Agricultural Revolution:
The Agricultural Revolution initially began starting in the 16th century, and was caused by the increasing population of England. Some argue that it was also caused by selective breeding of livestock, the removal of common property rights, and new cropping systems. The Agricultural Revolution was a time when the process of producing foods was changed completely. Many new inventions were created during the Agricultural Revolution to increase the productivity of this process, and a few of these include seed drills, reapers, sickles, and harvesters. Due to these machines, laborers were no longer needed to harvest or plant anything. For example, after John Deere invented the first steel plow in 1837, plowing was sped up greatly, so animals and people were not needed to plow. Eventually, many people moved to the city to work in factories, as they were no longer needed in rural areas.
Factory Work:
As the population grew, many people moved from rural areas to larger cities, and soon the need for supplies grew, so factories were built. Factories were used to make a lot of supplies more quickly than places were able to before. Men, women, and children all worked in factories, six or seven days a week, for twelve to even sixteen hours a day. Factory work was extremely hard and difficult, however, it was some of the only jobs available. Many times, children were used as factory workers because they were much less likely to strike, expected less pay, and they were small enough, due to lack of nutrition, to work on machines easily. Additionally, women working in factories were paid much less than men. However, all workers were not given high amounts of pay. In 1803 the first Factory Act was made. This act LIMITED the amount of hours a child could work to 12 hours a day. However, when the Factory Act of 1833 was made, many improvements were made such as two hours of compulsory education per day. The Ten Hour Act of 1847 helped to limit the strenuous work hours put upon factory workers. Worker unions were completely nonexistent during this time period, so factory workers had very few rights. If a group of factory workers decided to strike, they would just get fired, and a new group of workers would be brought in, and there was nothing that the workers could do about it without unions. After so many people moved to cities to work in factories, the population in cities increased greatly.
City Slum Dwelling:
In the city, many poor people lived in tiny, cramped, back-to-back houses, and often these homes had open sewer. Additionally, many people lived in cellar dwellings. Obviously, these had the disadvantages of above ground housing, and the fact that sewage thrown out of a window could easily seep through the walls. These horrible living conditions were not suitable for anyone, but thousands lived in these conditions due to the fact that many people were working in low-paying jobs at factories, and were not able to afford better housing. Disease was extremely prevalent throughout these tight, disgusting neighborhoods. Before the Industrial Revolution, no middle class existed, which added to the problem that people living in slums were not able to emerge from that since they were not royalty or working in parliament. However, during the 19th century, conditions improved as acts upon sewage, sanitation, and construction were put into act. After these people moved to cities, there was not enough space in these cities for people to live comfortably, in addition to the fact that these people could not afford to live comfortably.
Agricultural Revolution:
The Agricultural Revolution initially began starting in the 16th century, and was caused by the increasing population of England. Some argue that it was also caused by selective breeding of livestock, the removal of common property rights, and new cropping systems. The Agricultural Revolution was a time when the process of producing foods was changed completely. Many new inventions were created during the Agricultural Revolution to increase the productivity of this process, and a few of these include seed drills, reapers, sickles, and harvesters. Due to these machines, laborers were no longer needed to harvest or plant anything. For example, after John Deere invented the first steel plow in 1837, plowing was sped up greatly, so animals and people were not needed to plow. Eventually, many people moved to the city to work in factories, as they were no longer needed in rural areas.
Factory Work:
As the population grew, many people moved from rural areas to larger cities, and soon the need for supplies grew, so factories were built. Factories were used to make a lot of supplies more quickly than places were able to before. Men, women, and children all worked in factories, six or seven days a week, for twelve to even sixteen hours a day. Factory work was extremely hard and difficult, however, it was some of the only jobs available. Many times, children were used as factory workers because they were much less likely to strike, expected less pay, and they were small enough, due to lack of nutrition, to work on machines easily. Additionally, women working in factories were paid much less than men. However, all workers were not given high amounts of pay. In 1803 the first Factory Act was made. This act LIMITED the amount of hours a child could work to 12 hours a day. However, when the Factory Act of 1833 was made, many improvements were made such as two hours of compulsory education per day. The Ten Hour Act of 1847 helped to limit the strenuous work hours put upon factory workers. Worker unions were completely nonexistent during this time period, so factory workers had very few rights. If a group of factory workers decided to strike, they would just get fired, and a new group of workers would be brought in, and there was nothing that the workers could do about it without unions. After so many people moved to cities to work in factories, the population in cities increased greatly.
City Slum Dwelling:
In the city, many poor people lived in tiny, cramped, back-to-back houses, and often these homes had open sewer. Additionally, many people lived in cellar dwellings. Obviously, these had the disadvantages of above ground housing, and the fact that sewage thrown out of a window could easily seep through the walls. These horrible living conditions were not suitable for anyone, but thousands lived in these conditions due to the fact that many people were working in low-paying jobs at factories, and were not able to afford better housing. Disease was extremely prevalent throughout these tight, disgusting neighborhoods. Before the Industrial Revolution, no middle class existed, which added to the problem that people living in slums were not able to emerge from that since they were not royalty or working in parliament. However, during the 19th century, conditions improved as acts upon sewage, sanitation, and construction were put into act. After these people moved to cities, there was not enough space in these cities for people to live comfortably, in addition to the fact that these people could not afford to live comfortably.
Sources:
http://www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk/time/victorian/vindust.html
http://www.galbithink.org/fw.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/agricultural_revolution_01.shtml
http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/IndustrialRevolution/lifeduringindustrialrevolution.htm
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=kun#378
http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/housingo.htm