Life in industrial cities, child labor and the reforms that followed

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, figures from Edwin Chadwick's 1842 report, average age at death, as reproduced in a modern journal table and a classroom table: Manchester: professional and gentry 38, tradesmen 20, labourers 17. Rutland: professional and gentry 52, tradesmen 41, labourers 38. Card B, a note in our words, written today (from the historian James Hanley, Medical History, 2002): Statisticians such as William Farr pointed out soon after the report that average age at death is a flawed index of life expectancy, because it is based on deaths alone. Card C, a chart in our words, written today (from UK Parliament, Living Heritage): The 1833 Factory Act, group by group. Children under nine: banned from factory work. Children aged 9 to 13: a 48-hour week, and two hours of school a day. Young people aged 13 to 18: up to 12 hours a day. Inspectors: four inspectors for about 4,000 mills, so the Act was widely evaded. Before it, an 1831 Act had limited the working day to 12 hours for those under 18. Card D, an invented letter from a mill owner, written for this sheet (not a real person), 1833: "The new law will bring ruin to my mill. There are few inspectors, and not one has yet been seen in our valley."

2. 1.

   Card B says average age at death is a flawed index of life expectancy. Why, Ari asks?

   • It counts just the rich, since the table starts with professional men and gentry and says little of the poor
   • It uses ages at death and ignores how many were alive at each age
   • It is an average of three numbers, 38, 20 and 17, so an average of so few numbers cannot be exact or fair
   • It was gathered in 1842, so it is too early to be accurate for any purpose
3. 2.

   Card A gives 17 for Manchester labourers. A student says labourers there lived to 17. What is wrong, Bo asks?

   • Nothing is wrong, since the table gives the age at death of labourers, so labourers lived to 17
   • It should be doubled to 34 years
   • 17 is an average age at death, which includes many early deaths; it is not a lifespan
   • It is true for Manchester, but wrong for Rutland, since Rutland is a rural area where the flaw would not apply
4. 3.

   Which claim does Card A best support, Esme asks?

   • In both places average age at death rose with class, and was lower in Manchester for each class
   • Manchester's smoky air caused the lower averages, since the town was crowded with mills and chimneys
   • Wealth bought longer lives, since professionals reached the oldest ages at death in both places and wealth pays for care
   • Class mattered more than place, since the gaps between classes are bigger than the gaps between places

5. Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, a list in date order, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament): 1790s, Parliament outlaws unions under the Combination Acts. 1831, an Act limits the working day to 12 hours for those under 18. 1833, the Factory Act bans factory work under nine, sets a 48-hour week for ages 9 to 13 with two hours of school a day, and creates four inspectors for about 4,000 mills; campaigners had compared mill workers' treatment with slavery and pressed for shorter hours, and inquiries had reported mistreatment of children. 1834, six farm workers of a friendly society are sentenced to seven years' transportation for campaigning peacefully for better wages, and are later pardoned after a public outcry. 1842, Chadwick's report uses statistics to show differences in life expectancy by class and place. 1871, unions are recognized in law. Card B, Reading X (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): Reform came mainly because campaigners and inquiries showed the public what factory life was like, and lawmakers answered public opinion. Card C, Reading Y (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): Reform came mainly because working people organized themselves in unions and societies and kept pressing their demands, even when they were punished. Card D, Reading Z (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): Reform came mainly because lawmakers decided that healthier, schooled workers served the nation.

6. 4.

   Which fact on Card A best supports Reading X, public opinion, over Reading Y, workers' organizing, Jun asks?

   • An Act in 1831 limited the working day to 12 hours for those under 18
   • The six farm workers were pardoned after a public outcry
   • Parliament outlawed unions under the Combination Acts in the 1790s
   • Unions were recognized in law in 1871, after decades of pressure
7. 5.

   Which new evidence would best help choose between Readings X and Z, Luz asks?

   • Another modern summary that agrees with Reading X, since agreement among summaries settles it
   • A longer list of reforms between 1831 and 1871, since more reforms show a stronger cause
   • More statistics on life expectancy by class
   • What lawmakers said when they debated the 1833 Act
8. 6.

   Card A lists the Combination Acts (1790s), the sentence of 1834 and recognition in 1871. What is a fair statement about change, Noah asks?

   • Recognition came right after the pardon, since the outcry changed the law at once
   • Nothing changed for workers, since mill hours stayed long after 1871 as well
   • Over about 80 years the law moved from outlawing unions to recognizing them
   • Unions were legal throughout, since the six men were pardoned after the public outcry

9. Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, figures from Edwin Chadwick's 1842 report, average age at death, as reproduced in a modern journal table and a classroom table: Manchester: professional and gentry 38, tradesmen 20, labourers 17. Rutland: professional and gentry 52, tradesmen 41, labourers 38. Card B, a note in our words, written today (from the historian James Hanley, Medical History, 2002): Statisticians such as William Farr pointed out soon after the report that average age at death is a flawed index of life expectancy, because it is based on deaths alone. Card C, a chart in our words, written today (from UK Parliament, Living Heritage): The 1833 Factory Act, group by group. Children under nine: banned from factory work. Children aged 9 to 13: a 48-hour week, and two hours of school a day. Young people aged 13 to 18: up to 12 hours a day. Inspectors: four inspectors for about 4,000 mills, so the Act was widely evaded. Before it, an 1831 Act had limited the working day to 12 hours for those under 18. Card D, an invented letter from a mill owner, written for this sheet (not a real person), 1833: "The new law will bring ruin to my mill. There are few inspectors, and not one has yet been seen in our valley."

10. 7.

    Card C is a law and Card A is a table from a report. What is the difference in what they could change, Pia asks?

    • The Act measured health, since it set two hours of school for children and checked their progress
    • Both were laws, since both came from Parliament's work
    • The report set the hours, since it showed that workers had early deaths and called for change
    • The Act set legal limits for factories; the report measured health but was not a law
11. 8.

    Card A: Manchester labourers 17, professional men 38. A student says labourers lived less than half as long. What is the fair statement, Ren asks?

    • Under half as high, but average age at death is not a measure of how long people lived
    • Labourers in Manchester lived exactly 21 years less than professional men, since 38 minus 17 is 21
    • Labourers in Manchester lived exactly 17 years, since the table gives their average age at death
    • The comparison is meaningless, since labourers and professionals are different groups
12. 9.

    Card C: ages 9 to 13 a 48-hour week, ages 13 to 18 up to 12 hours a day. In a six-day week, how much more could a 15-year-old work than a 12-year-old, Tala asks?

    • 48 hours more, since the 72 hours are added on top of the 48-hour week
    • No more, since both groups were limited by law and the two limits are about the same
    • 12 hours more, since the older limit is 12 hours a day
    • Up to 24 hours more, since 12 x 6 = 72 and the younger limit is 48
13. 10.

    Card C: four inspectors for about 4,000 mills. Suppose an inspector could visit 5 mills a week. How long to see every mill once, Zee asks?

    • About four weeks, since there are four inspectors
    • About 20 weeks, since each inspector has about 1,000 mills and visits 50 of them a week
    • About 200 weeks, nearly four years, since each inspector has about 1,000 mills
    • About 800 weeks, since 4,000 mills divided by 5 a week gives the weeks, whoever visits