PROBLEMS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
Social Studies 9: Industrialization Unit
Class Objectives
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To know what the Factory System involved and how
it had an impact on working conditions, including for
women and children
To understand that Industrial progress came at the
expense of social conditions and safety
To understand that Industrialization without regard
for sustainable/safe practices can widen the
poverty gap
To understand the changes that were brought about
by the reform acts
The Factory System
What were the benefits of change? Labour Supply
Greater efficiency in Agriculture
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More food produced
Excess Labour supply
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People are healthier
People move to cities
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People can work longer
People work in factories
The Factory System
What were the benefits of change? Technology
Inventions created promoting Mechanization
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Machines needed power & space
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Cottage industries became obsolete
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Large factories created to hold machines, power,
labour and production
The Factory System
What were the benefits of change? Profit
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Overhead is all of the expenses a business owner
has to pay out before they can make a profit.
Labour costs were part of overhead, so factory
owners had to pay people before they could profit
To make more profit, factory owners decided to get
the most out of their labour for the least amount of
money
How did Factory Owners Manage to Make
Profit?
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Extremely low wages
Very long working hours
Dirty working conditions
Unsafe conditions with
dangerous machinery
Taking advantage of the
poorest families who
needed money to
survive…including the
children
Poor worker housing
Creating a Wealth Gap
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Between the “Haves”
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And the “Have nots”
What happens when there are “Haves” and
“Have nots”?
Initial Changes (slow steps to change)
 social reformers pushed for change in working
conditions
 System of guilds for people to help themselves & band
together
 Private charities e.g. soup kitchens….
But there was resistance to change from government…
 Parliament controlled by rich
 Reform clashed with Laissez-faire goal of economy first
 Made guilds illegal
Wait…this sounds familiar
What does this remind us of?
 The Stages of Revolution!
So we have discontent, attempts to change, people
trying to prevent change…so what comes next?
PROTEST!
 1811 – LUDDITES ATTACK
MACHINERY
 1819 – PETERLOO MASSACRE
 1838 – PEOPLES CHARTER
The Factory Acts
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Eventually Parliament members changed and so did
their priorities
News laws called the “Factory Acts” were passed
1802- illegal for children to work more than 12 hours
1819 – illegal to hire children under 9
1824 – workers associations became legal
But this was all just the first step…
British Society Prevented Change
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Laws introduced were not
regulated
The British Class system
maintained the gap
between rich and poor
Upper Class
/Society
Middle Class
Lower Middle Class
Working Class
The Poor Law
Been in existence, and unchanged, since 16th century
 Supposed to help the needy
 Run by local parishes
 Needed to help solve problems of cramped cities
Greater #people in need = more stress on poor law
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What prevented it from working?
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Money raised by taxes on middle/ upper class
They complained suggesting giving hand outs encouraged people to
have children they couldn’t afford….leading to more needy people
Suggestion that the old Poor Law kept wages low as people could
get help from the parishes
The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act
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stopped money going to poor people except in
exceptional circumstances.
if people wanted help they had to go into a workhouse
to get it.
The poor were given clothes and food in the workhouse
in exchange for several hours of manual labour each
day.
Families were split up inside the workhouse.
People had to wear a type of uniform, follow strict rules
and were on a bad diet of bread and watery soup.
Conditions were made so terrible that only those
people who desperately needed help would go there
Response to Amendment
Who supported the
Amendment?
Who opposed the
Amendment?
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• Richard Oastler (a political
campaigner) saw Act as cruel and
unchristian.
• In north England they rioted and
attacked workhouses.
• Many people thought that the act was
wrong as it seemed to punish people
who were poor through no fault of
their own, for example the sick or the
old.
• Anti-Poor Law committees organised
meetings and petitions calling for the
act to be repealed.
Landowners
James Kay-Shuttleworth
(Poor Law Commissioner)
believed that people were
poor because of their own
foolishness.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/s
hp/britishsociety/thepoorrev3.shtml
So how did things get better?
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Population growth led to emigration to the colonies
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Irish Potato Famine & Highland Clearances also pushed people to the colonies
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1832 – abolition of slavery – rise in wages
1833 – remove child labour
1838 Peoples Charter campaigned for parliamentary reform looking for:
Votes for all men.
Equal electoral districts.
Abolition of the requirement that Members of Parliament [MPs] be property owners.
Payment for Members of Parliament.
Annual general elections.
The secret ballot.
Problems of Industrialization Today
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Problems still exist today, where the “have nots” continue to work in terrible
conditions due to poverty and lack of options
Homework
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Read the 3 articles posted on the Bangladeshi factory
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Write a journal response to the question:
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Who was to blame for the factory disaster? Was there more than one
person/group/factor that was at fault?
Can we balance our wants for consumption & profit with the needs of
peoples lives? What do we need to change to make it happen?