The Industrial Revolution

and its Effect in Labour

Lyndon J. Cena - 3 February 2015

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents

Introduction

Scope and Delimitation

Brief History

Historic Effects

Social Results

Conclusion

Bibliography

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Introduction
The Industrial Revolution is a period which lasted from the late 18th century till the
19th century which brought about long-term changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining,
transportation, and technology which we still feel to this day. Prior to the Industrial
Revolution, people mostly lived in an agrarian society.

One of the changes that is note worthy is that before the Industrial Revolution, a
person is lucky to have two shirts. There were people called spinners who spent their
entire lives handling a spinning wheel that would make thread from wool or cotton which
could be used to make fabric by weaving said threads in looms. When the Industrial
Revolution came, with the invention of the modern factory by Sir Richard Arkwright made it
possible for the process of making thread and weaving them automated. For as long as
raw materials were available, shirts can be manufactured in vast quantities. Not only that,
the steam engine changed the pace of transportation. The steam engine transported
people and goods via the locomotive at a faster rate compared to foot power or animal
power.

The hallmark of the Industrial Revolution is automation which made not only
production of goods faster but how lives are lived. We still feel the eects the Industrial
Revolution in this day and age. Today, it is hard to imagine malls or in the context of the
Philippines, ukay-ukay without seeing the amount of clothing available to us to purchase.
Today, we pay the price of such abundance with a hectic and stressful work conditions as
well as a fast paced lifestyle that is very typical of our society.

Scope and Delimitation

This paper will focus on the eects of the Industrial Revolution to history and to the
present and especially on labour. It shall focus on the birthplace of the Industrial
Revolution which is the United Kingdom because the Industrial Revolution began there
and the problems faced in labour also began there. Labour issues are universal and faced
by labour force no matter wherever they may be. Moreover, given the short amount of
time, this paper will focus on the textile industry though other industries will be touched in
passing. A brief discussion of the history of the Industrial Revolutions as well as the
technological innovations and economic impact will be made as it is incidental to the topic.

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Brief History
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, people lived in an agrarian society. Most people
resided in small, rural communities where their daily existences revolved around farming
work and home are not necessarily distinct things. Back in those days, farming, cottage
industries, trades, and work were most of the time done at home. As such, child labour
was not a public issue. All these changed when processes such as the making of thread
was automated and turned into a large scale operation in factories; this is known otherwise
as industrialisation.

Industrialisation replaced muscle power with spinning mills and with the steam
engine. Sir Richard Arkwright invented the modern factory but it was powered by a water
wheel which means industrialisation was limited to riversides. It was not until the invention
of the steam engine by Thomas Newcomen before 1712 and improved by James Watt in
1778 took oliterally. The steam engine made industrialisation mobile and for as long as
there is coal, machines can do what men and animals used to do faster, in large scale and
more eciently. Moreover, the locomotive transferred people from the country side to the
cities. However, industrialisation did not eliminate human labour, rather, machines still
needs to be operated by human labourersthe more machines a factories have, more
labourers are needed.

Historic Eects
First, there was a population increase during the period. Most who worked in the
farms decided to move to the cities to work for the factories because of the promise of
income. In the farms, they will likely get nothing from their labour but in the factory at least
they'll get something albeit it is not a living wage. The working hours were terrible; it was
at least 10 hours a day. The pace of work was dictated by the machines and it was
tedious and monotonous. The main attitude of the working class was, it was better than
nothing. Moreover, child labour was prevalent in the early years of the Industrial
Revolution. Although, the Industrial Revolution by no means create child labour, it
systematised it to an appalling extent. The mindset at that period was that children are
better workers because they are easier to train and untrained adult labourers were
relatively unproductive factory workers. Children were employed as mule scavengers by
cotton mills and would crawl under machinery to pick up cotton, working 14 hours a day,
six days a week. Some lost hands or limbs, others were crushed under the machines, and
some were decapitated. However, the child labour in eect produced a highly skilled and
experienced work force for the factories when these children grew up which might have
contributed to the decline of child labourers by 1833. Furthermore, the Factory Acts of
1833 might have contributed to the decline in child labour by 1835. In said law, children
younger than nine were not allowed to work, children were not permitted to work at night,
and the work day of youth under the age of 18 was limited to twelve hours. Factory
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inspectors supervised the execution of the law, however, their scarcity made enforcement
dicult.

