers; how?• Withdraw their labor

(strike)• Slow down their production

Birth of the Labor Movement• Employers had a decision to

make …– Give in to union demands for

better wages, work conditions, etc

– Suffer the cost of lost production

• First workers to organize were skilled labor– Harder to replace– Formed trade unions,

organized around a particular skill set

Birth of the Labor Movement• Employer reaction to unions

– Got laws passed to make unions illegal

– Hired security forces to fight against unions

– Fired union organizers• By late 1800s, unskilled

labor organized, too– Painful process: many strikes,

violence– Socialist politicians drew much

of their support from union workers

Working Conditions

• Factory work day went from 5:00 AM to 8:00 PM– Break at 7:30 AM for

breakfast– Break at noon, for lunch– Eat dinner at home

• Factories– Few / no windows

• Low light led to accidents• Little to no ventilation

– No heat during the winter

Working Conditions• No safety devices, on

machines– Arms, hands crushed– If injured, worker fired

• Textile (and mine) workers developed lung conditions

• Steel workers risked injury / death

• Cave-ins buried miners alive

Working Conditions• Children as young

as 6 years worked in factories– 14-16 hour

workdays– Beatings were

frequent – Pay was sparse

• Child laborers were actually preferred (why?)

• Result of unregulated industry

Child Labor Reform• Factory Act of 1833

– Illegal to hire children under age of 9

– Children from 9-12 could not work more than 8 hours / day

– Children from 13-17 could not work more than 12 hours / day

Child Labor Reform• Mines Act of 1842

– Prevented women, children from working underground

• Ten Hours Act of 1847– Women, children

working in factories limited to 10 hours / day

Living Conditions in the 1800s• Poorest lived in oldest,

most central part of city– Lived in tenements

(apartment buildings)• Few windows, poor

ventilation• No indoor plumbing / toilet

– Extended family lived in the same space

– Disease was common (overcrowding)

– Infant mortality rate (50%)– No sewers = garbage in

the street

Living Conditions in the 1800s• Middle class lived on

outer edge of city– Row house or

apartment building– Homes often had patch

of lawn– Many middle class

belonged to clubs / teams / organizations (sense of community)

Living Conditions in the 1800s• Rich lived in the best

areas– Millionaires built

mansions with large lawns, maintained by staff of servants

– Lived like royalty (artwork)

– Threw lavish parties for their contacts, friends