Industrialization

Industrialization

First occurred in England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
Occurred in Canada in the 1850’s, accelerating in the 1870’s and 1880’s

Very ragged and uneven process
Included

A shift from making products in the home or in small workshops to making them in factories
A move from making things by hand to the use of machines to assist in the production of goods
The subdivision of formerly skilled labour in which a product which had once been made by one worker with all the skills necessary to make the entire product was now being made by many workers, each with very limited skills, doing only one piece of the job- such as sewing buttons or ironing a finished garment

Particular areas of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes industrialized earlier
Industrialization lead to a seperation of home and workplace

Used to be shared responsibilities
Women had to do both

Women

For the most part were single, younger women working
Very relaxed legislation regulating factor labour

Terrible conditions for women and children

Earned considerably less for the same work
Gendered work

Teaching
Clerical and sales work

Dead end, low paying work

Many needed references from clergy

Mainly Christian white women could work
Others worked hard labour or domestic services

Domestic work was least favored
Sex trade work was last resort

Unions

Skilled labour unions were not supportive of women
Knights of Labour

Effort to bring men and women together
Allowed women to achieve limited economic success in the 1880s

some women were disinterested in unions as they saw themselves as temporary workers

Primary Documents

Document 1

“A little independence: Factory Girls 1912”

children under 14 were not allowed to work in factories as per legislation passes in the 1880s

if they were younger they simply lied about their age

factory work was liberating, there was a sense of comradery
servant/domestic work was restrictive

less freedom
had to live with the family
only had one night off
love life was made complicated

women themselves have made housework into a social slur and thus they are unwilling to do it

Document 2

“The Sweating System in Canada” 1898

A condition of labour in which the remuneration is quite disproportionate to the amount of work done; or in which a maximum amount of work, in a given time, is preformed for a minimum wage

i.e. excessive work, long hours, harsh conditions

The Task system

A scheme whereby one employee or a group of employees are allotted what is nominally supposed to be one days work and receive only one days pay, though to complete it satisfactorily may require two or even three days

Document 3

Domestic Servants, Early 20th century

Picture
Many domestics had to wash dishes by bringing in water from an outside well and heating it on the stove

Document 4

Oral History Excerpt “Laundry”

Doing laundry was physically exhausting and took a whole day

“Blue Monday”
430 am until bedtime
still had to make dinner and watch children
boil water, wash boards, clothesline, ironing, cleaning up, heavy lifting

Document 5

Excerpts From the Royal Commission on the Relations of Labour and capital

Commission intended to investigate all aspects of the relationship between abour and capital in Canada
Women were underrepresented

5% of all witnesses

highlights poor conditions and nature of work, abuse and pay

Document 6

Toronto Textile Factory, 1908

Picture
workers standing all day
no safety guards on machines
foreman watching to make sure everyone keeps up the pace

Document 7

Mothers and Children at Home, 1913, Toronto

Picture
Highlights cramped living conditions needed to make ends meet

Document 8

Children Gathering Coal Cinders from a Toronto Rail Yard

Shows the integral role that scavenging children could play in the survival of poor families

Secondary Sources

Article 1

Industrial Capitalism and Women’s Work
Frager and Carmela Patrais
Men working for “Family wage”
Nature of Industrial capitalism promoted cost cuts, greater efficiency

Women paid the price

Pin money

Thought women were working for spending money
Men only make 2/3 of what would keep them above the poverty line
Women in many cases had to work

Many couldn’t handle the domestic duties and work duties

Source: http://www.course-notes.org/sites/www.course-notes.org/files/uploads/archive/world_history/industrialization_and_urbanization_0.docx

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Industrialization

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Industrialization

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