Child Labor
Industrial Revolution Jordan Robison
Jobs Children Did in Factories
- Textile Worker- A 13 year old girl, Martha, was employed as a 'scavenger', picking up loose cotton from beneath machinery.
- Coal Mines- Children were much smaller, enabling them to maneuver in tight spaces and they demanded a lot less pay.
- Chimney Sweep- It was a brutal, dreary existance for victorian child chimney sweeps. Some were as young as 3 years old. Falling or getting stuck in the stacks was a major fear for chimney sweeps.
- Factory Worker- Many times a child would be told to clean under machines even while they were running.
A Young Boy Working in the Factory
Been working all day at the factory for long hours.
Hours, Food, and Working Conditions
- Children sometimes worked up to 19 hours a day, with one-hour break.
- Large, heavy, and dangerous equipment was very more common for children to be using or working near.
- For Chimney Sweepers; being sent down the chimney the first several times would cause the child's arms, elbows, legs, and knees to be rubbed and scraped raw.
- There were a few reported cases of children getting stuck in chimneys and no one even knowing it, leaving them to die alone from exposure or smoke inhalation or worse.
- Children don't get much to eat, but they eat small portions of oatcakes, porridge, and bread.
A Child Working Under Horrible Working Conditions
The girl is working on machinery appliances that is still running, it may cause injuries.
Accidents that often Happened
- A 13 year old girl, Martha Appleton, had an accident. Martha caught her left hand in an unguarded machine, and all her fingers were severed.
- A girl, Mary Richards, got her apron caught by a horizontal shaft and in an instant she was drawn by an irresistible force and dashed on the floor. The bones of her arms, legs and thighs were crushed and her head was bashed into pieces.
- A child was working wool to prepare wool for a machine, the strap caught him and his whole body were mangled.
- Coal mine workers have accidents to their hands, such as cut, broken, or crushed fingers. A boy is mangled and torn in the machinery, or disappears in the chute to be picked out later smothered and dead.
Children Working On Machines
These machines can easily cause an accident for loosing hands or broken bones.
Punishments Children Faced
- Children were usually hit with a strap to make them work faster.
- Children were dipped head first into the water cistern if they became too tired to work.
- Children would be beaten or fined for falling asleep, making a mistake or being late.
- John Birley, an orphan, said: "Frank once knocked me down and threatened me with a stick. To save my head I raised my arm, which he then hit with all his might. My elbow was broken. I bear the marks, and suffer pain from it to this day, and always shall as long as I live."
Painful Punishments For Children In Child Labor
The owner of the factory punish the children for talking to each other.
Efforts to Improve/Stop Child Labor
- Factory Act of 1833- Children were paid only a fraction of what an adult would get.
- Limited the amount of hours children of certain ages could work.
- Factory Act of 1833- Made it illegal for textile factories to employ children less than 9 years of age.
- Four factory inspectors appointed to enforce the law.
- Employers must have an age certificate for their child workers.
- Children are not to work at night.
Improvements In Child Labor
A group of children is improving their lives by the decreasing of working hours and the horrible working conditions.