Discuss The Impact Of The Industrial Revolution On American Workers
The Industrial Revolution replaced the older notion of the “Artisan Republic” in the United States. Large factories with tedious and impassionate work replaced small workshops of learning laborers practicing their crafts. In the United States, hierarchy in the factories replaced the industrial democracy of artisans (Lecture, November 9, 2017). American workers resisted the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution in a myriad of ways. American workers sought to maintain these older traditions of work by utilizing ideals and values of artisan republicanism, such as egalitarian ideology and traditions of American independence, while also using working class resistance, such as unionization, disseminating information, and holding strikes. American workers were successful in creating positive changes in the new factory system but found it difficult to maintain older habits of the Artisan Republic. The shift from the Artisan Republic to the Industrial Revolution changed the dynamics of labor in the United States. Artisans and craftsmen ran their shops in their homes with the help of live-in apprentices (Clark et al, p. 338). The master craftsman would teach the apprentices in hopes of understanding the craft at a high level. There was no clear division between workers and the boss as much of the work was
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done between family and friends (Lecture, November 6, 2017). However, growing demand and increased investments catalyzed the shift to larger workshops and factories as part of the Industrial Revolution (Clark et al, p. 338). In this new setting, the division of labor was clear in which the laborers worked in the factories while the boss managed. Instead of fraternal unity among the workers and the boss, the only connection between the two was the paid wage (Lecture, November 6, 2017). An example of this shift is Samuel Slater’s spinning machines. Instead of artisans working in the home to produce hand-sewn clothing, Slater’s machines in the factories would produce the material exponentially faster. Investments in textile mills such as Slater’s allowed the factory system to boom in the United States’ largest cities (Clark et al, p. 339). Within these factories, the idea of a boss developed in which they oversee the workers, set their hours, and their pay. Workers of the Artisan Republic worked hands-on with the boss, set their own hours, and were paid based on the quality of their work. This transition is conveyed in the shoe production industry of Lynn, Massachusetts where the division of labor increased when small shops shifted into larger industries (Clark et al, p. 345). Small houses of craftsmen producing shoes turned into large factories with workers operating machines to make the shoes. Workers tried to maintain the older traditions of work by protesting the bosses and the factories.
The new Industrial Revolution threatened the American ideological value of egalitarianism. This is apparent economically because amidst the prosperity for factory owners was the poverty and insecurity for wageworkers (Clark et al, p. 341). People that were once artisans, working hard to perfect their craft, became mundane workers in the factory. American egalitarian values embody equal opportunity for American citizens. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Americans who were forced to work in factories. An 1830 report conveyed that some women working in factories were earning a mere fifty-five dollars per year and having to pay twenty-six dollars for rent alone (Clark et al, p. 341). This does not coincide with egalitarian values because American liberty is about equal opportunity, including equal opportunity to better wages. These workers wanted to have control of their own labor and have independence in the workplace as opposed to the boss-controlled environment of the Industrial Revolution (Lecture, November 6, 2017). The ideal of being politically independent overlaps with being economically independent. Therefore, workers could not be economically independent under the system of wage labor because they were not represented politically until the formation of unions.
Americans that wanted to maintain these older traditions faced a dilemma in which they resisted change. A New York master refused to divide the work in his shop because it would violate republican principles: “this is a free country; we want no one person over another which would be the case if you divided the labour” (Clark et al, p. 345). If bosses took the opposite approach of the New York master and took the more capitalist route, workers would often strike and protest (Clark et al, p. 345). They were sometimes successful in which workers were able to determine their work hours. An example of an important strike during this time was the Great Strike of 1860 where men and women utilized the equal-rights traditions to confront wage slavery (Dawley, p. 85). The outlook of the unionized workforce demanded that economic life should conform to republican principles (Clark et al, p. 358). Workers resisted changed when these values were threatened through the Industrial Revolution and its factories.
The development of the shoemaking industry of Lynn, Massachusetts is a great example of the replacement of artisan labor by the factory system. When the shoemakers first started, it was under artisan labor. Alphonzo, who worked as an apprentice in shoemaking house, was able to come and go as he pleased, as his master did not control him and his work (Dawley, p. 86). Shoemakers would start as apprentices and work on each stage of the shoe until it was masterful. Apprentices like Alphonzo would patiently learn each step of the craft under the artisan labor system (Dawley, p. 87). The lyrics in the “Cordwainers’ Song” discuss protecting free labor from the factory system, “New members daily join us, Our victory is certain, We’ll stitch our soles still closer, Let all protect free labor, There’ll soon be joy and gladness” (Dawley, p.88). Kinship and fraternity were pillars of artisans; this differs from the divisions of labor brought about by industrial work (Lecture, November 9, 2017). When there are divisions, self-control in the workplace is lost as well as control over the labor. This is embodied in the shoemaking industry of Lynn, Massachusetts.
The Great Strike of 1860 was a successful way that Americans maintained older traditions of work.
