1. Life During the 2nd Industrial Revolution

2. Life for workers in factories
People would leave their homes to go to work
Each worker is assigned to a task they learn on the job for their industry
Men, Women, and Children worked in factories
No safety regulations in place meant many people hurt while at work

3. Working Conditions More than 12 hours of work a day, even for children
Loud noise
Air flow (ventilation) was non-existent
Breathing in bad air, with lots of stuff in it
Poor sanitation- nothing was clean
Spread disease and caused nasty issues with food
Not enough food, or nutritional enough to work 12 hours
People were frail and exhausted

4. Long Hours and Danger
Most industry workers worked 12 or more hours a day, six days a week.
One of the largest employers, the steel mills, often demanded a seven-day workweek.
Employees were not entitled to vacation, sick leave, unemployment compensation, or reimbursement for injuries suffered on the job.

5. Children during Industrial Revolution
Many children were forced to work in factories
Could get underneath machines in order to fix while it was still on
Some worked in coal mines
No time to play. No time to learn.

14. A child’s request
We respect our masters, and are willing to work for our support, and that of our parents, but we want time for more rest, a little play, and to learn to read and write. We do not think it right that we should know nothing but work and suffering, from Monday morning to Saturday night, to make others rich. Do, good gentlemen, inquire carefully on our concern.

15. Do Now
Based on the working conditions in urban areas during the 2nd Industrial Revolution, what changes would you demand as a worker to improve your experiences?

16. Workers’ Hardships
Worked in factories  considered sweatshops due to conditions
Dangerous work in dangerous conditions
poor lighting
overheating & poor ventilation
deafness due to noise
poor training = accidents
Low wages forced everyone in a family to work
Child Labor  in factories rather than school
Stunted physical & mental growth

17. Workers’ Hardships Forced to live in Company Towns
Isolated communities
Owned by the business & rented to employees
Forced to shop at the Company Store
Goods sold on credit with high interest
Workers received pay checks late…most of their money went back to the company to pay for their “groceries”
Leverage  arrest workers if quit job before loans were paid.
“Wage Slavery”
Separate towns = increased discrimination & distrust

18. Comparing today’s work with workers in the Industrial Revolution
During the I.R.
Today
No legislation on minimum wages
No rights to unionize
No maximum work hours for children
Minimum Wage set at $ 7.25/hour
Unions
Child Labor Laws prohibit children under 14 from working

19. Labor Unions Emerge
Exploitation and unsafe working conditions drew workers together across regions in a nationwide labor movement.
Laborers-skilled and unskilled, female and male- joined together in unions to try to improve their working conditions.

20. Samuel Gompers ( )
Samuel Gompers was an American labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history.
Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in Columbus, Ohio (1886).
The American Federation of Labor,-reached written agreements on wages, hours, and working conditions.

21. American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor used strikes as a major tactic.
Also known as collective bargaining
Negotiating as a group for high wages & better working conditions
Successful strikes helped the A.F.L. win higher wages and shorter workweeks.
Between 1890 and 1915, the average weekly wages in unionized industries rose from $17.50 to $24, and the average workweek fell from almost 54.5 hours to just under 49 hours.

22. Studying with Political Cartoons
WHAT IS A POLITICAL CARTOON?
A CARTOON DEPICTING A POLITICALLY RELEVANT ISSUE, USUALLY PRINTED IN A NEWSPAPER

23. Political Cartoon #1

24. Political Cartoon # 2

25. Political Cartoons # 3 & 4

26. Political Cartoon #5