Understanding History and Society through Images, 1776-1914

Background and Content Objectives

The Industrial Revolution is an extremely interesting period to examine in World History. Many historians would argue the Industrial Revolution is one of, if not the most, important phenomenon in recent history that is responsible for permanently transforming the social and commercial landscape into the model found in America and Europe today. The Industrial Revolution is generally defined as the transition to new manufacturing processes that took place first in Britain around 1760 and lasted through the late 19th century. This transition was characterized by an overwhelming desire to maximize profit and minimize cost through production. Hand production was replaced by large-scale manufacturing using new machine technologies that were often steam, water and chemically powered. These changes in production methods directed labor out of the house and farms and into factories, textile shops and other production centers, many of which required to be constructed and maintained near sources of water and manpower. The emergence of such centers of production facilitated the growth of newly developed cities, filled with a diverse range of people looking to find work and improve their own standard of living. However, the Industrial Revolution gave rise to many social hardships that would bring about detriment to the industrial worker, especially for the unskilled population and the working woman.

It is worth mentioning that immigration in Britain was not a major factor that lead to so many of the class struggles found in the United States. Rather, movement from the country to the city was the primary pattern of movement for workers in Britain. That said, immigration to the United States played a larger role in compounding the problems faced by the working class such as the issues around communication between workers, the inability to political organization and lastly, the variety of factors behind low wages and employment in general. ²

Before the Industrial Revolution manufacturing was primarily done in the home and small establishments, serving only the immediate, local markets. Farm wives and their daughters produced a variety of goods at home, which in turn were traded with neighbors and sold at nearby country stores. ³ In 1820 women working from their home produced 2/3 of all clothing in the United States. ⁴ However, these domestic markets were limited by the high cost of transportation. Furthermore, undeveloped land, the small size of the population and limited commercial growth made labor expensive. ⁵ Thus, the prospect of hand-manufactured goods reaching neighboring markets, let alone returning a healthy profit, was neither likely nor sustainable.

Quite rapidly machine centered industry replaced the limited nature of household production. The first mills in New England offered considerable employment to women and children. Early mills and textile shops offered competed with and displaced local smaller-scale household manufacturers. ⁶ In 1820 almost 3/4ths of the American labor force worked in the agriculture sector with a merely 7% living in the cities with 2,500 or more residents. Though by 1860, more than 41% of the American work force was working outside of agricultural sectors and living in cities. ⁷ Furthering this trend towards factory labor were new opportunities found by women who traditionally found little freedom in their own household.

In the early 1800's women were initially drawn to factory and textile work as a means to acquire a degree of independence and a working wage. As mentioned earlier, women engaged in the manufacturing of goods in their own domestic markets, which gave them a respectful place in the family economy but did stifle any possible feelings of autonomy and independence from their male counterparts. ⁸ Rarely did women conceive of a life beyond the bounds of domesticity. With the rise of the cotton and textile industry around 1820, women left positions as home-laborers for more attractive work in expanding mill towns such as Lowell, Massachusetts. Employment in the mills and textile factories gave women new degrees of economic and social freedoms. Initially, and although short-lived, women now earned an income that was perceived as satisfactory in that they were being paid for work that had previously been done with little to no monetary compensation. However, this satisfaction would be temporary; from a business and legal standpoint women's position in industry eventually would mirror the subservient position women found at home. Namely, second-class citizenship without the right to negotiate contracts, own property or eventually, earn a wage that could adequately match the cost of living. ⁹ In addition, there are overwhelming accounts of women relinquishing their wages altogether to the head of household. ¹⁰ Women were often encouraged and attracted to work in the newly emerging industries but unfortunately found themselves in positions of subservience, facing new pressures that can arguably be characterized as gender specific but also part of the larger, less discriminatory social impact created by the industrial revolution.

