Examine the Major reasons put forward for and against the Factory Reform in the 19C
The dominance of the new factory system was perhaps the most popular and widespread images of England at the time of the industrial revolution. The factory symbolised and represented the characteristic workplace of the English peoples working lives. The spread of the factory system was slow and uneven and so was it's impact on work patterns. According to Engels and others, freedom was replaced by the tyranny of the factory bell. All workers went in and out of the factory at the same time, the intensity of which was controlled by the powering of the steam engine. When the engine was switched on men, women and children had to work. Factory workers did not accept this easily. It has been put forward that this is one of the reasons factories used child labour thus reducing the need for adult workers who were too used to there traditional work habits. The new generation of factory owners instilled hard punishments to try and train their workers, in the factory formal work rules replaced custom. Disproportionate fines were given for bad time keeping and dismissal was frequent. Corporal punishment was common and widespread especially for apprentices who could not be fined or dismissed (Valvin 1984, Rule).
The factory reform movement exposed the terrible conditions under which labourers, often women and children, had to work. These conditions help to shed the light on the social consequences of the industrialisation and the questions of changing living standards during the industrial revolution. The progress of the factory reform shows a number of features. The reforms carried out, up until the second half of the nineteenth century, were restricted to textiles. It was not until the eighteen-sixties were the conditions of workshops were brought in line with the factories and the sweated trades remained unaffected by the legislation until the end of the century. The...