Feb 15

The Industrial Revolution's impact unfolded gradually and varied greatly among men, women, and children. The early Industrial Revolution represented a transformation in the organization of work, mostly expressed in the factory. The factory assigned workers highly specialized and repetitive tasks. Workers' lives were regulated according to clock time. Workers depended on receiving an uncertain amount of income their economic survival. In 1833, for women and children, legislation limited the hours of employment. Elizabeth Bentley was only six years old when she began working at the factory. She was a little doffer, so she cleaned the machines. When she worked regular hours as opposed to being extra busy, Elizabeth Bentley worked for 13 hours! When the factory was busy, she worked "from 5 in the morning till 9 at night" (Strayer, 863). That's a lot of hours, especially for a six year old child! If someone was late or flagged a little, they would get strapped, which means severely beaten. The meals they had consisted of a forty minute break in the afternoon. Elizabeth Bentley was never beaten for being late; however, the boys were.