History Homework.

[Harley Quinn]

Hey, is anyone good at history that wouldn't mind helping me out on this piece of work i've been given?

Why were working conditions in factories so bad? 1815-1851

I have a rough idea, but if anyone can give me some notes, it would be greatly appreciated!

[Kahn]

Depends on where. Do you want notes on conditions in the United States, United Kingdom, or all factories?

[Harley Quinn]

United Kingdom

[Kahn]

I wouldn't know anying thing about those creeps :P. Kidding, but I wouldn't know anything at all about the United Kingdom factories. Sorry Sio.

[Brayden]

The working conditions were abysmal. Workers had no rights, and there were no laws regarding child labour. There was no minimum wage, and workplace conditions were typically deplorable. The era you mentioned was mostly focused on textile industries, and the factories were generally full of fumes and dangerous equipment. Injuries acquired in the workplace weren't compensated, and those that suffered those injuries were either required to quit, or to work in their debilitated state.

In other words, tough shit for the lower class. If you need any more information, post away.

[Harley Quinn]

Hang on, sorry i just checked; Its all countries :P

Thanks Brayden :D

[Kahn]

Well, he took pretty much what I was about to say. Good luck.

[Brayden]

Hang on, sorry i just checked; Its all countries :P

Thanks Brayden :D


The information I posted is relevant for all industrialised countries at the time, workers just did NOT have rights.

[Harley Quinn]

Why were working conditions in factories so bad?

Working conditions in factories during the 19th century were bad for many reasons. Health and safety, and the increasing labour from a child were just a few of them. Many people in the factories were from the countryside and have moved to cites to earn a better living.

Factories were not safe places, especially since in the Industrial Revolution they employed young children; this was dangerous for obvious reasons. The education wasn’t that great and was also limited so the children were expected to work even if it meant in harsh conditions. The machines were powered manually and it was easy to get hurt from. Many factory workers were children. They worked long hours and were often treated badly by the supervisors or overseers. Sometimes the children started work as young as four or five years old. A young child could not earn much, but even a few pence would be enough to buy food.

Many factories were dangerous and unhealthy places. Cotton mills were stuffy, because the windows were kept closed to stop the threads from drying out and breaking. The women who worked in them had to stand all the time, for ten hours a day, six days a week. Some people worked for more that twelve hours a day, for wages that were not enough to pay the rent and feed and clothe the family. The wages were petty and weren’t really sustainable. If a person became ill or anything they didn’t receive anything to compensate them.

As the number of factories grew, people from the countryside began to move into the towns looking for better paid work. The wages of a farm worker were very low and there were less jobs working on farms because of the invention and use of new machines such as threshers. Thousands of new workers were needed to work machines in mills and foundries and the factory owners built houses for them.

Work in the factory alongside new and powerful machines was also dangerous. Workers suffering from fatigue or illness, or just being careless, would often be victims of workplace accidents resulting in serious injury and in many cases death. Workers hurt on the job, or too ill to come to work, were of course not compensated. In many factories, profit came well ahead of wages. As a result, many factory workers worked alongside their immediate family members, including wives and children.

Many people were harmed in the factories. Children had to go under the tables; women worked long hours and could get caught up in the machines. This caused many to lose limbs. It was a dangerous place to work because there was no health and safety. One of the main concerns about the number of textile workers was the safety of the factories. Unguarded machinery was a major problem for children working in factories. Many of the workers were often abandoned from the moment the accident occurs because they were no longer needed as they couldn’t do their job.

That's what i have so far.. any good?

[Kahn]

The first American industrial revolution did not begin until 1820-1870. There was still factories, but not as many as the United Kingdom, or probably every other country.

[CaptainObvious]

I guess it depends on what you think the question is asking. What you wrote there answers the question of how working conditions in factories were bad, but doesn't really answer the question of why that was so, in my opinion. The answer to the question of why is that the profit seeking motive of factory owners naturally desired the cheapest, most productive labor, and unlike today workers did not have the benefit of any legal protections to balance out against the powerful interests of factory owners. Thus, labor conditions were horrible and workers horrifically mistreated.

[Brayden]

The first American industrial revolution did not begin until 1820-1870. There was still factories, but not as many as the United Kingdom, or probably every other country.

Her time frame still covers the American Industrial Revolution, however due to her sig, I would think that the emphasis on her paper isn't necessarily American.

The paper itself was good, it covered all the topics in your thesis, and should work for what it was intended for.

[Kahn]

Brayden I thought she said conditions in factories from 1700-1815. My bad.

[CaptainObvious]

The paper itself was good, it covered all the topics in your thesis, and should work for what it was intended for.

While I may be guilty of being overly critical, if I were grading an essay like this given the prompt, my main comment would be "excellent exposition of how working conditions were bad, but you were asked why working conditions were bad."

[Brayden]

While I may be guilty of being overly critical, if I were grading an essay like this given the prompt, my main comment would be "excellent exposition of how working conditions were bad, but you were asked why working conditions were bad."

I would tend to agree, however I due to her age (14) I would assume that as long as stayed within the bounds of her thesis she'd still receive a decent enough grade. At least, that's how it would have been for me in an American school, I'm unsure of how papers are graded across the fucking Atlantic. :P Though to be safe, I'd go ahead and at least mention why the deplorable working conditions were prevalent in factory conditions, and why that business model was effective at the time, such as increased profit. Gooooo David. Secks me.

[Harley Quinn]

And that's were I need help...I don't know why, just how

[Perseus]

Profit; that would be the main reason. That's the main reason today for why McDonald's is cheap, and America's meat packing industry is cheap. They want to make the highest profit possible; they don't care about the common man, just themselves. Also, lack of education and labor unions could be a reason. Unions would make things better and education could help people understand why their workers were getting injured and dying. Also, safety wasn't quite the same back then like it is now. Y'know, like helmets and other things.

Hope this helps.

[Harley Quinn]

Profit; that would be the main reason. That's the main reason today for why McDonald's is cheap, and America's meat packing industry is cheap. They want to make the highest profit possible; they don't care about the common man, just themselves. Also, lack of education and labor unions could be a reason. Unions would make things better and education could help people understand why their workers were getting injured and dying. Also, safety wasn't quite the same back then like it is now. Y'know, like helmets and other things.

Hope this helps.
It's all about profit..hmm, shouldn't be too hard to write about :)
Thanks Jake

[CaptainObvious]

If you want an effective way to write about it, I would suggest discussing the profit motive to keep labor as cheap and productive as possible, and then mention some protections workers have today that they didn't then - specific labor laws would probably be most effective in getting your point across. For example, companies would love to pay workers a couple of dollars (or pounds) an hour, but minimum wage laws stop that from happening. etc.

[Harley Quinn]

Thanks, that seems a lot clearer than what my teacher told me to do. :)