Factories and the Industrial Revolution
Richard Arkwright patented the spinning frame in 1769. He is credited to be the brains behind the growth of factories and created the first factory at Cromford near Derby. He acted to change Great Britain. Skilled weavers ended with Edmund Cartwright’s power loom. In 1813, 2,400 power looms were in Britain, but grew to 250,000 by 1850.
The factory quickly employed over 300 people, growing to 800 twenty years later. These workers were mostly untrained and had a set job over a set number of hours to accomplish. The factories were governed by a clock and other factory rules. This was unheard of compared to the domestic work system, where only two to three workers were required and they had the flexibility of their own hours.
Factories were run by profit. No safety guards were put in place and safety clothing weren't implemented, since they cost money. Workers wore their everyday loose clothes off the street, which was a constant danger.
The employment of children was initiated because:
1. Orphanages had plenty of children, making them easy to replace if an accident occurred.
2. Children are cheaper and require less payment than adults.
3. They were smaller and could crawl under machinery to tie broken threads.
4. Young enough to be bullied by the employers or ‘strappers’ much easier than adults.
Children suffered under the lack of records kept of the ages of the workers at factories. Getting employment in the city was difficult; so many people lied about their age to get a job. Factory owners wouldn't be able to know any better.
Some factory owners, like Richard Arkwright, had better conditions for his workers. He had homes built for his workers and churches. He also wanted child workers to receive basic education. However, most owners didn't agree with this, thinking that these workers were just lucky enough to have a job.
Parliament didn't pass many laws to protect these workers. Plus, many factory owners were either Member of Parliament of knew some of the Members. Since factory inspectors were not paid very well and covering the majority of Britain’s numerous factories was impossible, they were easily bribed by factory owners.
For more information:
Trueman , Chris. "Factories in the Industrial Revolution."History Learning Site. HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. Web. 11 Nov 2013. <http://http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/factories_industrial_revolution.htm>.
The factory quickly employed over 300 people, growing to 800 twenty years later. These workers were mostly untrained and had a set job over a set number of hours to accomplish. The factories were governed by a clock and other factory rules. This was unheard of compared to the domestic work system, where only two to three workers were required and they had the flexibility of their own hours.
Factories were run by profit. No safety guards were put in place and safety clothing weren't implemented, since they cost money. Workers wore their everyday loose clothes off the street, which was a constant danger.
The employment of children was initiated because:
1. Orphanages had plenty of children, making them easy to replace if an accident occurred.
2. Children are cheaper and require less payment than adults.
3. They were smaller and could crawl under machinery to tie broken threads.
4. Young enough to be bullied by the employers or ‘strappers’ much easier than adults.
Children suffered under the lack of records kept of the ages of the workers at factories. Getting employment in the city was difficult; so many people lied about their age to get a job. Factory owners wouldn't be able to know any better.
Some factory owners, like Richard Arkwright, had better conditions for his workers. He had homes built for his workers and churches. He also wanted child workers to receive basic education. However, most owners didn't agree with this, thinking that these workers were just lucky enough to have a job.
Parliament didn't pass many laws to protect these workers. Plus, many factory owners were either Member of Parliament of knew some of the Members. Since factory inspectors were not paid very well and covering the majority of Britain’s numerous factories was impossible, they were easily bribed by factory owners.
For more information:
Trueman , Chris. "Factories in the Industrial Revolution."History Learning Site. HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. Web. 11 Nov 2013. <http://http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/factories_industrial_revolution.htm>.