The Effects of the Industrial Revolution on Women and Children Summary and Analysis

Robert Hessen is the author of this chapter which examines the role of children and women in the Industrial Revolution. Many children found jobs in factories that allowed them a way to survive. "The factory system led to a rise in the general standard of living, to rapidly falling urban death rates and decreasing infant mortality—and produced an unprecedented population explosion," (Chapter 8, p. 110). The plight of the children was painted by the authors and poets of the time. The children in the factories did not have hard jobs that were physically demanding. The first labor laws aimed at children were targeting those working as chimney sweeps in 1788. The first laws concerning factories were to cover children who were parentless and sent...