Faces of DespairFaces of DespairChild Labor During the Child Labor During the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution

Coal….A valuable resourceCoal….A valuable resource

-Used to heat homes-Used in furnaces for turning

ore into iron and steel-Used to power steam engines

The dust was so dense at times to obscure The dust was so dense at times to obscure the view. A kind of slave driver stands over the view. A kind of slave driver stands over

the boys, prodding them to work faster.the boys, prodding them to work faster.

It’s not easy to sort the coal

pieces from the shale………

My fingers are getting numb from the cold.

It’s not easy to sort the coal

pieces from the shale………

My fingers are getting numb from the cold.

At the close of day….waiting for the At the close of day….waiting for the cage to go upcage to go up

Shallow mines were not good enough. Greedy businessmen wanted to go

deeper and deeper.

Breaker boysBreaker boys

They like us because we are

small and we can get into tight spaces.

They like us because we are

small and we can get into tight spaces.

No one cares what happens to us. We are

the cheapest to hire….we are lucky to

get food and a place to sleep. Wages? What

are wages?

No one cares what happens to us. We are

the cheapest to hire….we are lucky to

get food and a place to sleep. Wages? What

are wages?

Coal seams could go hundreds of feet down now that water could be pumped out using Watt’s steam engine.

Sparks Gas

Children were paid about ¼ of an adult male wage.

Faces of Lost YouthFaces of Lost Youth

Adolescent girls from a mill… The same dress was worn for 3 or 4 days.

Rest periods were typically 15 minutes for breakfast, 30 minutes for dinner and 15 minutes for drinking water.

Doffer boysDoffer boys

Our job is to replace the

bobbins in the power looms

Lost two fingers last year when

they got caught in the machines.

The boss almost fired me.

The youngest children in the textile factories were usually employed as scavengers and piecers. Scavengers had to pick up the loose cotton from under the machinery. This was extremely dangerous as the children were expected to carry out the task while the machine was still working.

Furman Owens, age 12. Can’t Furman Owens, age 12. Can’t read. Never learned his A, B, C’sread. Never learned his A, B, C’s

My day starts at 5 a.m. and I have

to work until 9 p.m….there’s

no time for school.

Children were often hit with a strap to make them work faster. In some factories, children were dipped head first into a water cistern if they became drowsy.

A spinning roomA spinning room

Children had no preconceived ideas and were less likely to complain about poor conditions and unsafe practices.

One of the spinners at a cotton mill. She One of the spinners at a cotton mill. She was only 51 inches high. When asked how was only 51 inches high. When asked how old she was, she said, “I don’t remember.”old she was, she said, “I don’t remember.”

Joe, a back roper in the mule room. The money he earned was Joe, a back roper in the mule room. The money he earned was essential for his family’s survival.essential for his family’s survival.

The boys, barefoot, had to climb up on the spinning frame to repair the threads.

A moment’s glimpse of the world A moment’s glimpse of the world outside the window.outside the window.