Dabin
Chung
Mr. Alexander Ganse
History Research
Seminar
October 16th,
2005
I.
Introduction
II. The Role of Child
Laborers
A. Textile
Factories
B.
Coalmines
III. Conditions in
Workplaces
A.
Age
B. Working
Hours
C. Lack of
Nutrition
D. Verbal and Physical
Abuse
E.
Accidents
F. Regulation and
Penalties
G. Mandatory
Schooling
IV.
Reform
A.
Advocates
B.
Barriers
C. Chronology of State
Intervention
1.Insufficient Means of
Restriction
2. Short Time
Committee
3. Sadler and the
Factory Act of 1833
4. Lord Ashley and the
Mines Act of 1840
5. Ensuing Factory
Acts
6. Subsequent Mines
Acts
D. Reasons for
Successful Implementation
1. Public Fame of the
Committee Reports
2. Gradual
Changes
V. Problem of Faulty
Resources
VI.
Conclusion
Bibliography
I.
Introduction
Long before the
Industrial Revolution, a child was regarded as a ready source of labor. Most children were expected to help
household chores, work in the fields, or inherit the family business after some
period of apprenticeship. However,
although the children before the mid-eighteenth century led a strenuous life,
they were mostly not subject to industrial work and were under the supervision
of their family elders. However,
after the Industrial Revolution, the families once engaged in agriculture
increasingly moved into urban areas and became cheap sources of labor for
factories. In addition, the
children and women who were once not welcomed as laborers were employed to do
manual work.
One cannot deny that the
wages children helped the families' financial abilities. However, the wages they earned were not
enough to overcome the imposed difficulty.
Furthermore, because the children were no longer under the protection of
their parents but supervised by factory managers, they were more exposed to
continual abuse. Furthermore, they
were too young to protect themselves from mistreatment and consequently were in
the lowest level of the 'labor hierarchy. ' In
A. Textile
Factories
Child labor in textile
factories has been the most prevalent, visible form of labor during the
mid-nineteenth century. In
B.
Coalmines
Coalmining was another
industry that was heightened by the advent of the Industrial Revolution. However, the technology employed in
mining remained unchanged. Most of
the mines refused to implement advanced means of mechanical conveyance and
remained inefficient and labor-intensive.
Child laborers in
coalmines were employed to work with haulage and ventilation. Most child miners worked in underground
haulage operations as 'putters' (pulling carts and sledges) or as 'drivers'
(driving horse and pony carriages).
The narrow roads and low ceilings have made it inevitable to use
increasing numbers of child laborers in coalmining industry. Some children 'trappers' opened and
closed the underground ventilation door to maintain the direction of air
currents, for the miners were always at the risk of explosion and suffocation
due to accumulations of toxic gas.
According to an interview conducted by the Children's Employment
Commission in 1841 in
III. Conditions in
Workplaces
A. Age
As the spinning
machinery in textile factories and narrow passageways of coalmines required
small physique, young children were inevitably found in those industrial
workplaces. Also, it was profitable
for the owners to employ children, for they cost little compared to adult, male
workers. Therefore, childhood
laborers constituted a considerable proportion of the entire population. For example, according to Booth, workers
under the fifteen years of age have composed fifteen percent of the workforce in
textiles and dying in 1851. Many
started working as early as at the age of five and generally died before they
were eighteen.[4]
B. Working
Hours
Until the Factory Act of 1833, the
factories were free to decide on the working hours. The laborers usually worked for more
than twelve hours without breaks.
Consequently, child laborers suffered lack of sleep and were more
vulnerable to mistakes and injuries.
Matthew Crabtree was one
of the forty-eight people whom the Sadler Committee interviewed in the year of
1832. According to the Sadler
Report that catalyzed the Factory Act of 1833, Crabtree had worked in a factory
from the age of eight. He had
worked sixteen hours a day, from five a.m. to nine a.m. He usually went to sleep immediately
after supper, and was woken up by his parents every morning. According to Crabtree, he was ''very
severely'' and ''most commonly'' beaten whenever he was late to work. The fear of being beaten, said Crabtree,
was ''sufficient impulse'' to keep up with his work despite his
drowsiness.
C. Lack of
Nutrition
The child laborers were
from poor working families who could not afford to feed themselves without the
children contributing financially.
