The Factory System
Workers and Factory Life
Cottage Industries
Before the Industrial Revolution began, people produced goods in their homes
Individuals dealt directly with suppliers of raw materials and merchants who sold their
finished products
One person would perform all tasks associated with creating a product, from start to
finish
Upside people could control their work schedules and easily address family needs
Downside only adults could handle the hard manual labor, a house fire or flood
could ruin a familys livelihood, the quality of products varied widely
Jobs in Factories
People left their homes to
work in a place built for
industry
They were trained to
perform just one task in
creating a product
Children could be trained
to work in factories
Most factory workers
were men
Workers received orders
from managers and
factory owners
They were paid a wage
for their work
Factory Conditions
Factories were very dangerous and there were
few regulations owners had to follow
Machine parts were left exposed so they could
be fixed easily
People often suffered severe injuries when
accidentally getting too close to the gears
People worked long shifts (12 hours or more) for
six days out of the week; they were usually given
one meal break a day
Factories were loud, hot, poorly ventilated, and
very dirty
Factory Towns
Towns grew up around factories and coal mines so workers could live close to their jobs
Families would arrive in factory towns from the countryside with almost nothing they often
had to share a small apartment with other families
The air was very dirty and soot from burning coal covered everything
Sanitation was very bad, sometimes there was only one toilet for over 100 people to share
The Plight of the Workers
There were far more workers
than positions in the factory
They had to compete with
one another for a job
Factory owners could charge
lower wages to people
desperate for a job
Since workers only performed
one easily-learned task, they
were easy to replace
Any worker who complained
or who didnt meet
performance standards was
fired
Many workers would hide
injuries or illnesses from their
managers because they
wanted to keep their job
Reforming the Factories
Factory Act of 1833
Required inspections of
factories
Inspectors found numerous
incidents of torture and
imprisonment
People didnt have access to
bathrooms
People were chained to
machines
People were not allowed to
take breaks
Shifts could last for 14 hours
Pay was about $5 a week for
men $3 for women, $2 for
children
Early Reforms
Mostly came in the form of laws
No children under 9 allowed to work in the factories
Children could not work more than 8 hours/day, 6 days per week
Women could not work more than 12 hours a day
Laws were poorly enforced
The Workers Take a
Stand
When the government did not
enforce factory laws, the workers
decided to take matters into their
own hands
They began organizing and forming
Labor Unions
Unions represented the concerns
and interests of the workers
If the factories did not improve
wages or working conditions, the
workers would go on strike
Complete stoppage of work
Effective at promoting change, but
hurt relationship between workers
and factory owners
Eventually factory conditions began
to improve
The Luddites
People still running cottage
industries were threatened by
the growth of factories
Factories made goods faster
and could sell them for less
The Luddites were a group of
cottage industry workers who
united with the goal of
stopping the use of machines
They burned factories and
destroyed machines
Many Luddites were caught
as the movement spread, and
they were hanged as
punishment
Movement ended quickly
Effects of the Factory
System
Mass Production
Factories began producing
large numbers of identical
items
Consumers could buy the
same products as their
friends and neighbors
Interchangeable parts made it
easier to fix broken products
Before mass production, if
part of a machine broke, you
had to have a customized
part to fix it
Production increased greatly
Henry Ford and the Assembly Line
Workers only produced a
small portion of a product
The product then moved
to the next worker,
making the assembly
process much faster
Assembly line increased
productivity
Ford also paid workers
more than competitors to
motivate them and make
them loyal to his factory
The Rise of the Middle Class
Middle class refers to the group of
people with an income better than
that of the factory workers, but
less than that of the factory
owners
Includes accountants, factory
managers, engineers, and other
people with special skills
As more factories were built, more
people entered the middle class
These people had disposable
income and a higher standard of
living
They lived in houses built in the
suburbs outside the city, away
from factory pollution
Changes in Society
Women began to stay at
home, caring for the children
and managing the household
Middle class women were
expected to provide moral
guidance to their children
Industrialized countries
became incredibly wealthy
and the standard of living
increased
Middle class people had
leisure time to take
vacations, attend sporting
events, and go to concerts
Famous Industrialists
Some people became really rich
because of industrialization and
they still influence us today
Andrew Carnegie got rich in the
steel industry, was a huge
philanthropist and gave millions to
schools
John D. Rockefeller first
billionaire, got rich from oil, donate
money to education, science, and
medicine
Many workers did not like these
industrialists and called them
Robber Barons