In order for students to fully appreciate the social ramifications surrounding the industrial revolution it is necessary to first identify changes that occurred in labor practices; namely how labor was no longer bound by the rhythms of nature but replaced by the rhythms and mercy of the machine. For the first time in history, work did not stop at sunset, as was the case with agricultural work in the fields. Laborers in factories and textile shops were able to work through the night, often in shifts averaging over 10 hours. The adherence to schedule along with the precision of time symbolized the desire to maximize profit for the factory owner and stakeholders. The working life of laborers was now dictated by the clock and with it, strict adhere to a system that did not change seasonally. Work was consistent, although ever changing, and often specialized. Unskilled laborers were usually in charge of one specific task as opposed to previous work that involved maintenance of machines or the creation of products from start to finish. This streamlined approach to production was partly responsible in keeping wages low, as tasks were relatively mundane and required little to no skill aside from specialized training. Nonetheless, the promise of work and opportunity brought about incredible migration and movement into the city.

The sudden urbanization that was brought about by industrialization caused tremendous stratification and hardship within cities. From 1840 to 1860, the population of Philadelphia nearly doubled while the population in New York increased over twofold. The overall number of cities with 8,000 inhabitants or more increased from 44 to 141 in America in this 20-year period. ¹¹ To match the demands of rapid migration into the city, boardinghouses and others centralized living quarters were built in haste. Often, developers who prioritized establishing a permanent labor force over ensuring a decent standard of living overlooked the integrity of building foundations. ¹² Secondly, the high cost of living coupled with the huge influx of migration into the cities made living conditions less than ideal for workers, especially women and immigrants. The cost of living in the city rose steadily as the population increased. It is estimated that the cost of provisions increased 50% in cities such as New York between 1843 to 1850. ¹³ In the winter of 1853, families were faced with a 30% increase in food and fuel costs as compared to the previous year. ¹⁴ Needless to say, life for the working class was difficult, as the problems associated with rapid urbanization seemed to be exponentially compounded year after year. Norman Ware cites Dr. Josiah Curtis' essay, Brief Remarks on Hygiene in Massachusetts, regarding a report that houses were regularly occupied by as many as 40 individuals, with up to 11 living in a single room and as many as 8 men and women sharing a bed. ¹⁵ Furthermore, Dr. Henry Clark's Report of the Committee on Internal Health, chronicles the finding of one particular cellar that was regularly used as a communal sleeping apartment occupied by 39 persons and included the finding of a dead infant baby as reported by a police officer. ¹⁶ This focus on steering workers into the city with no regard for safety or well-being illustrates how the desire to maximize profit and minimize cost was a central culprit in the degradation of the worker.

Conditions of sanitation in sprawling urban metropolises had both immediate and prolonged damaging effects on the mental and physical health of the worker. It was reported in health inspections that the water supply for the cities had undergone widespread contamination due to lack of a proper drainage system. ¹⁷ Furthermore, pollutants caused by decomposing animals, food waste and a general degree of dampness plagued living spaced, a problem that was increased even more so due to overcrowding and the general pressures surrounding population growth. ¹⁸ There was also a general disregard by city planners and engineers to address these problems around sanitation as often the morality and behavior of the working class was called into question. Operations officers, or those in charge of property or some aspect of infrastructure, often questioned and placed blame on the habits of the worker. In order to combat the issues surrounding "irresponsible" or "unqualified" officers, health inspectors suggested appointing district medical officers who would be accountable for educating the population and overseeing the improvement of sanitation. ¹⁹ Consequentially, poor sanitation was perceived to be responsible for moral destruction, reckless behavior, intemperance and the disintegration of the home. ²⁰

Problems surrounding poor sanitation did not end with simply poor health. In Great Britain during the 1840s, Edwin Chadwick, who led a government inquiry into sanitation concerns, found the "annual loss of life from filth and bad ventilation [were] greater than the loss from death or wounds in any war which the country has been engaged in modern times." Furthermore, in 1843 there were 43,000 cases of widowhood and 112,000 cases of destitute orphanage. Lastly, the average lifespan in Industrial Britain was 45, while the average population for neighboring Sweden was 13 years higher. ²¹ Children were also noticed to be "inferior" in general health as compared to other populations. The general consensus of the time was that poor sanitation and living conditions coupled by the pressures brought about by population characterized urban life for the worker as, again, dehumanizing and demoralizing. Unfortunately, market forces on a macro-scale were all too capable of furthering this downward social trend for the industrial worker.