Even with the children's wages, most families were barely able to sustain
themselves. Also, the child
laborers frequently complained about the quality of food provided in the
workplaces. Some testified before
the Parliament that they could not eat the meager meal they were given because
of exhaustion and pollution. The
photographs of childhood workers testify malnutrition and abuse. Child laborers have smaller build than
their wealthier peers, yet the wrinkled faces covered with soot block the viewer
from accurately surmising the children's age.
D. Verbal and Physical
Abuse
The child workers were
under the supervision of strangers -- factory managers who were employed by the
factory owners. Also, the work did
not require much finesse, and there were many unemployed children willing to
substitute the worker's place.
Consequently, the factory managers did not carry the responsibility of
the welfare of the workers; they were simply paid to ensure that the factory is
operated smoothly.
The treatment of
children in factories was often cruel and extreme. The children's safety was generally
neglected. The youngest children,
around the age of eight, were not old enough to activate the machines and were
commonly sent to be assistants to adult main workers. The people in charge of the factory's
whereabouts would beat and verbally abuse the children, and take little
consideration for the worker's safety.
Girls could not be the exception to beatings and other harsh forms of
pain infliction. In some factories
children were dipped head first into the water cistern if they became drowsy.[5] The girls were also vulnerable to sexual
harassment.
E.
Accidents
Trivial mistakes due to
lack of sleep resulted in serious injuries or mutilation. The Sadler Report commissioned by the
House of Commons in 1832 said that: ''there are factories, no means few in
number, nor confined to the smaller mills, in which serious accidents are
continually occurring, and in which, notwithstanding, dangerous parts of the
machinery are allowed to remain unfenced.'' The workers were in most cases abandoned
from the moment of the accident with no wages, no medical attendance, and no
monetary compensation.
F. Regulation and
Penalties
The
regulation was harsh and the punishment inhumane and sporadic. The rules regarding tardiness and
attendance were especially more stringent.
One common
punishment for being late or not working up to the work assigned would be to be
''weighted.'' An overseer would tie
a heavy weight to worker's neck, and have him walk up and down the factory
aisles so the other children could see him. This punishment could last up to an
hour. Weighting led to serious
injuries in the back and the neck.[6]
The
violators sometimes had to pay the consequence monetarily. Elizabeth Bentley, before the Sadler
Committee in 1832, mentioned that she was usually quartered; ''If we were a
quarter of an hour too late, they would take off half an hour; we only got a
penny an hour, and they would take a halfpenny more.'' Some witnesses compared themselves as
slaves, and the overseer as slave drivers.
G. Mandatory
Schooling
One could
argue that lack of schooling had forced the children to factories, and mandatory
schooling was the key to eradicating industrial child labor. It is true that illiteracy blocked the
children from elevating the social and economic hierarchy. However, the Education Act of 1870
contained provisions to allow school boards to compel attendance but necessary
by-laws were not enforcement to implement these provisions. In short, the mandatory schoolings
in
Also, one
could argue that mandatory schooling would only wear off children who are
already exhausted from long hours of tiring labor. Schooling did little good to children
who were physically deprived. Lack of sleep will most likely risk dangers of
lethargy and expose the children to more accidents.
IV.
Reform
A.
Advocates
Although they had more
say than those in other countries, supporters of reform
in
The advocates of the
reform assembled and formed Short Time Committees in 1831 dedicated to help the
reform bill's passage through Parliament.
However, as the committee was mostly composed of spinners and weavers,
the radical Short Time Committees did not exert much influence before the Sadler
Report in 1832 provoked public uproar.
Also, the English
novelist Charles Dickens contributed to educating the public by vividly
describing the agony of the economically unfortunate in his novels. He touched themes that contemporary
writers avoided: poverty, sickness, despair, and hardship. Dickens had the motivation to do so
because of his unforgettable experiences at a blacking factory at the age of
twelve. It is said that he embodied
himself in Oliver Twist in the novel Oliver Twist, Pip in Great
Expectations, and David Copperfield in David Copperfield; the young
protagonist in each book is usually not given a proper job, food, or shelter
until he miraculously encounters his fortune.
B.
Barriers
Child workers generally
labored to assist the task of the adult workers; the two labor populations did
not directly compete with each other.
Therefore, one could argue that the child workers considerably
contributed to the impoverished family income. As the children were regarded source of
labor for long, some did not object to sending their children to factories. Even if others did not approve of the
treatment in workplaces, they had no valid and legal means to
protest.
Also, the wealthy was
usually those in politics; they opposed attempts to regulate the age limit and
the sanitary conditions in the workplaces. Thomas Wilson, an owner of three
collieries, interviewee of the Ashley's Mines Commission is quoted
below.
