The following selections are testimonies from England and Wales collected by Parliamentary commissions who began to investigate the industrial employment of women and children in the early 1840s. Inspectors visited mills, mines and shops taking evidence from workers to see ways in which the Industrial Revolution affected women and families. The sources, along with illustrations and a workforce chart, reveal the following points:.
Working conditions were often unsanitary and the work dangerous.
Education suffered because of the demands of work.
Home life suffered as women were faced with the double burden of factory work followed by domestic chores and child care.
Men assumed supervisory roles over women and received higher wages.
Unsupervised young women away from home generated societal fears over their fate.
As a result of the need for wages in the growing cash economy, families became dependent on the wages of women and children.
There was some worker opposition to proposals that child and female labor should be abolished from certain jobs.
.
What was New.
• Banks not individuals determine investment priorities - as nowadays. .
• The Second Industrial Revolution was no located in one country: UK, Germany and USA all took the lead. .
• Germany's emergence as a major economic power was also a major political fact after 1870. .
• Industrial Revolution II built on the society and industry created by Ind. Rev I. .
• More emphasis on science and technology - scientific research comes to play a role. .
• Big firms becoming more important .
• Growth of number of white collar workers .
• Invention of the production line in early 20th century by the Ford Motor Company. .
V. Social Results of Industrialization .
A. Population .
There had been an increase in 18th C. but a veritable explosion in 19th C.
1800-1850 40% pop. increase -- leads to more industrial growth.