Industrial Revolution Document Analysis

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Industrial Revolution Document Analysis
The regimentation of daily life that characterized industrial society has quite elaborately been discussed in the two documents. The information provides quite insightful knowledge on how tough the lives of the industrial workers had been in the 19th century. It is interesting to note that in today’s progressive environment the regimentation of such type is difficult to imagine. The entire life of the industrial workers has been controlled by means of strict rules and regulations that were completely concentrated on getting the maximum work being done without caring for even the basic necessities of the workers. It can be argued that their life had been extremely difficult and they were deprived of their basic human rights (Brissette et al).
Starting from the Factory rules in Berlin, according to the rules, the normal working day of the factory workers started at 6 am in the early morning in all seasons and ended at 7 pm. This comprised of 13 hours of work with very little breaks in between. The workers according to the rules have not been allowed to discuss any issue that they had with respect to the remuneration or the fines imposed on them on being late or any other problem if it was of the genuine nature. The workers were not allowed to leave their workplaces except for the work related reason. If a worker had any personal problem, he had to face fines to leave the workplace. The workers at the workplace were not allowed to communicate with each other in any situation.

The conversion between workers was considered extremely undesired. All the instructions that overseer and the officials provided to the workers they had to be obeyed without asking any questions. Any objection to the order would have been considered a violation of the discipline and a fine or termination from work would have been the obvious outcome of such. There were some interesting rules as well such as no smoking or drinking at the workplace. The principal mode applied to keep the workers in control had been different types of fines imposed on them and the threat to terminate them of their work (Anon). It can be argued that the life of factory workers had been strictly under control of their employers and the workers were made to work in such harsh condition that they lost their sense of independence and the courage to ask for their rights. The workers were generally forced to work for the sake of their families and being aware of their weaknesses, their employers made full use of them.
The Testimony Gathered by Ashley’s Mines Commission (1842) provides even more scary accounts of the harsh living condition that the factory workers faced. The information from the commission provides that underage children and pregnant women were forced to work in extremely difficult and tough conditions. Sarah Gooder was aged 8 years when the commission spoke to her. She described how she had to get up in the middle of the night when even she had not rested enough and had to go to work. She described how she worked in the dark and constantly remained in the state of fear while working in the dark. She wanted to go to school and learn however she was forced to work in harsher conditions at such young age (Lualdi). This is just one account while a number of other accounts provide even more scary stories of how women lost their unborn children as a result of the conditions they were forced to work in.
I personally do not believe that these documents suggest the creation of a new social and economic order in Europe? The first document is a rule book for factory workers. The rule book can be termed a regular document of those days and could have been amended on account of changing conditions (“Factory Rules In Berlin”). The second document, however, is more important as it quite elaborately described the horrors that the industrial workers faced. The second document has enough material to arouse the anger and frustration of the general population of the Europe to stand against such cruel system of mastery and dominance. The Testimony Gathered by Ashley’s Mines Commission although does not suggest the creation of a new social and economic order in Europe. However, it does great to provide how the social and economic order in Europe should not be. This, therefore, can be considered a blueprint to eliminate those particular evils in the society and gradually and steadily move forward towards a society which values its inhabitants (Achebe). This can, in turn, lead to the vision of a society where workers whether they are poor or rich, are treated with humanity and dignity and workers are provided their due rights. If they are not provided with the ideal conditions at the workplace, they are at least provided with the basic necessities of life and the basic conditions which are important for the workers to work in without impacting their lives in a dangerous way.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 1st ed. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print.
Brissette, Ian, Michael F. Scheier, and Charles S. Carver. “The Role Of Optimism In Social Network Development, Coping, And Psychological Adjustment During A Life Transition.”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82.1 (2002): 102-111. Web.
“Factory Rules In Berlin.” Websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.
“Factory Rules In Berlin” .Sunysuffolk.edu.N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.
Lualdi, Katharine J. Sources Of The Making Of The West. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.