Work in Industrial Revolution
During the later half of the 1700's, our country was going through some amazing changes. These changes did not involve politics, but they would eventually lead to some political policies the United States would soon pass. But these changes centered around economics and a new way of business in the U.S. They would also bring a new way of life for the middle and lower classes. These changes are no referred to as the Industrial Revolution, and it brought forth a new way of producing goods. It changed the face of our nation from and agricultural emphasis to one of industry and mass production of processed goods. This in turn changed how the country would look at work places and how workers were treated. Great Britain gave birth to this whole concept of industry while it was also the strongest power in the modern world. This was a revolution that could first only be started by a very powerful country. The U.S., France, and Germany would soon follow in the footsteps of Great Britain. With the introduction of this new huge concept, new problems would have to be tackled. Some of these problems concerned the work force (Giljie). One of the most famous technological advancements was that of steam power, and more exact, the steam engin
Bernstein, Paul. American Work Values: Their Origin. Albany NY: New York State University Press, 1997. Cassens, Dick. Women and Children in the Industrial Revolution. New York NY: University of Manhattan Press, 1993. When discussing the conditions of work during this revolution, you have to look at child labor. Severe punishments awaited young children that were late for work. If children arrived late for work they would also have money deducted from their wages. Since wages were so low, many families could not afford any device to keep time. In some factories workers were not allowed to carry a watch. The children suspected that this rule was an attempt to trick them out of some of their wages (Berstein). Hilkey, Judy. Character is Capital. Chapel Hill NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. Giljie, Paul A. Wages of Independence. Madison WI: Madison House Publishing, 1997. Factory workers would soon realize that without some kind of massive organization, their protests of their work conditions and wages would never be heard. They first got together and tried to decide how best to approach these issues together. As they began to meet and plan the idea of organized unions came to be. Unions would be formed specifically to different trades and the needs of each. The union leaders would approach management of the factories when workers had concerns and demands. If management was not willing to negotiate to address the problems, unions would often tell workers to strike and deny work. During a strike, workers would picket or carry signs around the outside of the building they worked at to get their message across to the public and get added support. They would sacrifice their pay in hopes that the factory would lose too much money due to lack of productivity. Sometimes workers' demands were met, sometimes they were not and the factory heads would find new workers (Cameron).
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1800
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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