Industry revolution

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10 November 2016
How did children suffer during the Industrial Revolution?
Part 1
-What factors, described by Scriver would make the children’s work difficult and dangerous?
They used children because of the tight spaces inside the mines. Often times they worked with little natural light or air. They had to crawl in these muddy damp and dark holes on their hands and knees and in their stomachs in some cases. This gave them little wiggle room and they passed by every improperly supported shaft that was prone to cave-ins. These conditions seriously lack the safety measures, which are the gold standard for mine safety, today. Mine owners simply had a concept of employee safety. Workers were part of the business, just like the shovels and ropes.-Although horses would be able to haul much heavier loads of coal, why would some mine owners prefer to employ children to ‘hurry’ the load?
It was the size of the shaft, which prevented adults or horses from entering and pull back the ore car. Adults or horses could not fit in those small shafts. Again a horribly difficult job, the smallest children had the job of a “hurrier.” These were children of six to eight years. Their job was one of the worst in the mining business. They were the human packhorse of the mining industry. They dragged an oar car in and out of the mines. These children could fit in the small shafts. It was a matter of necessity because of the size of the shaft. They travelled as much as a mile inside to get the ore and dragged it back outside.

These were deplorable conditions for anybody to work under, much less a small child. These children did not live very long, even if they survived this type of work. This job was back-braking for an adult, it must be more so for a young child. These children were treated deplorably and many died because of it. It was no place for a child to be much less working there. The lack of safety equipment proved this fact repeatedly.
-How low a passage does Scriver claim he found in some mines?
It is the size of a man on his hands and knees and sometimes as small, as having to wiggle through on his belly and measured as far as eighteen hundred years in the earth. The height lists as low as twenty inches in many of the shafts. The document points out a bigger possibility of a cave-in, the larger the opening. The shafts did not have proper supports and cave-ins, were a regular occurrence during these years before the government realised some legislation was critical to prevent accidents and deaths on the job. This death toll was higher for the youngest children. The children probably suffocated before anyone to reach him or her. Adults were simply too large to do this job. The size of the shaft all but eliminated them from this type of job. Children were a perfect size.
-Is Scriver’s description accurate? Explain. (Is the source reliable/bias is the info accurate?)
The description seems accurate, bit it could only be an approximation. Other sources of history confirm the use of children working in the tight spaces in Victorian mines of 1838 (History, 1). This information is almost too accurate because many children and adults worked under the worst conditions in the mines. The higher pay, was supposed to be better in the mines, than in the factories, but at what cost? It is not worth any child’s life. These laws paved the way to the safer conditions that are still in place in 2016. It is unfortunate that many people have to die in a work accident before the government will step in. The children’s families were too poor not to put their children to work. It helps to keep a family from starving.
Unfortunately, statistics are in the eye of the person who documented the information at that time and location. A suggestion of combining all known sources of this information is necessary before an approximate value is assumed or as close as one can get to it.
Part 2
-What was the total number of recorded deaths in British mines in 1838?
Approximately 310 total deaths in all the age groups occurred in 1838. No way to tell if the numbers are correct, the documentation of business numbers was handwritten on a paper product and ink that fades over time. There had to be many assumptions made about information documented that long ago. The actual numbers are probably much higher than documented. As mentioned above combining all sources could lead to more information that is accurate. It approximates actual numbers, given the amount of time that has past. These children were expendable as far as the owners were concerned.
-What were the main three causes of death among young people? How would you explain this?
The three highest causes of causes of death were falling down a mineshaft, falling stones or coal sometimes called a cave-in and death from explosions of gas. This is probably due to lack of proper safety precautions. These would be a lack safety hard hats, safety harnesses, and improper handling of explosives. This type of safety equipment had not been invented yet at the start of the industrial revolution, which came much later because of the Factory Acts.
Approximately sixty-six fatalities transpired by falling down a mineshaft for all age groups, with thirty-six the highest in the over 18-age group. This is not too surprising since mines are dug deep down into the earth where there is no natural light available, it would be very easy not to see a problem before it is too late. Children simply did not have the strength or reflexes of a seasoned adult. That was probably was why they were used in the small spaces and apparently they were expendable in the eyes of the owners.
Approximately ninety-seven were killed by falling stones or coal with sixty-nine deaths in the over 18-age group. It was the improperly supported walls and ceilings, which caused huge stones or chunks of coal to become instruments of death or maiming. The children did not really count as this is where most of the injuries and deaths occurred.
Approximately one hundred were killed during explosions of gas, with the highest in the over 18-age group at forty-nine. This is also a failure of taking proper precautions when using explosives. By far the most dangerous job should be using the explosives to blast holes in the earth, which belies the deaths by falling or crushed.
The implementation of the Factory Acts made many beneficial changes in labour laws that now protect the lives and health of employees. This was critical legislation and it did save many lives and prevented children from working under those conditions, ever again. Children are a precious commodity and should be protected as such. This fact was not in play here. The very idea that mine owners never took the deaths of these children seriously until the government stepped in with the aid of social reformers to put changes through in the form of these Factory Acts.
