Primary and Secondary Sources
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Sources - Perspective and accuracy
[Q] Were you ever employed as the master of the apprentices at a cotton mill?
[A] I was engaged to attend the apprentice-house at Backbarrow. I was over the children. [Q] What were the hours of work? [A] From five o'clock in the morning till eight at night. [Q] Were fifteen hours in the day the regular hours of work? [A] Those were the regular hours of work. [Q] What time was allowed for meals? [A] Half an hour for breakfast and half an hour for dinner. [Q] When the works were stopped for repair of the mill, or for any want of cotton, did the children afterwards make up for the loss of that time? [A] Yes. [Q] When making up lost time, how long did they continue working at night? [A] Till nine o'clock, and sometimes later; sometimes ten. [Q] Did the masters ever express any concern for such excessive labour? [A] No. [Q] Did the children sit or stand at work? [A] Stand. [Q] The whole of their time? [A] Yes. [Q] Were there any seats in the mill? [A] None. [Q] Were they usually much fatigued at night? [A] Yes, some of them were very much fatigued. [Q] Were any children injured by the machinery? [A] Very frequently. Source 1 In Britain in 1816, a parliamentary committee was appointed to investigate the working conditions of children in the cotton textile industry. In the above extract from its report John Moss answers the committee's questions.
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Source 2 Battle in the rue de Rohan, 28 July 1830 was painted in oil on canvas by French artist Hippolyte Lecomte in 1831. It depicts mostly working class revolutionaries fighting in the streets of Paris during the revolution of 1830 in France. The revolutionaries are seen exchanging fire with government soldiers in the building at the rear.
Source 3 The great Chartist meeting on Kennington Common on 10 April 1848, recorded in a black and white photograph with applied colour by William Kilburn. The Chartist movement was an attempt by British workers to improve working conditions through political action. The Chartists gathered signatures on petitions demanding the vote and other rights for workers. Most of their demands were not achieved until the beginning of the twentieth century.
History Alive 9
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