The industrial revolution was a time of drastic change and transformation from hand tools, and hand made items to machine manufactured and mass produced goods. This change generally helped life, but also hindered it as well. Pollution, such as CO2 levels in the atmosphere rose, working conditions declined, and the number of women and children working increased. The government, the arts, literature, music and architecture and man's way of looking at life all changed during the period.
Before the first industrial revolution, England's economy was based on its cottage industry. Workers would buy raw materials from merchants, take it back to their cottages, hence the name, and produce the goods at their home. It was usually was owned and managed by one or more people, who were generally close to the workers. There was a good worker/boss relationship, which was demolished and destroyed by capitalism. This industry was efficient but the workers, productivity was low, making costs higher. The longer it took one person to manufacture a product, the higher the price. Subsequently, goods were high in price and exclusive only to the wealthy people.
Life was drastically changed during the industrial revolution. People were living in germ infested, crowded and very unhealthful conditions, much like their place of work. Children and women labored in harsh conditions, working long hours with little pay. The British Parliament stepped in and limited and controlled child labor. This sparked a rebellion. People, especially wealthy capitalists, wanted the government to stay out of its issues, called the laissez-faire system. Many people opposed the laissez-faire system, saying the capitalists would gain too much power and people would be mistreated. The laissez-faire system was disregarded after a few years.
Taking into account all the facts we know about poor people's life during the industrial revolution, it's needless to say that it should have been very hard especially for children.