-Does these statistics corroborate the earlier evidence about mine work being dangerous for young people?
Mining is dangerous for all humans, but especially for children. They really had no say in their welfare by working in these mines. It was a dark, muddy, and unsafe, especially for children. The actual statistics on deaths and maiming accidents were probably much higher. The mines were dangerous for all people. The children were disadvantaged due to their size and level of self-preservation experience. An Adult would see the danger faster than the children would, and might be able to get out of the way and survive an accident. Sadly, this was not always the case, as the numbers state. These were horrible conditions in which to work as an adult, it was all but unlivable for a child or an animal.
-What questions would you want to ask about these statistics, to help evaluate their worth as historical evidence (is the source reliable/bias, is the info accurate?)
All humans must remember the past or problems may replay repeatedly. Proper documentation is important in order to prevent future accidents and deaths. Safety should always be a top concern in the field of employment, whether it is a mine or not. Why was there so many children killed and why it took them excessively long to put laws in place? It is a good idea to research other sources to prove whether the statistics were accurate. Perhaps come up with a mathematical mean or average to make approximate numbers. Speed and Speed (1) make no documentation of how they derived these numbers. Still, it can only be approximate values, since there is no real way to test for accuracy. It is all about who did to documenting and when. Hard to tell at this point in time, but owners did disregard safety precautions probably due to the cost. It probably ate into their profit margins. It was all about the money for the owners.
Part 3
How many children under the age of 13 worked in cotton factories in 1835, 1850, 1870?
A total of twenty-nine children thirteen or younger were working in cotton in 1835.
A total of fifteen children thirteen or younger were working in cotton 1850.
A total of forty-three children thirteen or younger were working in cotton 1870
How many children under the age of 13 worked in woollen factories in 1835, 1850 1870?
A total of fourteen children thirteen or younger were working in woollen factories in 1835
A total of seventeen children thirteen or younger were working in woollen factories in 1850
A total of twenty-four children thirteen or younger were working in woollen factories in 1870
For children under 13, which statistic could reflect the impact of legislation preventing very young people from working in factories? Explain.
The 1844 Factory Act was the first act to implement a reduction in the number of hours for children under 13, to 6.5 hours per day. Consecutive Acts consistently restricted the use of children in factories from 1848 to1878.
-Of the four groups listed, which one experienced the greatest increase in employment numbers from 1835 to 1870?
It is the adult females working in the cotton factories, which had the most growth as high as forty-nine percent between 1835 and 1870. As with the reduction of children working fewer hours, the factory owners looked to adult women to tack up the slack. The adult men may have found better-paying jobs elsewhere. The adult females probably had no choice either.
-Compare the statistics for 1847 and 1850. What seems strange about these statistics?
Interestingly enough, the number of children under 13 only changed by one percent from 1847 to 1850. The children 13 to 18-age range had a reduction of one percent during this period. Adult females were at two percent increase during this period. Adult males, it was a five percent increase during this time. The factories owners had hired more adults of, whom they probably had to pay more and that fact caused them to lose more profits. The social reformers and government factory inspectors enforce the Factory Acts (Speed & Speed, 26). This monumental task had to take some time to check out every factory in the country. In addition, the owners were slow to comply with the new laws (Speed & Speed, 26).
Three possible explanations for the strange statistics for 1847 and 1850
Accurate employment statistics
Unless the historians can time travel, there is no possible way to verify data. The figures are for employing more children, than for adults. The numbers of fatalities probably were under-reported. This would take a combination of all source data to arrive at an approximate value. Perhaps the respectable sources are not available.
Impact of labour legislation
The labour laws had a huge impact on both the workers and the factories owners. The workers got some safeguards and higher wages along with fewer hours working. The children worked less and had better safety. The Factory owners had to lose money. It is a new balance of power in the fact that workers now had a voice in the Factory Acts. Safety is just as important now as it was back then. The massive numbers of workers that were injured or killed were the only way to get the government to intervene. It was critically necessary to save the lives of future workers.
Impact of Technology
New technology also played a large role in the industrial revolution. Factories moved from running machines with water to using the invention of steam power. The enabled the factories to move closer to cities and towns. These urban environments improved the numbers of adults able to work there. The downside was that steam power causes excessive air pollution. This caused a lot of sickness in the cities. Now it was time for the government to legislate environmental laws. Technology always comes with upsides and downsides. No thinks about the downside until it is happening and affecting people, whether is it safety or pollution. The pollution also killed much more than just the workers in these industries. Those who lived near these polluting factories also experienced illness and death in the form of bad water and air.
Works Cited
Labor Movement History.com Staff, History Web 2009, 10 November 2016
http://www.history.com/topics/labor
Speed, P., Speed, M the Industrial Revolution, Oxford University Press, 1985 Web 10
November 2016