Chapter 22 Section 2 The Factory System

How Machines Affected Work  It was no longer necessary for a person to go through years of study to become an apprentice to work in a trade  It was discovered that women and children could operate the machines just as well as a man could  {More employers began hiring women and children because they did not expect high wages and did not have set working habits}  As a result skilled workers were unable to find work and had to send their wives and children out to find work

The Wage System  Under the domestic system, workers got paid one large sum for each item they created because it could take up to a week to make it  {Under the factory system workers were paid based on the number of hours they worked}  {Several factors determined what a worker’s wage would be such as:  Cost of Production (if land or capital went up, wages went down so the employer did not have to spend any more money than he did before)  Number of workers available (an abundance of workers brought wages down, if there was a scarcity of workers wages were increased)  What the Competition was paying}

The Lives of Factory Workers  Factory workers worked 14 hour a day 6 days a week regardless the weather  Factories had no heating or cooling  Early machines had no safety devices and employers provided no compensation for workers hurt on the job  Children often worked from 5am to 9pm and were beaten if they were late or worked too slowly  Parliament finally passed the {Factory Act in 1833 which allowed the government to inspect factories and enforce child labor laws}  When workers went home, most went home to {shabby apartment buildings called tenements where up to a dozen people could live in a one room apartment}

Development of the Middle Class  As industries and cities began to grow and thrive so did the middle class  The middle class consisted of bankers, merchants, doctors, engineers and professors  Over time the middle class possessed social influence and political power  Most middle class families lived in houses and in less crowded neighborhoods and owned land  Men wore business suits and the women wore lace and frills  Children went to good schools and received top educations preparing themselves for higher paying jobs

Effect of Industrialization on Women’s Lives  {As families moved into the cities women lost their means to grow their own food and make their own cloth and clothing}  Although some women went to work in factories, many went to work for middle and upper-class families as maids, nannies and cooks  Some even lived with the families and were provided food and shelter for their work  Many well to do women wanted a life outside the home and independence.  By the mid 1800’s The Industrial Revolution offered these women what they wanted in the way of jobs as nurses, secretaries, school teachers and eventually telephone operators  Women’s colleges also came about to improve women’s education levels

Review Question  What groups did employers began hiring because they did not expect high wages and did not have set working habits?  Under the factory system what were workers pay based on?  What were the factors that determined what a worker’s wage would be?  What Act in 1833 allowed the government to inspect factories and enforce child labor laws?  What are shabby apartment buildings where up to a dozen people could live in a one room apartment