Society has had many defining moments over the centuries that have truly altered the way the world is today. Each moment, whether it be a split-second decision of someone who is now revered, the rule of a global empire that spanned centuries, or the revolution of industry that manufactured a consumer population, has had its positive and negative effects on the people who lived in them. Early capitalism and the industrial revolution, being one of those world altering moments, caused more turmoil to the people who lived through it than it benefited them. Looking back, society today has reaped the rewards from their suffering, but at a great cost to those who came before. Those people suffered in a multitude of ways from this sudden change
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Those workers came in many different varieties from the willing to the unwilling, women, children and the common man. Capitalists saw people as having a price at this point, “One sold oneself; everything had its price.” (Reilly, 750). For those who didn’t willingly sell themselves there was always the possibility of slavery. It was thought that slavery in the U.S. south would slowly die out, but with the increase in demand for raw materials, like cotton, there was an increase in the demand of slaves(Curtis,). Those slaves are a prime example of a mistreatment of people. Beyond that, children were a favorite to be employed by some. They could fit in machines, if something went wrong, or down wells and mines(Smith,814) injuries were not uncommon, and death was always a possibility, even more so when the money is put before humanity. Little girls, especially, due to them being easily controlled (,). One such case of a child’s treatment can be found in The Sadler report of the House of Commons, 1832, in which Michael Thomas Sadler, Esquire interviewed a young man, Mr. Matthew Crabtree, about his work in a factory as a child. Mr. Crabtree is assumed to be a common instance of what had happened to children in factories. Being beaten was typical if the child was late or if an acceptable work pace wasn’t kept when working, “You think it is a general practice to …show more content…
If a slower pace was kept in the Industrial Revolution and people were put before profit, society, then and now, would have seen great improvements. Family ties would be stronger and the planet would be seeing less destruction. There would have been less death and better health conditions. Early capitalism and the industrial revolution caused more turmoil to the people who lived through it than it benefited them. Though modern peoples can be seen to have greatly benefited from the strife those people of the industrial revolution had to face, early on there was uncalled for conditions and treatment. Even today, some of those practices can still be found in the work place. If humanity had been found, then needless sacrifices for profit and power would not have been
Those workers came in many different varieties from the willing to the unwilling, women, children and the common man. Capitalists saw people as having a price at this point, “One sold oneself; everything had its price.” (Reilly, 750). For those who didn’t willingly sell themselves there was always the possibility of slavery. It was thought that slavery in the U.S. south would slowly die out, but with the increase in demand for raw materials, like cotton, there was an increase in the demand of slaves(Curtis,). Those slaves are a prime example of a mistreatment of people. Beyond that, children were a favorite to be employed by some. They could fit in machines, if something went wrong, or down wells and mines(Smith,814) injuries were not uncommon, and death was always a possibility, even more so when the money is put before humanity. Little girls, especially, due to them being easily controlled (,). One such case of a child’s treatment can be found in The Sadler report of the House of Commons, 1832, in which Michael Thomas Sadler, Esquire interviewed a young man, Mr. Matthew Crabtree, about his work in a factory as a child. Mr. Crabtree is assumed to be a common instance of what had happened to children in factories. Being beaten was typical if the child was late or if an acceptable work pace wasn’t kept when working, “You think it is a general practice to …show more content…
If a slower pace was kept in the Industrial Revolution and people were put before profit, society, then and now, would have seen great improvements. Family ties would be stronger and the planet would be seeing less destruction. There would have been less death and better health conditions. Early capitalism and the industrial revolution caused more turmoil to the people who lived through it than it benefited them. Though modern peoples can be seen to have greatly benefited from the strife those people of the industrial revolution had to face, early on there was uncalled for conditions and treatment. Even today, some of those practices can still be found in the work place. If humanity had been found, then needless sacrifices for profit and power would not have been