The Industrial Revolution: A Boom for Business, A Bane to Women and Children

Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution

Starting in 1760, the Industrial Revolution changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of families. Two worlds, work and home life, which were previously connected, were now separated and caused struggle for many women trying to find a balance between the two worlds. Due to the fact that businesses were not conducted at home, the house hold was seen as a women's realm and the world of business was viewed as the man's realm. The Industrial Revolution was fueled by the economic necessity of many women, single and married, to find waged work outside their home. Women mostly found jobs in domestic service, textile factories, and piece work shops. This great need for womens' participation in the working field led to the increase of servantry within the household.  Children were also succumbed to harsh working conditions, long hours, and dangerous environments. Since the Industrial Revolution was fairly new at the end of the 18th century, there were initially no laws implemented to regulate these new and booming industries. The women and young children suffering to maintain a single flow of money were not protected in any ways. For example, not a single law prevented businesses from hiring six year old children to work full time in a factory or coal mine. Once placed in a factory for  12-16 hours, there was no law protecting these beings from the biohazard waste produced by the factory itself, eventually affecting their health. Nothing was done- Free market capitalism meant that the government had no role in regulating new industries Those who controlled the government liked it that way... Overall, the industrial revolution decentralized many families, especially the ones on the lower social scale and derogated their daily lives.