On The Back Of Our Children Term paper
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There was once a time when children born into this world were given the same name in hopes that at least one child would survive to pass the honor of that name down through the bloodlines. While the birth of this newborn child would mean that the limited supply of foodstuffs a family possessed would have to be rationed more carefully, this child was as an investment in their own futures. As the child grew to about the age of eight, he or she could start becoming an active component of the household chores and create a little more stability for the family. Children were viewed as inexpensive units of work, and were exploited as such. However, as the children of the pre-industrial age issued forth progeny of their own, their kin became subject to a new environment. It was the age of the machine and work would never be the same again.
In the rural landscapes of the eighteenth century there was plenty of work available to a young boy as soon as he was able to lift an axe or carry a basket. A farm required many hands to operate at full capacity and produce enough food for the family to live off. If a child survived to the age where he could work, his hands were added to the process. If they were not farmers, the child would often follow his father to work to assist with the process and hopefully earn a bit more money doing small tasks or light labour. In addition, the process of putting-out allowed the dexterous hands of young girls to assist their mothers in sewing, weaving or other like activities. This meant that a project could be completed faster, and more projects could be taken on in any given year.
However towards the end of that century, as industries began to flock around the cities and companies replaced individual craftsmen, the simple life of a farmer began to fade. Masses of people began to migrate to the cities in hopes of finding wealth and prosperity. When they arrived and settled into the life of a factory or mill worker, earning income was no longer a ‘family' affair. This is to say that families no longer worked together in close proximity and were often forced to work in entirely different places. The pre-industrial model of a family as a single working unit fell away to be replaced with individuals who stood alone.
At the start of the nineteenth century child labour was looked upon no differently than in the past. Children had always been made to work for their parents from a young age, so factories followed the same trend. At reduced wages children were hired to perform work that either required those of smaller stature or work that was more time intensive than anything else; the heavy labour was still primarily the responsibility of the men. Their work schedules often consisted of long days without break, sometimes in excess of fourteen hours, six or seven days a week. The case of William Cooper, published in a report on the use of child labour in factories, provides a typical description of what life in a factory was like for a child.1
Starting work in a flax mill at the age of ten, William was subjected to labour from five in the morning to nine at night. Every morning he would get up at four and travel two and a half kilometers, on foot, to get to work. He had no time allotted for breakfast so he often ate as he worked, and at times, his lunch breaks had to be given up to clean the. The mill he worked in was also very dusty and in addition to creating respiratory problems, the dust would often spoil what little food he was able to take with him to work. If he fell behind in his work he was motivated to work harder by the sharp sting of a strap, as were most of the other children his age. Due to his long and arduous work schedule, William had no time for formal education and was too tired to attend Sunday school classes at a local church.
Later on, at age twenty-eight William had still not learned the intricacies of handwriting and could read at only a rudimentary level. His growth had been stunted, and chronic health problems resulting from his labours as a child have kept him form leading a happy...
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