Sample Essay On Labor In The 19th Century

The 1800’s working people were faced with many challenges. Some of those challenges included low wages even when the economic times were not bad, working in risky environments and being forced to work for long hours. Episodic financial crises swept through nations, and this led to a decrease in wages as well as increased unemployment. Many people moved from the countryside to work in the city, and this resulted in an oversupply of workers. In the US, the situation was not any better as women and children also had to work in industries and received only a small portion of what the men earned.
Child labor was common with children working in farms and factories because they were easier to restraint and were cheaper to employ. During this time, children had to bring home an income rather than pursue and education. As a consequence, many children were forced to get in the country’s labor force. This child labor force was critical to the country’s economic achievement in the 1800s.
https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hine-photos/images/picking-berries.gif
Above is a picture of a three-year-old that was taken while he was working in a farm picking berries. It helps us to recognize and acknowledge the challenges that were faced in the industrial era in the 19th century. The challenges were so dire such that children had to participate in helping earn an income regardless of their age. 1870 saw the dramatic change of the skilled workers into factory workers, and this led to the workers losing the negotiating influence that their tools had endowed them. In addition, they were no longer enjoying the personal employer-employee relations as it was before. The entry of slaves, women and immigrants made work much hard to come by and competition for jobs ensued. Owners of firms mishandled their workers as they had gotten more power from the increase in labor supply. As a result, there were no shortages experienced in this field. The situation worsened since the government did not show empathy for the workers and the politicians failed to recognize the people as constituents. This time also recorded an improvement in technological progress. That helped to increase productivity and reduce the numbers of the unemployed skilled workers, but the situation for the unskilled did not change due the influx of migrants who were looking for work.
http://depts.washington.edu/labhist/encyclopedia/mages/photospage/Guillen-307.jpg
The above photo is for a demonstration by farm workers who wanted to have their working conditions considered by having their wages increased, work hours made reasonable and work conditions considered.
It was during this time that people began to come together to form labor unions with a common need that was to protect the workers by issuing threats and holding violent strikes. They particularly fought for practical working hours, and improved work wages. Other reasons were to fight child labor and for the provision of health and retirement benefits and to give support to injured workers. Labor unions began to emerge in the 18th and 19th centuries. At the same time, skilled workers quit their jobs for more satisfying jobs, and that led to employers recognizing their need for workers. In countries like the United States, unions were formed in the 19th century. The National Labor Union being formed in 1866, and was not exclusive to particular workers. Unfortunately, it ended without having made any noteworthy changes to workers. In America, employers began to improve the working conditions of their workers in 1877 after the aftermath of the violence. However, these labors failed to the lack of appropriate leadership and organization. However, they led to the stabilization of the labor force before world war one.