The Industrial Revolution
This time the union awakes, once and for all!
The Industrial Revolution in America began in the late 18th century and would continue on into the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution had already begun in Europe, and many Americans were fascinated by the new technologies Europe had implemented in their daily lives. As the United States started expanding towards the West, the need for more tools became crucial in the creation of railroads, canals, and roads. Thus, the American Industrial Revolution changed the economy and lives of citizens as America embarked on a journey to a new era of technology and efficiency.
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The "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" was Englishman Samuel Slater. Exporting designs, blueprints, and devices from the European Industrial Revolution was an illegal act, but Americans were desperate to try the new technologies that the Europeans had found. Slater ended up betraying his home country by memorizing designs and bringing them back to America for production. His work was commended by Andrew Jackson, U.S. President at the time, but those in Great Britain named him "Slater the Traitor."
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With the emergence of new technologies came the growth in factories and mass production. The pace of production in the United States increased tremendously thanks to these new technologies as well as the influx of immigrant and child labor. Children were crucial players in factory life - especially in textile mills, children could navigate small spaces to fix machines that adults could not. Many factories operated unsafely - hours were long, conditions were dangerous, and wages were incredibly low. Before the Newsboys' Strike of 1899, there were very few, very loose child labor laws. The National Child Labor Committee wasn't even formed until 1904, after several strikes and revolutions in the child workforce had occurred.
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This is for kids shining shoes on the street with no shoes on their feet everyday.
The emphasis the United States currently has on education is much more prominent than it once was. During the time of Newsies, the idea that children should attend school in order to prepare for their future is not the popular opinion. Many adults believed that children should be put to work - "crime and poverty were a result of idleness, not a lack of education." However, that did not mean education was completely out of the picture for the newsies. Most of the lodging houses enforced classes at night, teaching the boys (and girls) basic skills such as reading and arithmetic. These classes were not exactly a proper form of schooling, but they were taking a step in the right direction in terms of youth education.
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Newsies worked long but mainly flexible hours, depending on how well they sell their papers for the day. Most child factory workers, however, worked around twelve to fourteen hours per day for six days of the week. Most of these children were between the ages of nine and sixteen years old. According to the U.S. Census, one in six children were legally employed - that did not account for the thousands of undocumented working children.