Workers and Owners in the Factory System

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Workers and Owners in the Factory System

• Unit 5 Day 3

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Workers and Owners Contemporary Views
Illustration of Workers in a Textile Mill
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The Luddite Movement
Beginning in 1811 the Luddite Movement protested
perceived injustices of factory owners by
storming factories and breaking up the expensive
machinery kept there. Named for the (possibly
fictional) Ned Ludd, the Luddites responded to
the particularly poor working conditions during
the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) and specifically
to wage reductions and the use of young
unapprenticed labor.
Luddites smash a power loom (1812)
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The Luddite Movement
The response to the Luddites was severe. In 1812
Machine Breaking was made a capital crime by the
Frame Breaking Act. Luddites clashed with the
British Army on a few occasions. In 1813
suspected Luddites were rounded up in the city of
York and subjected to a mass trial during which
17 men were executed. Many others were sent to
the penal colony of Australia.
1812 Engraving The Leader of the Luddites
Drawn from Life from a British Army Officer
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English Labor Legislation in the Industrial
Revolution
The Factories Act of1802 All factory rooms must be well ventilated and lime-washed twice a year. Children must be supplied with two complete outfits of clothing. Children between the ages of 9 and 13 can work maximum 8 hours. Adolescents between 14 and 18 years old can work maximum 12 hours. Children under 9 years old are not allowed to work but they must be enrolled in the elementary schools that factory owners are required to establish. The work hours of children must begin after 6 a.m., end before 9 p.m., and not exceed 12 hours a day. Children must be instructed in reading, writing and arithmetic for the first four years of work. Male and Female children must be housed in different sleeping quarters. Children may not sleep more than two per bed. On Sundays children are to have an hour's instruction in the Christian Religion. Mill owners are also required to tend to any infectious diseases. The Factory Act of 1833 Children (ages 14-18) must not work more than 12 hours a day with an hour lunch break. Children (ages 9-13) must not work more than 8 hours with an hour lunch break. Children (ages 9-13) must have two hours of education per day. Outlawed the employment of children under 9 in the textile industry. Children under 18 must not work at night. Provided for routine inspections of factories.
The Mines Act of 1842 Forbade women and children from working in mines. Factory Act of 1844 Applied standards for children set in 1833 to women. Required ages to be verified by doctors. Required machinery to be fenced in. The Factory Act of 1847 (Ten Hour Act) Limited the workday for women and children to 10 hours a day.
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Lowell, Mass.
Like Manchester in England, Lowell was a major
center for the cotton textile industry in the
United States, though the scale was much smaller.
In 1850 only about 30,000 people lived in
Lowell. Compare this with the 400,000 who lived
in Manchester. The town was named for Francis
Cabot Lowell, an entrepreneur who took advantage
of the War of 1812 to develop the domestic
textile industry by building cotton factories in
Massachusetts. In 1813, the Boston Manufacturing
Company was founded in Waltham Mass. and between
1822 and 1825 the company, calling itself the
Merrimack Manufacturing Company, expanded into
the town of East Chelmsford (renamed Lowell)
which it re-created as a planned factory
community.
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Lowell, Mass.

• The planned community at Lowell was developed as
  a response to widespread complaints about factory
  life in England. It also responded to the new
  sociological fact that many of the workers in
  these factories were women. Workers were
  organized into dormitories and were expected to
  meet certain standards of morality and conduct.

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Lowell, Mass.
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Lowell, Mass.
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Lowell, Mass.
Two Weavers (1860)