Changes Of Life During The Industrial Revolution
During the Industrial Revolution, the social structure of society changed dramatically. Before the Revolution most people lived in small villages, working either in agriculture or as skilled craftsmen. They lived and often worked as a family, doing everything by hand. In fact, three-quarters of Britain's population lived in the countryside, and farming was the predominant occupation. With the advent of industrialization, however, everything changed. The new enclosure laws—which required that all grazing grounds be fenced in at the owner's expense had left many poor farmers bankrupt and unemployed, and machines capable of huge outputs made small hand weavers redundant. As a result, there were many people who were forced to work in the new factories.
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Families were forced to do this since they desperately needed money while factory owners were happy to employ women and children for a number of reasons. First of all, they could be paid very little, and children could be controlled more easily than adults, generally through violent beatings. Children also had smaller hands, which were often needed to reach in among the parts of a machine. Furthermore, employers found that children were more malleable, and adapted to the new methods much better than adults did. Children were also sent to work in mines, being small enough to get more coal and ore from the deep and very often unsafe pits. They could also be forced to work as long as eighteen hours each day. For these reasons, children as young as eight years old were sent to factories—usually those which manufactured textiles where they became part of a growing and profitable business.
This unprecedented growth and profit were another social change that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. The laissez-faire approach taken by the government and advocated by philosopher-economist Adam Smith allowed capitalism to flourish. There were little or no government regulations imposed upon factory policies, and this allowed the wealthy, middle-class owners to pursue whichever path was most profitable, regardless of the safety and well-being of their workers. This relentless pursuit of money caused another important social change: the ultimate breakdown of the family
Families were forced to do this since they desperately needed money while factory owners were happy to employ women and children for a number of reasons. First of all, they could be paid very little, and children could be controlled more easily than adults, generally through violent beatings. Children also had smaller hands, which were often needed to reach in among the parts of a machine. Furthermore, employers found that children were more malleable, and adapted to the new methods much better than adults did. Children were also sent to work in mines, being small enough to get more coal and ore from the deep and very often unsafe pits. They could also be forced to work as long as eighteen hours each day. For these reasons, children as young as eight years old were sent to factories—usually those which manufactured textiles where they became part of a growing and profitable business.
This unprecedented growth and profit were another social change that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. The laissez-faire approach taken by the government and advocated by philosopher-economist Adam Smith allowed capitalism to flourish. There were little or no government regulations imposed upon factory policies, and this allowed the wealthy, middle-class owners to pursue whichever path was most profitable, regardless of the safety and well-being of their workers. This relentless pursuit of money caused another important social change: the ultimate breakdown of the family