Urban Life During The Second Industrial Revolution

The Second Industrial Revolution began about 1875 and instead of using iron as the main building material, steel became the preference. It was lighter, stronger and more flexible. People moved away from the use of steam power to a new way of making things move by using electricity and petroleum. This new was of energy allowed homes to have lights at night and street lights. Electricity opened the door to the use of the telegraph and telephone. It also allowed factories and mills to run as long as they wanted because there was a new source of power. The automobile made living a lot more interesting and travel greater because of the automobile and its being fueled by petroleum. Urban life was very much affected in a positive way because everyone wanted a better life, however, with so many coming to the towns to gain financial stability the negatives were quickly mounding. Overcrowded living and work places; poor working conditions and low paying employment opportunities were just a few of the negatives of this revolution.
The British government saw the importance of making lives better for the people.
During the time of the Industrial Revolution working conditions were horrible. Many poor people needing jobs traveled to the cities to work long hours and receive very low wages. These workers were not just adults, but children, too, and the work day could be as long as 16 hours. These workers were a kind of slave because they had no real voice in the company and no guarantee of safety at the work place from an injury. If they were injured on the job, the business owner would not consider a workman’s compensation, but, the reality for that worker would be a lost job and a new hire in their place. No one dared not report to work because of sickness as the result of that would probably be loss of the job and a new hire in their
place.
As workers desired better treatment and became less enthusiastic about the ‘employment’ laws that did not seem to be working, Social Democratic Parties were springing up all across Europe. They became the voice of the worker as there seem to be growing an unspoken unity. These groups were developing labor unions. The labor unions were designed to bring workers together to fight for higher wages, shorter workdays and better working conditions. These unions were banned earlier, but now they were on the rise and were a direct threat to the system. With this new energy, labor unions were able to negotiate with employers, collectively. It was no longer one employee against the company, but a union fighting to make life better for all who worked in that company. Labor union workers found a new sense of freedom as they fought as one. When they believed what they were getting was not fair the workers would go on ‘strike’. Going on strike was a way to shut down a company to get what they were demanding. Usually the strike would occur because of some unfair practice the company was trying to place on its employees, as found in the 1899 strike at Le Creusot. Instead of receiving a pay raise, pay was cut. The workers who complained were pointed out by ‘undercover snoops’ and fired. Workers, already tired of the treatment rose up and revolted in a strike. Although long and tedious, the workers stayed their ground and after 90 days the French Government intervened and the strike ended with the factory owners coming to terms with the demands of the workers. This was a seemingly peaceful resolution; however, some labor/union strikes often became violent leaving many workers and guards injured.