Factory Hazards of the 19th Century
Investigating the working conditions of the distant past
To Work or Not to Work
If you were an immigrant, fresh to the United States, and were left with no other choice than to work in a factory (as per the Contract Labor Act), would you prove yourself to be reliable? Would you put in all 72 hours, every Monday through Saturday? Would you willingly put yourself in harm's way to provide for your family? Working conditions in factories at the dawn of the 19th century were abysmal compared to today's factory working conditions.
Children at Work
Children were often forced into hard labor.
Children who were forced into hard labor often worked recklessly.
Even men were subjected to poor working conditions.