Factory Working Families During The Early Industrial Revolution

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Before the industrial revolution, most families were living in small villages. They were either working in agriculture or as skilled craftsmen. Families worked by hand as a family. In the early industrial revolution era, three-quarter of workers was living in the countryside and farming was a predominant occupation. The one-quarter of Britain’s population was industrialised however, everything started to slowly change. The new laws now meant that people had to pay for their own fencing and security which left many families poor, bankrupt and unemployed. As families were emerging into the industrial revolution of new and upgraded machines. The birth of new machines and innovations meant that hand weavers and people who worked with outdated …show more content…
“Families that used to work in or near their homes were now living in crowded conditions in cities and now are working for long hours and receiving small wages”- According to yahoo.com/questions.au. This statement is rather true. This is stating that now that families were living in cities, towns and were receiving small wages which could not afford to feed themselves or their families, pay house rent and send their children to school. Many factory working families worked up to 16 hours a day for very little money, because factory owners wanted to keep production costs low. During the industrial revolution, working conditions were bad and many workers became ill and died. There was no union in the early industrial revolution era to protect them and get work compensations. Until there was the rise of Labour Unions. The Labour Union was a movement to let worker receive better wages and for workers and families gain profits in developing industries. Labour unions helped spread the balance of power more evenly so that labourers could bargain for more rights such as more pay and better-working conditions. Today we see effects that the early labour unions fought for. It resulted in laws developing minimum wage standards, living wage standards and maximum hours …show more content…
The only time they spend at home was spent on sleeping. It was very common for people to share a house with other families due to high housing expenses. As a result, of this children did not go to school and became sick. The living conditions were very horrible; working class families often lived in slums with little sanitations. During the industrial revolution, 50% of infants died before the age of two. Before the industrial revolution, children of poor working class families were helping around the house but the arrival of the industrial revolution, children’s work changed. Child labour was seen now as a social and political issue. The practices of putting children to work started when fathers had their children spin cotton. The industrial revolution affects families negatively because children were taken away to do labours for rich factory owners. Factory owners approached poor families and orphanages and offered to house, feed and clothe in exchange for labour. Due to the economy circumstances, parents handed their children to work. Children as young as six worked hard with little or no pay. Child labour put lots of pressure on families. Child labour increased family income but did not improve family lifestyle as children were receiving no education and instead worked in harsh, dangerous environment whilst parents worked 16-18 hours a day in factories or coal

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