Economic depressions that sporadically impacted the cities made matters worse. The depression of 1837-1839 left more than 1/3 ^rd of the working population of New York City unemployed. ²² Furthermore, wages not only failed to match the rising cost of living in the city, but also fell steadily in many sectors between 1820 and 1860. For example, Boilers in Pittsburgh earned an average of $7.00 per ton of iron ore produced in 1837. By 1858, that figure had steadily dropped to as low as $3.00 per ton. Similarly, Puddlers earned an average of $4.25 per ton in 1837 but $1.90 in 1858. ²³ With wages steadily being lowered and the cost of provisions steadily increasing, many laborers were completely incapable of keeping up with the cost of living let alone establishing any degree of wealth or comfort. Thus, class stratification was on the rise as workers were forced to take up collective residency amid a growing number of people in an already degrading standard of living.

However, the working class, especially women, were able to find some degree of agency at the time. Many women who worked in textile shops and factories were unable to live with their families. Instead, private boarding houses were built to house dozens of women. The separation from family heightened the importance of developing close relationship with peer groups. ²⁴ In this setting women were sowing the seeds for the first labor movements that sought advocacy for the industrial worker through organization- a tool that was lacking in the ethnically and linguistically diverse population of the immigrant communities. Working women were isolated while at work, usually left under the supervision of a male overseer. Management of laborers was largely dependent upon the intelligence and skills of the worker, which in turn discouraged micromanagement and facilitated a high degree of interaction and socialization between workers. Managers tried to stifle any inklings of fraternization as it often resulted in growth and solidarity amongst the working class. ²⁵ And, although women were just as technically capable as their male counterparts, they were restricted from holding supervisory and highly physical positions. ²⁶ But, women did have an advantage finding work as they were chosen more often for technical jobs because they were cheaper to hire. ²⁷

Nonetheless, women and men alike endured tremendous labor inequities that characterized life in the factories as physical and emotionally tumultuous. Shifts were often 14 to 16 hours in duration with a short break for lunch if workers were lucky.

Children too were subject to immense family pressure at home and mistreatment at work during the Industrial Revolution. The economic necessity of the working child as a means to increase a family's income took priority over education. Consequentially, families became larger and less educated as schooling was replaced with industry work for a child as long as there was a financial strain. It was not uncommon for children as young as 8 years old to be employed in factories engaging in work that was extremely dangerous. Similarly to the adults, children worked shifts that were sometimes 16 hours in length, starting very early in the morning and stretching through sundown. This meant children were unable to obtain a sufficient amount of sleep. Children often had to be physically pulled out of bed and hauled off to work. There was rarely time for breakfast and instead, forced to work through the day on an empty stomach. Children were managed by an overseer who used physical coercion as a tool to ensure production quotas were met. Overseers ranged in age from teenagers to adults but all were responsible for maximizing profit and minimizing problems. Children were fiercely beaten for being late to work, showing signs of exhaustion or not meeting production quotas. Children would try and escape the clutches of their overseers by running away or not showing up to work. But, children were almost always apprehended and punished accordingly. Children who ran away or were late to work had their pay docked. By many accounts children were required to work by their parents who saw their child's employment as a necessity to the survival of the family. Parents were given low pay, sometimes 6 pounds sterling in exchange for a years worth of their child's labor.

The physical aspect of work in the factories was demanding. It was not uncommon for children to develop irregularities and abnormalities from labor that was cumbersome and repetitive. For example, some machines required children to use their legs and feet in conjunction with their hands for extended periods of time. Thus, some children's legs or arms started to show signs of curvature or bending from constant use, a consequence that was compounded by the lack of shift breaks and unyielding operation requirements of the machines. ²⁸ Lacerations, bruises, loss of limb and even death were not uncommon among the child laborer. Generally, the child's experience in the factory was characterized by long hours of arduous work that consequently took a tremendous toll on the physical and mental health of the child. Child laborers would not see improvement in their circumstances until the working-class began responding to such inequities and expediting policy changes around labor.