Industrial Revolution Dbq Essay

At one point in history, it was lawful, even normal, to treat employees terribly, pay them unfairly, and hire people that could do more work for less pay. This period was called the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution transpired from the mid-1700s’ to the mid-1900’s. Many inventions and improvements were made during that time, but not without a cost. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of the advances made in the production of goods, it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s negative effects were the unsafe environment for workers, the devastation of living conditions, and the labor of children. One of the negative effects of the Industrial
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For example, “the industrial growth brought with it a host of environmental pollution problems” (Document 3). This threatened the environment and caused problems that are still a concern today. The pollution of the air and water also affected the air people were breathing, making it an unsafe environment for working and living, and contaminated the water people were using and drinking. Another toll industrialization took on living conditions is that the families living in that time had parents that worked long hours and didn’t get to spend much time with their children. For example, in an excerpt of a poem, the author writes “A stranger am I to my child; And he one to me” (Document 2). The Industrial Revolution caused these parents to work all day in order to have barely enough money to keep their families alive. The children never got to spend time with their parents as a result of this, and therefore did not have the chance to develop healthy relationships with them as every child should. Finally, the quality of houses and living diminished due to the industrialization. An example of this is shown in a photo of an urban tenement during the Industrialization Period, where living conditions were very cramped. There were multiple families living in one home, and the houses were built very close together. In the photo, the living conditions look dirty and messy, probably due
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For example, the woman who testified before a parliamentary committee to abolish child labor described her working hours, saying that her job required her to work “From 5 in the morning till 9 at night, when they were thronged” (Document 7). These long hours do not permit time for receiving an education, spending time with their families, or getting to play as children should. Also, the woman includes in her testimony that the children were thronged while they worked, which means that, if the children did not perform as demanded, they were treated harshly. These children were expected to do copious amounts of work, equal to what an adult was capable of doing, while receiving much less pay and much more chastisement if they did not perform as well as expected. For example, the testimony of Elizabeth Bennett states that doffing was, in fact, a laborious employment, ultimately not affecting the workers’ poverty. She explains in her statement, “When the frames are full, they have to stop the frames, and take the full bobbins off, and carry them to the roller, and then put empty ones on, and set the frame going again … there are so many frames and they run so quick” (Document 7) and later, when asked where she currently seeks shelter, she replies with, “In the poorhouse” (Document 7). This child laborer worked as hard as she could throughout all the