Conditions of Factories and Mills

          The working conditions in factories during the Industrial Revolution at one point could be described as atrocious. Workers, which included children, were getting little to no pay, people were beaten, and some even died working the machines. Needless to say, the working conditions weren’t just because the factory owners were terrible people, but they had a reason behind them. The conditions in which they worked did depend in where they worked.

          In both American and Britain factories at one point in time, the workers described their occupation as “white slavery”. Some children working there did not get paid at all, because they were in legal custody of the factories. This is because the factory owners take in orphans and give them food and shelter but they are forced to work in the factories sometimes up to 16 hours a day. In document B from the DBQ, it mentions how many children were left unattended while working these potentially dangerous machines. This neglect lead to many injuries and even deaths. In document C, which are letters from a female mill worker to her father, the girl mentions how in just the past week, two people were killed and others severely injured due to the poor conditions of the mill.

          In the beginning, Britain initially had much worse conditions than the US. Their factory conditions included everything stated above. But, as mentioned by Charles Dickens in document A, the US had nice wages, good working conditions, and proper sleeping quarters. The reason the US had these conditions was to lure people into working at the mills. The factory owners were very aware that people could easily move west to find work. Therefore, they offered them good working conditions so they would stay. Eventually, the US factory owners gave into their greediness and drastically reduced wages, increased hours, and provided them with cheaper care. But, people in Britain were beaten for their mistakes, while people in America received pay cuts.

          As you can see here, the working conditions in both Britain and the US became terrible for the men, women, and children working there. Children were at great risk because of their size and skill, woman were beaten on some cases, and wages were not close to fair. Many people died, and others were severely injured. In the end, the Industrial Revolution was an atrocious time for women and children to work in mills.