What was it like to work in factories?

Answer 1

Life was hard for all working poor in the 1800's. They lived in slums, in poor working conditions, had a hard time affording food and rent at the same time. Often they owed someone for rent or food. Many families worked at home for pennies per item making things that were outsourced by factories. The children didn't go to school because they were needed to help with earning an income for the family. It took everyone to make a living. If a person was disabled or older they often couldn't find work and that made things worse for them. There were places where beds were rented by the day and on type was a bench with a rope running across it so the person wouldn't fall of the bench while sleeping. This is where the poorest of the poor slept if they had the few cents to pay for the night. To make money people began to sell goods and food on the streets until that source of income was outlawed by cities. That made them even poorer and it wasn't until the 1900's that some social workers began to fight for the poor.

Answer 2

Children were put in very hazardous conditions with little pay and equipment. They would have few breaks and often worked long hours of the day, and only had thin clothes and maybe a helmet to protect themselves (in coal mines). Even adult had horrible conditions, but children were a cheap source of labor, so they were used more often and given the worst and most dangerous equipment.

Answer 3

The factories were larger, and they used steam powered machines. More laborers worked long hours for low wages. Workers lived in dark dingy houses in the shadow of the factory. As the need for laborers increased, entire families worked in factories. In some cases, a family agreed to a contract to work for one year. Even if just one family member broke the contract, the whole family could be fired. The workers' day began when a whistle sounded at 4 a.m. Mother, father, and children dressed in the dark and headed off to work. At 7:30 a.m. and at noon, the whistle sounded again to let everyone know that it was a breakfast or lunch break. At 7:30 p.m. a final whistle sounded and the workers went home. During their day, workers faced discomfort and danger. Few factories had windows or heating systems, so it was dreadfully hot in the summer, and extremely cold in the winter. Frequent sickness went through the worker's families. Also, factory machines had no safety devices, and accidents were common. Owners ignored the hazards because there were no laws regulating factory conditions. Injured workers often lost their jobs.

Answer 4

It was different for every job, but every job was dangerous. In textile mills, people lost fingers sometimes women would lose chunks of their scalp from getting their hair caught in the machine. People in butcher shops also lost limbs and it would be lost in the mess of blood and meat so there was a chance that your hand could end up at the market. In coal mines people suffered from male- nutrition, black lung and children were whipped if they didn't work fast enough.

on top of all that the workers had absolutely no rights so they got no compensation for losing a body part or their life, and if they complained or worked too slowly they were fired and replaced by someone who wanted to work for less because of the economy.

Answer 5

The factory owners didn't care as such and there wasn't any rules and regulations. Conditions were so bad because factory owners employed young children that can't speak for themselfs so they got payed poor wayge and they were misstreated. As the population increased more machines had to be made and they had to be made better and more complex this made it harder for children to use they were hevier and dangerous. in the factories the temperature was up to 90 degrees F! Most families were poor and couldn't afford simple things like food so they all had to work in these factories so the factories were more crowed and stuffy. oil sept from the machines so the floor was more slippy, if someone slipped they could get caught in one of the machines!

Answer 6

it was very difficult to work in the factories because the slaves were treated like dirt and were only served food once and it was only a small amount.

Answer 7

The working conditions were terrible. They worked in small spaces, with no windows, and unsanitary tools.