Women had always worked but robbed her of womanhood just as children were
robbed of their childhood. Women worked for lower wages compared to their male
counterparts for the reason that it was believed that women were to fulfil their roles as a
wife and mother at home. This belief was reinforced because most often than not, women
would quit their job at the factory in order to fulfil their marital and maternal obligations at
home.

On the other hand, this paved a way for the middle class to move up the social
ladder and nearing the status of the aristocracy without being born to it. Moreover, the
working class were given more opportunities for work and soon raised the standard of
living. Families enjoy better health, more leisure and greater mobility compared to people
of an earlier age.

Social Results
Factory environments were un healthy and industrial accidents were frequent.
Lighting was frequently inadequate, the air was noxious, physical work was monotonous
and repetitive, hours were too long, and workers did not have time to eat their midday
meal. Craftsmanship gave way to mass production that diminished the aesthetics of
goods. Industrialisation also brought with it psychological stress and adjustments. Life
became more fast paced and mobility was put in place of stability.

Employment opportunities in the British Isles were increasing but in Britains

Caribbean colony, slavery flourished in order to satisfy the sugar cravings of Britons.

The Industrial Revolution saw the rise of the trade unions who are a group of
labourers seeking better terms of employment and better wages by strikingworkers
refused to go to work until their demands were met. Skilled workers were in short supply
but were in high demand. The employers were forced to choose whether to give in to the
workers demands at a cost to themselves or suer loss of production. Parliament of
Britain enacted the Combination Act in 1979 which forbade the formation of any trade
unions until in 1824. The Charist movement which was the first working class political
party organised a general welfare strike in 1842 in order to increase their wages and to
make the Charist charter into law. Said strike stopped production across Britain but could
not be sustained indefinitely by the workers. Eventually, the merging of trade unions and
socialists groups formed the Labour Party in Parliament.

Conclusion
The Industrial Revolution no doubt benefitted human civilisation in the long run but it
was rife with problems in its early stages. With the advent of industrialisation, came
abuses in the workplace such as child labour and discrimination of women in the
workplace. However, it must be taken into account also that prior to the 18th century,
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people had less in terms of opportunities for a better lifeif you're born a farmer chances
are you'd die a farmer. With new employment opportunities, one could raise his status of
living and not have himself resigned to the status of his birth. The abuses in labour gave
rise to labour unions which sought to improve the condition of the workers and not only in
Britain but elsewhere around the world, albeit child labour would last up to the 20th century
in Britain and in the United States; womens rights would have to wait even longer.

The Industrial Revolution may have had its dark side but we in the modern age live
under the shadow of its achievements.

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Bibliography
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Revolution
Colville, C. (Director). (2013). Why the Industrial Revolution Happened Here [Motion
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Galbi, D. A. (1997). Child Labor and the Division of Labor in the Early English Cotton
Mills . Journal of Population Economics , 10: 357-375.
Galbi, D. A. (1994, March 8). Economic Change and Sex Discrimination in the Early
English Cotton Factories. Economic Change and Sex Discrimination in the Early English
Cotton Factories . Arlington, VA, USA: Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/
abstract=239564 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.239564.
Majewski, J. (1986, JULY 1). The Industrial Revolution: Working Class Poverty or
Prosperity? Retrieved February 1, 2015, from Foundation for Free Education: http://
fee.org/freeman/detail/the-industrial-revolution-working-class-poverty-or-prosperity
Staff, H. (2009, January 1). History.com. (A. Networks, Producer) Retrieved February 1,
2015, from History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution

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