Women During The Industrial Revolution

Although the Industrial Revolution had provided families with new job opportunities and income, there was an awful cost that came along the way of achieving this. The employment of women and children during the Industrial Revolution represented a continuation of the preindustrial kinship. Women replaced men in factory working positions, as seen in the 1851 illustration of plenty of women working in a cotton mill. Although these jobs were open to women, they were not, however, granted gender equality. Suffrage for women was still denied, and women were paid half, or even less than half of what men were paid. The lives of children were also majorly impacted from this new revolution. As seen in The Testimony of John Wright, education was no longer considered a necessity – instead, children as young as five were employed into factories and
During this time, children were either an economic burden to the family, or financially helped the family by working at a job. Nevertheless, many children were sent to the factories to work and help support their family. Moreover, the cotton industry was crucial in maintaining this preindustrial kinship as seen before during the agrarian societies where every individual in the family helped by working together. We see this logical pattern continue up until the issuing of the Factory Acts in 1833. Along with the benefits in which many families found during the Industrial Revolution, there also came a terrible cost that affected the health of the individuals and the family bond that was on the verge of breaking. The Factory Act of 1833 reduced the number of hours worked by women and children, which in turn changed the kinship to a separate