APWH DBQ Essay Industrial Revolution

After the Industrial Revolution, new technology sparked a wave of factories and a new way to work. The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were filled with examples of social and economic struggle. In order to have more profit, owners then crowded workers into dangerous factories for long hours to work on machines. Conditions for workers were universally bad, with some better than others. Women and children suffered especially in factory work. Gender was also an issue-- with women facing mistreatment and men fearing competition. Another problem was wages for men women and children. While the Industrial Revolution helped shape the world we have today, it was certainly a rough time for men, women, and children, their paychecks, and working conditions. When hiring workers, factory owners looked for whomever they could take advantage over most. Women and children could be forced into small workplaces where men could not fit. Patricia Tsurumi organized data and found that 92% of workers in observed Japanese mills were women and 66% of those girls were under 21 years old (Document 2). According to D.C. Coleman, workers were 63-96% women and 35-53% of them were under 16 years old. The women and children were also paid less and could do nothing about it. Cheaper alternatives made it harder for men to get jobs and support their family. A Japanese song illustrates the rough relationship between male and female workers. It advised women not to fall in love unless they wanted to be thrown away later on. In the work environment, women were vulnerable to men of higher position. Sakura Takuji recalls that girls were abused at work and even raped in the dorms as managers/owners had keys to the rooms (Document 8). The point of view was of a Japanese woman remembering her early life which may imply that her memory is not perfect or that this may not happen outside of Japan.

All factory workers endured long hours for pitiful wages. A former factory worker, Harriet