CHILD LABOR: IND. REVOLUTION

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• The Industrial Revolution caused the need for children to work in factories
• Before the revolution, child labor had not gotten to the point where it was a big enough issue to address
• Child labor generally refers to a child who works to produce goods for profit
• With no more cottage industries, children ended up working in factories to support their families
• Children were seen as a "better investment" becasue they did not have to be paid as much

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• Once the first textile mills were built in the late 1700s, children were hired as apprentices
• The factories were criticized for poor working conditions, harsh punishment, and low pay
• Factories were also accused of stripping the workers of their dignity and freedoms
• "Child apprentices" were hired bevause they did not complain as much and were paid less
• The children would work twelve to fourteen hours s day, six days a week for four shillings a week

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• Injuries occurred in the factories which included loss of limbs
• Children were beaten and abused by factory owners
• Many children died on the job
• They were useful because of their small size
• The children could get stuck and killed in machines

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• Eventually, Parliament passed several child labor laws after hearing about the conditions
• They made the minimum working age nine years old
• Limited he working hours for children and women to ten hours a day
• Established paid inspectors to enforce labor laws
• The emoloyment of child labor continued to be high until the mid-nineteenth century

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