Child Labour
Child Labour in the Industrial Revolution was the employment of children in various industries such as textile, mining, milling and many more.
In 1788, more than 60% of the workforce employed were children. As young as 5 years old, they were forced to work for more than 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Families sent their children to work in factories, mills and mines due to extreme poverty. On average, during 1791-1850 children started working by age 10 and in the 1820s, 60% of 10 year olds and 30% of 8 year olds were already employed.
Employers preferred to employ children as they were easy to train, obedient, low maintenance and were paid very low income. They were also able to fit in tiny spaces like house chimneys.
Since we don’t have that …show more content…
The risk with this job was that the machine was running and they had to constantly stoop or lie on their stomachs, which could lead to physical injuries in the future. Also, a child’s hair could get stuck in the machine which can then rip off from the child’s head.
As if this wasn’t enough, children were also treated harshly by getting beaten or hit with a whip to make them work faster. Sarah Carpenter, daughter of a glass blower, claimed that she saw a child being beaten to death. The child was named Sarah Goodling. She stopped her machine, but was then knocked on the floor by the overlooker, James Birch. She stood up only to be knocked down again. She was then carried to the apprentice’s house, where she was found dead.
From this case, it’s easy to think that overlookers are just plain heartless and abusive. But one of the overlookers, named William Rastrick, said that he worked at a silk mill, where he would watch over the children working. He was forced against his will to continue implementing such inhumane working conditions on those children. He felt disgusted and degraded with
Child Labour in the Industrial Revolution was the employment of children in various industries such as textile, mining, milling and many more.
In 1788, more than 60% of the workforce employed were children. As young as 5 years old, they were forced to work for more than 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Families sent their children to work in factories, mills and mines due to extreme poverty. On average, during 1791-1850 children started working by age 10 and in the 1820s, 60% of 10 year olds and 30% of 8 year olds were already employed.
Employers preferred to employ children as they were easy to train, obedient, low maintenance and were paid very low income. They were also able to fit in tiny spaces like house chimneys.
Since we don’t have that …show more content…
The risk with this job was that the machine was running and they had to constantly stoop or lie on their stomachs, which could lead to physical injuries in the future. Also, a child’s hair could get stuck in the machine which can then rip off from the child’s head.
As if this wasn’t enough, children were also treated harshly by getting beaten or hit with a whip to make them work faster. Sarah Carpenter, daughter of a glass blower, claimed that she saw a child being beaten to death. The child was named Sarah Goodling. She stopped her machine, but was then knocked on the floor by the overlooker, James Birch. She stood up only to be knocked down again. She was then carried to the apprentice’s house, where she was found dead.
From this case, it’s easy to think that overlookers are just plain heartless and abusive. But one of the overlookers, named William Rastrick, said that he worked at a silk mill, where he would watch over the children working. He was forced against his will to continue implementing such inhumane working conditions on those children. He felt disgusted and degraded with