I object on general
principles to government interference in the conduct of any trade, and I am
satisfied that in mines it would be productive of the greatest injury and
injustice.[7]
State intervention
seemed to be impossible at this point of time. But things took a different turn in
1833.
C. Chronology of State
Intervention
1.Insufficient Means of
Restriction
Before the Cotton
Factories Regulation Act of 1819 (which set the minimum working age at nine and
maximum working hours at twelve in textile industries), there was no significant
regulation restricting the age of young workers. Despite the attempt, the practical
impact of the Cotton Factories Regulation Act was much doubted, and the age
minimum for the mining industry appeared after a considerable period of time,
after the Ashley's Children's Employment Commission of
1842.
2. Short Time
Committee
In 1831
John Hobhouse, the M.P.(Member of Parliament) for Westminister introduced a bill restricting the age and
working hours of child labor.
Workers spontaneously started forming what became known as Short Time
Committees in an effort to promote the bill. However, because Hobhouse agreed to make changes to his proposal, it failed
to provide any practical machinery for its enforcement. In the House of Commons,
Michael Sadler, the M.P. for
3. Sadler and the
Factory Act of 1833
However,
the report of the Sadler's parliamentary inquiry into child labor has shocked
the British public into pressuring the government to protect children working in
factories. Thus the Factory Act of
1833, applying only to the textile industry, was passed. Young person (between age thirteen and
eighteen) might be employed no more than twelve hours daily, a child (aged nine
to thirteen) no more than nine hours.
Also, the Act set a normal working day in the textile industry; the
working day was to start at 5:30 a.m. and cease at 8:30
p.m.
4. Lord Ashley and the
Mines Act of 1840
The Factory
Act of 1833 only touched the textile industry when the working conditions of the
mining industry were no better. In
1840, Lord Ashley, another advocate of child labor reform, set up the Children's
Employment Commission. Its first
report on mines in 1842 caused a stir among the public who were once unaware of
women and children employed as miners.
The Mines Act of 1842 prohibited the employment of all females and boys
less than ten years of age from working underground in
mines.
5. Ensuing Factory
Acts
The Factory
Act of 1884, designed solely for textile factories, was the successor to the
1833 Factory Act; it had lowered the limit of working hours of children under
age thirteen from nine hours to six-and-half hours a day. The Factory Act of 1847 (also known as
the 'Ten-Hour Act') said that women and children between the age of thirteen and
eighteen could work maximum of ten hours a day or fifty-eight hours a week. The Factory Act of 1850 increased the
working hours, but put an end to the shift system.
6. Subsequent Mines
Acts
The Coal
Mines Inspection Act of 1850 reinforced the previous 1842 Mines Act by dealing
with safety in the mines. More mine
inspectors were provided to produce reports of working conditions and safety in
the workplace. The Mines Regulation
and Inspection Act of 1860 increased the number of inspectors and prohibited
boys below the age of twelve from working underground.
D. Reasons for
Successful Implementation
1. Public Fame of the
Committee Reports
The success
of the nonviolent, practical reform laid on the impact of two committee reports,
Sadler's and Ashley's. The public
responded to the confrontational stories of the testifiers, and pressured that
the legislature take charge to protect the child workers. The problem of child labor was no longer
a problem of the radicals, but of the public. Furthermore, the attention of the public
made it difficult for the factory owners to disregard the
law.
2. Gradual
Changes
The Factory
Act of 1833 and the Mines Act of 1842 provided a huge step to reforming the
problems in child labor. However,
they were not complete as the bills made concessions to pacify the political
opponents. For instance, the
advocates of the child labor reform demanded a limit of ten hours, but it took
some time before the demand was accepted.
Subsequent Acts have filled up the loopholes of the previous Acts to
perfect the regulation.
V. Problem of Faulty
Resources
Most statistics that are
available could not be completely trusted.
One especially was careful not to depend entirely on skewed numbers or
individual case studies. Also,
throughout history, many scholars and ideologists have distorted the facts to
prove their assertions.
Until the child labor
issue became a state issue, most of the investigators touched only the surface
of the problem. The factory
overseers could easily usher the investigators away from the truth. Also, the survey has not been conducted
systematically as to portray an accurate sketch of the labor picture. On the other hand, some reports have
been accused of exaggerating the current situation to bring the child labor
issue to a state concern. Major
government reports on child labor were uneven in the coverage, focusing
predominantly upon children in industrial occupations.