The men and women of the shoemaking industry were finished with the oppression of the factory system. Women of Lynn were incredibly angry about their wages and demanded more money. Women shouted, “don’t work your machines; let em’ lie still till we get all we ask, and then go at it…” (Dawley, p. 90). These meetings that the women had were unifications for a common goal in an effort to have higher pay. This is an example of a union in which the women sought representation and pushed for their desires. They were eventually successful and received a fairer
wage.
Child labor in Pennsylvania’s textile mills created a hierarchy and depersonalization in the workplace. Children and other factory workers worked long hours and had very short breaks. The children were healthier when they first entered the factories than when they left (Dawley, p. 91). One of the reasons why workers were in favor of shorter hours was to benefit the children and their education. By not going to school, these working children could not gain the knowledge and credentials to escape the factory-work life. The wages of children were not regulated by the number of hours, as some children were paid no more than fifty cents per week (Dawley, p. 92). Children used to be assimilated into apprenticeships where they would be treated fairly and paid well. The factory system undermined the older traditions of child labor in a malicious way. Unions of this time played a key roll in ending child labor and requiring education up to a certain age.
The Lowell Female Labor Reform Association demonstrated the success of women who unionized against wage labor. The women of Lowell, Massachusetts were tired of being taken advantage of in the workplace in which they did not receive their higher wages. In response to loss of respect in the factory system, the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association was formed (Dawley, p. 94). The Association helped the women receive reasonable wages and better working conditions. As so many wageworkers, including these women, had a slim chance of economic independence because the benefits of republican citizenship depends on fair wages and safe working conditions (Clark et al, p. 353). Strikes and unions helped workers achieve what they had lost to the new factory-system.
Working class resistance played a key role in resisting the factory-system and maintaining older traditions. Workers successfully resisted changes by organizing labor unions in order to secure better pay and working hours as well as campaigning for legal dealings that secured rights in an unsympathetic economy (Clark et al, p. 342). For example, in 1834, working class fields such as carpenters, hatters, and weavers joined the National Trades Union, which aided strikes over wages in New York and other parts of the Northeast (Clark et al, p. 355). Workers in assorted categories of labor worked collectively to gain some power in the workplace. Technological advances like the steam press, invented in 1830, allowed printing to be more efficient and cheaper so that ideas can be printed and disseminated calling for changes to the nature of work (Clark et al, p. 372). By controlling and distributing information, unions could gain more membership and use its influence to maintain older traditions of work.
American workers maintained past traditions of work by upholding artisan republic values like egalitarianism and independence as well as utilizing unions and strikes. Artisan republicanism encompasses self-control of labor; this was lost in the factory system in which workers used machines to complete the task instead of their hands and craftsmanship. The powerful bosses of the factories oppressed the workers; this is incompatible with being free, an American value (Lecture, November 9, 2017). In an effort to rid the factory system of labor in the United States, workers went on strike and refused to work. Strikes were the ultimate bargaining chip that successfully allowed the workers’ grievances to be addressed (Lecture, November 9, 2017). American workers were joined in unions and successfully received benefits of older traditions of work in the new era of work.
done between family and friends (Lecture, November 6, 2017). However, growing demand and increased investments catalyzed the shift to larger workshops and factories as part of the Industrial Revolution (Clark et al, p. 338). In this new setting, the division of labor was clear in which the laborers worked in the factories while the boss managed. Instead of fraternal unity among the workers and the boss, the only connection between the two was the paid wage (Lecture, November 6, 2017). An example of this shift is Samuel Slater’s spinning machines. Instead of artisans working in the home to produce hand-sewn clothing, Slater’s machines in the factories would produce the material exponentially faster. Investments in textile mills such as Slater’s allowed the factory system to boom in the United States’ largest cities (Clark et al, p. 339). Within these factories, the idea of a boss developed in which they oversee the workers, set their hours, and their pay. Workers of the Artisan Republic worked hands-on with the boss, set their own hours, and were paid based on the quality of their work. This transition is conveyed in the shoe production industry of Lynn, Massachusetts where the division of labor increased when small shops shifted into larger industries (Clark et al, p. 345). Small houses of craftsmen producing shoes turned into large factories with workers operating machines to make the shoes. Workers tried to maintain the older traditions of work by protesting the bosses and the factories.
The new Industrial Revolution threatened the American ideological value of egalitarianism. This is apparent economically because amidst the prosperity for factory owners was the poverty and insecurity for wageworkers (Clark et al, p. 341). People that were once artisans, working hard to perfect their craft, became mundane workers in the factory. American egalitarian values embody equal opportunity for American citizens. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Americans who were forced to work in factories. An 1830 report conveyed that some women working in factories were earning a mere fifty-five dollars per year and having to pay twenty-six dollars for rent alone (Clark et al, p. 341). This does not coincide with egalitarian values because American liberty is about equal opportunity, including equal opportunity to better wages. These workers wanted to have control of their own labor and have independence in the workplace as opposed to the boss-controlled environment of the Industrial Revolution (Lecture, November 6, 2017). The ideal of being politically independent overlaps with being economically independent. Therefore, workers could not be economically independent under the system of wage labor because they were not represented politically until the formation of unions.
