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

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to C. Card A, 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 B, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament and the Science and Industry Museum): Campaigners compared the treatment of mill workers, including children, with slavery. Anthony Ashley-Cooper led the Ten Hours Movement for shorter hours. Inquiries reported mistreatment of children in factories. Mill work meant very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. Card C, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament): The 1842 Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain was the brain-child of Edwin Chadwick. It used statistics to show differences in life expectancy by class and place of residence. It was a report, not a law.

2. 1.

   Card B says campaigners compared mill work with slavery. What can that comparison show, Bo asks?

   • How campaigners argued for change, not an exact measure of conditions
   • Exactly how mill workers were treated, since campaigners knew mill conditions at first hand
   • That Parliament agreed with the campaigners, since Ashley-Cooper led the Ten Hours Movement
   • That mill work and slavery were the same, since campaigners said they were alike
3. 2.

   Card C describes Chadwick's 1842 report. What can it help answer, Esme asks?

   • What the Factory Act of 1833 required
   • Why people in some places lived longer, since statistics on life expectancy explain the causes
   • What the report measured: differences in life expectancy by class and place
   • Whether the report became law, since important reports lead to new laws once they are read
4. 3.

   A student writes: "The 1833 Act ended child labor in mills." What does Card A say, Jun asks?

   • No: it banned factory work under nine and limited hours for older children
   • Yes: it set a 48-hour week for children aged 9 to 13, which ended work for that group
   • No: it applied just to children under nine and left older workers with no limits
   • Yes: it banned work under nine, so each child was protected from long hours
5. 4.

   Card A says the Act was widely evaded. A student says, "So the law had no effect." What is the fair reply, Kira asks?

   • The student is wrong, since the 1831 Act had done it
   • The student is right, since a law that is widely evaded cannot change anything
   • The student is wrong, since four inspectors could visit each of the 4,000 mills in a year
   • Evasion is shown, but the card does not say the law changed nothing

6. Use this

   Cards D to F. Card D, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament): Parliament outlawed unions under the Combination Acts in the 1790s. In 1834 six members of George Loveless's friendly society of farm workers, who were campaigning peacefully for better wages, were prosecuted and sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia. They were later pardoned after a public outcry. Unions were recognized in law in 1871. Card E, a summary in our words, written today (from the Science and Industry Museum): Mill work meant very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. In 1833 new laws banned mill work for children under nine. Card F, a summary in our words, written today (from the Science and Industry Museum and UK Parliament): By 1831 Manchester's population was 188,000, double what it was 20 years earlier. Chadwick's 1842 report used statistics to show differences in life expectancy by class and place.

7. 5.

   A student writes: "The Tolpuddle men were punished for a violent protest." What does Card D say, Luz asks?

   • No: they were punished because they were farm workers, not because of anything they did
   • No: they were campaigning peacefully for better wages
   • Yes: they broke the Combination Acts, which punished protests that used force
   • Yes: transportation to Australia was the usual punishment for a violent protest
8. 6.

   Cards D and E together: what fits both, Milo asks?

   • Unions were recognized in 1833, since the same year new laws banned work under nine
   • Unions won shorter mill hours in 1833
   • Mill workers had long hours, and unions were not recognized in law until 1871
   • The Tolpuddle men worked in mills with long hours, since Card E describes workers of the 1830s

9. Use this

   Cards A to C. Card A, 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 B, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament and the Science and Industry Museum): Campaigners compared the treatment of mill workers, including children, with slavery. Anthony Ashley-Cooper led the Ten Hours Movement for shorter hours. Inquiries reported mistreatment of children in factories. Mill work meant very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. Card C, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament): The 1842 Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain was the brain-child of Edwin Chadwick. It used statistics to show differences in life expectancy by class and place of residence. It was a report, not a law.

10. 7.

    Cards A and B together: how do the campaigners and the Act fit, Pia asks?

    • The campaigners won in 1831, since an Act that year limited the working day to 12 hours
    • Campaigners pushed for shorter hours, and the Act set limits, but the cards do not show the campaigners caused it
    • The campaigners wrote the Act, since the Act limits hours as they asked
    • The Act gave a ten-hour day, which is what the Ten Hours Movement wanted

11. Use this

    Cards D to F. Card D, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament): Parliament outlawed unions under the Combination Acts in the 1790s. In 1834 six members of George Loveless's friendly society of farm workers, who were campaigning peacefully for better wages, were prosecuted and sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia. They were later pardoned after a public outcry. Unions were recognized in law in 1871. Card E, a summary in our words, written today (from the Science and Industry Museum): Mill work meant very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. In 1833 new laws banned mill work for children under nine. Card F, a summary in our words, written today (from the Science and Industry Museum and UK Parliament): By 1831 Manchester's population was 188,000, double what it was 20 years earlier. Chadwick's 1842 report used statistics to show differences in life expectancy by class and place.

12. 8.

    Card D says six men were sentenced to seven years' transportation. A student adds 42 years of punishment. What is wrong, Ren asks?

    • Nothing is wrong, since 6 times 7 is 42 years of punishment for the six men together
    • They were pardoned, so 42 years is not the time they actually lost
    • It should be 13 years, since the six men served one sentence together
    • It should be 7 years, since one man was sentenced

13. Use this

    Cards A to C. Card A, 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 B, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament and the Science and Industry Museum): Campaigners compared the treatment of mill workers, including children, with slavery. Anthony Ashley-Cooper led the Ten Hours Movement for shorter hours. Inquiries reported mistreatment of children in factories. Mill work meant very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. Card C, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament): The 1842 Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain was the brain-child of Edwin Chadwick. It used statistics to show differences in life expectancy by class and place of residence. It was a report, not a law.

14. 9.

    Card A says four inspectors for about 4,000 mills. About how many mills is that for each inspector, and what does it show, Tala asks?

    • About 100 each, so each inspector could visit each mill several times a year
    • About 1,000 each, so regular visits to every mill were not possible
    • About 16,000 each, since 4 times 4,000 counts each mill for each inspector
    • About 4 each, since there were four inspectors altogether

15. Use this

    Cards D to F. Card D, a summary in our words, written today (from UK Parliament): Parliament outlawed unions under the Combination Acts in the 1790s. In 1834 six members of George Loveless's friendly society of farm workers, who were campaigning peacefully for better wages, were prosecuted and sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia. They were later pardoned after a public outcry. Unions were recognized in law in 1871. Card E, a summary in our words, written today (from the Science and Industry Museum): Mill work meant very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. In 1833 new laws banned mill work for children under nine. Card F, a summary in our words, written today (from the Science and Industry Museum and UK Parliament): By 1831 Manchester's population was 188,000, double what it was 20 years earlier. Chadwick's 1842 report used statistics to show differences in life expectancy by class and place.

16. 10.

    Card D gives 1834 for the sentence and 1871 for recognizing unions. A student says the sentence lasted until recognition. What is wrong, Zee asks?

    • 37 years separate them, far longer than the seven-year sentence, and the men were pardoned
    • The gap is 47 years, since 1871 minus 1824 gives the span
    • Nothing is wrong, since the sentence began in 1834 and unions were recognized in 1871
    • The gap is 27 years, so the sentence was served in full by 1861