In addition, some
''determined'' historians have maneuvered the statistics to exaggerate child
labor as an example of corruption and depravity when child labor helped improve
the family's financial status.
VI.
Conclusion
Industrial child labor
has occupied only a small portion of the child labor population. Also, it had lasted for a fleeting
moment in British history. However,
child workers in industrial workplaces need to be highlighted as history in
which children were placed under the custody of a stranger in a confined,
unwholesome space; the children were exposed to a higher possibility of abuse
and mistreatment.
Although child labor in
Child labor, as much as
it is criticized for its faults, should be analyzed, considering every possible
factor. It is true that the child
laborers have suffered from exploitation and unintended neglect, yet the family
would've starved if not for the contribution of the children. History should not be hastily judged,
but observed objectively for future's sake.
Bibliography
Freedman, Russell.
Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade against
Child Labor.
Hindman, Hugh D.
Child Labor: An American History.
Horn, Pamela.
Children's Work and Welfare,
1780-1890.
Kirby, Peter. Child
Labour in
Winstanley, Michael J.
The factory workforce: in Rose, The
Zelizer, Viviana A. Pricing the Priceless Child: The Changing
Social Value of Children. Princeton:
Bloy, Marjie. August
13th, 2002. ''Victorian Legislation: a timeline.'' The
Victorian Web. October 16th, 2005.
<http://www.victorianweb.org/history/legistl.html>
Booth, C. ''On the
Occupations of the People of the
''Child
Labor.'' Children's Rights. 2004. Human Rights Watch. April 25th,
2005. <http://www.hrw.org/children/labor.htm>
''Child
Labor.'' Scholastic. April 18th, 2005.
<http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/child_labor/for_teachers/index.asp?CR=Grolier&article=encyclopedia>
''Child
Labor.'' July 2005. Wikipedia.
July 14th, 2005.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labor>
''Child Labor
1750-1850.'' Encyclopaedia of British
History. Spartacus. April 18th, 2005.
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRchild.htm>
''CHILD LABOR:
Frequently Asked Questions.'' Child Labor and the Global
Village. April 18th, 2005
<http://www.childlaborphotoproject.org/childlabor.html
>
''Child labor in
factories: A new workforce during the Industrial Revolution.'' 2002.
Cody, David. ''Child Labor.'' October 2003.
Cody, David. ''Dickens: A Brief Biography'' 1988. The
Victorian Web. October 15th, 2005
<http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/dickensbio1.html>
''Punishment in
Factories.''
Spartacus Educational. October 16th, 2005
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRpunishments.htm>
Ramonet, Ignacio.
''Broken childhoods.'' January 1998. La Monde diplomatique. April 18th, 2005.
<http://mondediplo.com/1998/01/00leader>
Reed, Lawrence W. ''Child Labor
and the British Industrial Revolution, Part 1.'' Freedom
Daily. September 1999. The Future of Freedom
Foundation. May 30th, 2005.
<http://www.fff.org/freedom/0999f.asp>
Reed, Lawrence W.
''Child Labor and the British Industrial Revolution, Part 2.'' Freedom Daily. September 1999. The Future
of Freedom Foundation. May 30th, 2005.
<http://www.fff.org/freedom/1099e.asp>
Shahrokhi, Laila. ''History of Child Labor.''
1996. Child Labor: Exploitation of Children in the Workplace. May 30th, 2005.
<http://www.earlham.edu/~pols/globalprobs/children/Laila.html>
''Short Time
Committees.''
Spartacus Educational. October 16th, 2005
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRshort.htm>
Tuttle, Carolyn. ''Child Labor during the British Industrial Revolution.''
August 15th, 2001. EH.Net Enyclopedia. October 10th,
2005
<http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/tuttle.labor.child.britain>
''World Day Against Child Labour: Mining and
Quarrying.'' World Day Against Child Labour. July 2005. International Labour Organization. April 25th, 2005.
<http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/wdacl/2005/index.htm>
[1] Winstanley, Michael J. 'The Factory
Workforce', p. 132.
[2] Kirby, Peter. 'Child Labour in
[3] Kirby, Peter. 'Child Labour in
[4] Cody, David. ''Child Labor.'' October 2003.
[5] ''Punishment in
Factories.'' Spartacus
Educational. October 16th, 2005
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRpunishments.htm>
[6] "Child labor in factories: A
new workforce during the Industrial Revolution." 2002.
[7]