Factory Systems during the Industrial Revolution

• Most of the population of the United States lived and worked on a farm

• Many saw a chance to work in a mill as an opportunity to do something new and a good way to earn money

• Little skill was needed to work in a mill because you could be easily trained to complete your assigned task.

Background Information

• Kids had always worked on the family farm growing up or been apprenticed to a trade

• There was a belief that kids needed to be busy to stay out of trouble

• There was no mandatory education and some families needed the extra income

Why did American society accept the idea of kids working in the factories?

• Established by Samuel Slater

• Divide the factory work into multiple, simple tasks that could easily be taught

• Hire families to complete all parts of the factories work

• Provide housing and a general store for families• Pay workers with credit at

the general store and reinvest savings to build business

Rhode Island System

• Created by Francis Cabot Lowell

• Water powered textile mill

• Single loom that could both spin the thread and weave the cloth

• Hire single young women to work at the mill

• Provide supervised housing and board for workers

• Encourage education and special interests among workers

Lowell System

• Long work days 12-16 hours

• Controlled and ridged routine with a bell system

• Little to no breaks

• People needed to keep up with the increasing production of the machines

• Health problems due to the unclean working environment (dust, dirt, danger of machines)

Problems of Factory Work

• Increased competition for jobs kept driving down wages

• Poor working conditions both environmentally and health

Why were trade unions formed?

• Shorten the work day • Federal government passed regulation for a

10 hour day for its employees and they wanted it extended to everyone

• Child labor conditions• Children were paid less so they were given

the worst work for the longest duration. • Mandate education• Limit work day• Access to increased breaks• Age restrictions• Safety precautions

Labor Reforms