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| Passing the Great Reform Act of 1832 by Sir George Hayter |
Basic Needs
Quotes from the 1832 Sadler committee showed that workplace violence was a commonplace circumstance and that need outweighed want.
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| Quotes from Sadler Committee (5). |
Acts of Reform
The Factory Act of 1833 curtailed “the hours children over age nine could work and requiring younger children to attend factory-run elementary schools” (1 p. 705). The rate of literacy suffered greatly since families would all go to work together for long hours and come home exhausted. On one hand, having the family units work side by side kept them unified but it was dangerous and nearly ensured that the children would grow up with an education or hope to improve their situation. One woman, who gave birth to 10 children by 38 admitted, “none of the children read, as the work is no regular. I did read once, but no able to attend to it now” (1 p. 709). The distressing part of her interview is that it took place almost 10 years after the Factory Act of 1833 which indicates the reforms would make little difference in some cases.
The Mines Act of 1842 was the result of interviews like the woman which prohibited “underground work for all women and girls as well as for boys under ten” (1 p. 707). This was an attempt to protect children from difficult working conditions as well as the increased dangers of sexual interactions. It was during this time that gender roles were becoming more divided among the working class and women who did have to work became increasingly restricted in options.
Read More: The Clothier's Delight, or The Rich Men's Joy and the Poor Men's Sorrow
1. McKay, John P., et al., et al. A History of World Societies: since 1450. Boston : Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Vol. 2.
5. Del Col, Laura. The Life of the Industrial Worker in Nineteenth-Century England. The Victorian Web. [Online] July 22, 2002. [Cited: May 9, 2013.] http://www.victorianweb.org/history/workers2.html