Americans that wanted to maintain these older traditions faced a dilemma in which they resisted change. A New York master refused to divide the work in his shop because it would violate republican principles: “this is a free country; we want no one person over another which would be the case if you divided the labour” (Clark et al, p. 345). If bosses took the opposite approach of the New York master and took the more capitalist route, workers would often strike and protest (Clark et al, p. 345). They were sometimes successful in which workers were able to determine their work hours. An example of an important strike during this time was the Great Strike of 1860 where men and women utilized the equal-rights traditions to confront wage slavery (Dawley, p. 85). The outlook of the unionized workforce demanded that economic life should conform to republican principles (Clark et al, p. 358). Workers resisted changed when these values were threatened through the Industrial Revolution and its factories.
The development of the shoemaking industry of Lynn, Massachusetts is a great example of the replacement of artisan labor by the factory system. When the shoemakers first started, it was under artisan labor. Alphonzo, who worked as an apprentice in shoemaking house, was able to come and go as he pleased, as his master did not control him and his work (Dawley, p. 86). Shoemakers would start as apprentices and work on each stage of the shoe until it was masterful. Apprentices like Alphonzo would patiently learn each step of the craft under the artisan labor system (Dawley, p. 87). The lyrics in the “Cordwainers’ Song” discuss protecting free labor from the factory system, “New members daily join us, Our victory is certain, We’ll stitch our soles still closer, Let all protect free labor, There’ll soon be joy and gladness” (Dawley, p.88). Kinship and fraternity were pillars of artisans; this differs from the divisions of labor brought about by industrial work (Lecture, November 9, 2017). When there are divisions, self-control in the workplace is lost as well as control over the labor. This is embodied in the shoemaking industry of Lynn, Massachusetts.
The Great Strike of 1860 was a successful way that Americans maintained older traditions of work.
The men and women of the shoemaking industry were finished with the oppression of the factory system. Women of Lynn were incredibly angry about their wages and demanded more money. Women shouted, “don’t work your machines; let em’ lie still till we get all we ask, and then go at it…” (Dawley, p. 90). These meetings that the women had were unifications for a common goal in an effort to have higher pay. This is an example of a union in which the women sought representation and pushed for their desires. They were eventually successful and received a fairer
wage.
Child labor in Pennsylvania’s textile mills created a hierarchy and depersonalization in the workplace. Children and other factory workers worked long hours and had very short breaks. The children were healthier when they first entered the factories than when they left (Dawley, p. 91). One of the reasons why workers were in favor of shorter hours was to benefit the children and their education. By not going to school, these working children could not gain the knowledge and credentials to escape the factory-work life. The wages of children were not regulated by the number of hours, as some children were paid no more than fifty cents per week (Dawley, p. 92). Children used to be assimilated into apprenticeships where they would be treated fairly and paid well. The factory system undermined the older traditions of child labor in a malicious way. Unions of this time played a key roll in ending child labor and requiring education up to a certain age.
The Lowell Female Labor Reform Association demonstrated the success of women who unionized against wage labor. The women of Lowell, Massachusetts were tired of being taken advantage of in the workplace in which they did not receive their higher wages. In response to loss of respect in the factory system, the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association was formed (Dawley, p. 94). The Association helped the women receive reasonable wages and better working conditions. As so many wageworkers, including these women, had a slim chance of economic independence because the benefits of republican citizenship depends on fair wages and safe working conditions (Clark et al, p. 353). Strikes and unions helped workers achieve what they had lost to the new factory-system.
Working class resistance played a key role in resisting the factory-system and maintaining older traditions. Workers successfully resisted changes by organizing labor unions in order to secure better pay and working hours as well as campaigning for legal dealings that secured rights in an unsympathetic economy (Clark et al, p. 342). For example, in 1834, working class fields such as carpenters, hatters, and weavers joined the National Trades Union, which aided strikes over wages in New York and other parts of the Northeast (Clark et al, p. 355). Workers in assorted categories of labor worked collectively to gain some power in the workplace. Technological advances like the steam press, invented in 1830, allowed printing to be more efficient and cheaper so that ideas can be printed and disseminated calling for changes to the nature of work (Clark et al, p. 372). By controlling and distributing information, unions could gain more membership and use its influence to maintain older traditions of work.
American workers maintained past traditions of work by upholding artisan republic values like egalitarianism and independence as well as utilizing unions and strikes. Artisan republicanism encompasses self-control of labor; this was lost in the factory system in which workers used machines to complete the task instead of their hands and craftsmanship. The powerful bosses of the factories oppressed the workers; this is incompatible with being free, an American value (Lecture, November 9, 2017). In an effort to rid the factory system of labor in the United States, workers went on strike and refused to work. Strikes were the ultimate bargaining chip that successfully allowed the workers’ grievances to be addressed (Lecture, November 9, 2017). American workers were joined in unions and successfully received benefits of older traditions of work in the new era of work.