The British Board of Trade defined “sweating” as “conditions of employment characterized by unusually low wage rates, excessive hours of labor, and/or unsanitary workplaces” (Blackburn 2007). The victims were coming forward with consumption, vision issues, heart palpitations, disorders of the spine, and other heart disease. One young woman was reportedly blinded by her work as a dressmaker’s apprentice (Blackburn 2007). It was industries in which “sweating” seemed to be a large problem (like chain making and tailoring) that caused England to enact a minimum wage. Likewise, it was concern about sweatshops in the early 1900s (especially the working conditions afforded to women and children) that was a catalyst for America’s own minimum wage movement (Neumark 2010).
