4º British Webquest: Child labor during the Industrial Revolution

You are a member of the British Parliament at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (around 1840). You have been asked by one of the recently formed social welfare groups to investigate the issue of child labor in the mines of northern England.  These mines are an important part of Britain's industrial progress and provides wealth for the nation, however the conditions in these mines are often dangerous and unhealthy.  

You have a two part task:

First, your job is to objectively evaluate the conditions of the mines, the social benefits and costs of child labor in general, and to write a report on if the government should take action to change the labor laws to add more protections for children in the work place.  Make sure that you justify your position with evidence. Remember, come to your decision based on facts, not emotion. Your responsibility is to prepare a report that tells the government what is best for Britain and why. Your report should be at least two pages long.

Second, you also need to also prepare a list of 5 witnesses who will testify to the Parliament on the nature of working conditions in the mines and their affect on children.  Make sure to have a name, age, occupation, and short description of their point of view on their list.

You have to send the complete document to blogeducativo08@gmail.com. This work is mandatory and will be part of the score at the end of the term. If you fail to finish it, do it out of date, or just copy from a webpage, the mark will be a 0 for this work.

Resources you can use:

Victorian Web:  Life of an industrial worker

Victorian Web:  testimonies

Economist’s View: Child Labor

Industrial Revolution Child (Speeches, testimonies and Acts)

Photos (Child Labor in USA)

BBC – 7 wonders of Industrial Revolution

Photo: Graffitti from Banksy

Adapted from: Travlyn A. Russell (Irvington High School)