Child Labour during the Industrial Revolution

         

            This blog will be about child labour during the Industrial Revolution. The definition of child labour refers to children who work to produce a good or a service which can be sold for money in the marketplace regardless of whether or not they are paid for their work. The word “child” is defined as someone who is dependent on other individuals (Basu, 1999). This definition makes child labour sound not too bad... except for the not getting paid part. It leaves out the high chances of the children who are selling their labour to be physically and verbally abused, who are risking their lives every day they are in that factory all while being paid so little that they can barely support themselves, let alone a family to live.

In different parts of the world, at different stages in history, the labouring child has been a part of the economic life. During the Industrial Revolution, many children were forced to work in the urbanizing cities in the factories while being paid very little, if at all, and were exploited and were forced to work in brutal conditions, some being fatal. Many factory owners hired children from poor households, or children who were orphaned. Although, in some cases, children were hired from working class families to go to the factories (Basu, 1999). Some people debate about the child labour, some saying that if they did not work in the factories, they would be labouring on farmland instead. But there is also evidence of which families had to send their children to work in the factories in order for some income to be going to the home. Many factory owners only hired children because of their great work ethics being; obedience, submissive, likely to respond to punishment and unlikely to form unions. In the developing world, most work undertaken by children was explained as the socialization, education, training, and play of children (Nieuwenhuys, 1996). Some people stated that since the children were busy working in the factories, they became underdeveloped in society because they were not educated or socialized in society.

                Children as young as six would work hard hours for little or no pay. Some children often worked up to nineteen hours a day, but the more commonly known hours of work was between twelve and fourteen hours a day with minimal breaks. Children were only being paid a fraction of what adults were and sometimes, when the factory owners could get away with it, they were paid nothing. As if the owners did not think that these long hours were enough, the children were working in horrible conditions by being around large, heavy and dangerous equipment, which often times injured or killed the children working with and around them (Tuttle, 2001).

                The safety of the children was often in stake when they were in the factories working. They were often neglected and treated cruelly. Younger children were most of the times sent to be assistants to the older workers since they were not able to work the machines because of their young age. Those children were both physically and verbally abused while working under the senior workers. Even children operating machinery and working around in other parts of the factory were subject of abuse or harsh punishments.  An example of what punishments were done to boys would be them being dragged out of their beds naked and dragged to the factory holding their clothes to put on there to make sure they would not be late (Tuttle, 2001).

               In conclusion, people weren't considered immigrants and refugees during the Industrial Revolution. People were considered workers and judged based on their work ethics. Nowadays, immigrants as we call them, come to countries such as Canada to find better opportunity in work, much like how it was during the Industrial Revolution, but the work is much safer, and you get paid for the work you complete.

- Alannah

References:
Nieuwenhuys, Olga (1996). The Paradox of Child Labor and Anthropology. Retrieved From: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2155826?uid=3739448&uid=2&uid=3737720&uid=4&sid=21101256436407

Basu, Kaushik (September 1999). Child Labor: Cause, Consequence, and Cure, with Remarks on International Labor Standards. Retrieved From: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2564873?uid=3739448&uid=2&uid=3737720&uid=4&sid=21101256436407

Tuttle, C (2001). Child Labor during the British Industrial Revolution. Retrieved From: corriganenglish.wcsd.wikispaces.net

Anonymous (February 2010). Child Labor during the British Industrial Revolution. Received From: http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/tuttle.labor.child.britain

http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us/nhs/cur/Baker_00/2002_p7/ak_p7/childlabor.html