Before we moved out to Manchester, we lived on a farm. It was a very simple life, but the work was very strenuous and the pay was not spectacular. John, Peter, and I worked countless hours every day plowing, seeding, harvesting and doing any other small jobs the farm owner needed us to do. We were forced to leave the farm because we lost our jobs as technology on the farm continually advanced. The labor force in the farm we worked on was cut in half in just over a year. So, like many other families, we moved to the city, where we found work in factories.
I found a job in a a coal mine just outside of the city and got payed slightly more than I would have for working at a factory, but i made John and Peter stick to the factory work because I didn't want them to have to deal with the tough conditions in the mines at such a young age. For now, it seems that life is pretty steady. We're not making huge profits at work, but it's enough to get by. The oldest Williams boys, Teddy, just received a huge cash bonus at work for being in the top three most productive workers in his factory and, being very generous, he is planning on using the money to renovate our house and add on two more rooms.
Even though the laboring class was not considered to be a slave class, they might as well have been. This life is horrible. People destroyed their bodies for the well good of their families. Although they were paid, the working conditions were just too horrible to not be called slavery.
ReplyDeleteMark, while I agree that the difficulties of laborers in Manchester were similar to those faced by slaves in the past, there is one key distinction that needs to be made. The laborers were not forced to work, and they were also paid. In contrast, slaves (in most cases) were taken from their homeland, stripped of their possessions, and forced to do grueling work without pay.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, the physical dangers of working in a coal mine significantly outweigh that of a slave working on a plantation, or as some kind of house servant. Laborers were often overworked, and underpaid. Also companies would drive down wages because of the job competition in cities. In other words, workers could be easily replaced with cheaper, and more effective laborers.