Working Conditions
Despite the industrial and economic wonders of the 19th century and the technological advances it brought forth, there remains one unavoidable truth: working conditions were terrible. Though terrible beyond the point of argument, many city-goers constantly competed with one another for a chance to earn unlivable pay working in an unsafe environment. Why? Because that was their only choice. Due to the massive increase in city population in the 1880's (due mainly to immigration), many there was an enormous and constant supply of workers. Since so many people were trying to get the same jobs, employers could essentially treat their workers however they wanted because their employees could not afford to quite.
One could only imagine what kind of treatment this encouraged. Factory conditions were highly unsafe, and accidents were common. It was not unusual for workers to have missing fingers, limbs, and other maladies gotten on the job. Some even died in such accidents, usually in fires. Pay wasn't any better, in return for working 10+ hour shifts workers would receive only a few dollars a day, with children and inexperienced employees earning even less. Possibly most appalling of all however was the child labor. Since many families were paid so little, the mother, father, and children had to work for the family to eke out a living. Children were forced to do some of the most dangerous jobs (i.e crawling under machines to fix them), and worked the same hours as their parents, and because of the ridiculous hours they spent on the job it was virtually impossible for them to get an education. These horrid conditions lasted went on for many years, and reform was not fully achieved until 1938 with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
One could only imagine what kind of treatment this encouraged. Factory conditions were highly unsafe, and accidents were common. It was not unusual for workers to have missing fingers, limbs, and other maladies gotten on the job. Some even died in such accidents, usually in fires. Pay wasn't any better, in return for working 10+ hour shifts workers would receive only a few dollars a day, with children and inexperienced employees earning even less. Possibly most appalling of all however was the child labor. Since many families were paid so little, the mother, father, and children had to work for the family to eke out a living. Children were forced to do some of the most dangerous jobs (i.e crawling under machines to fix them), and worked the same hours as their parents, and because of the ridiculous hours they spent on the job it was virtually impossible for them to get an education. These horrid conditions lasted went on for many years, and reform was not fully achieved until 1938 with the Fair Labor Standards Act.