Industrial Revolution: Product Prices Worth Paying?

There were many things that made the Industrial Revolution great, but still many things that made it terrible. Though there were the new inventions and things that still affect the world today, there were still many things that had went wrong. There was child labor, which was a huge problem, there were 526 people dying from one workplace in a year, and there is also pollution from factories ruining the health of people that live near them.

The industrial revolution was something that had many costs, but the question is, were the prices worth paying? Yes, there were benefits, and yes, there were harms. The disadvantages were massive though. For example, Harry Reece created a poster in 1913. It was titled “Human Junk.” It showed how child labor can ruin the lives of young children, turning them into “junk” that had no future and low pay. Reece was not wrong, however. The lives of children were tough, due to the industrial revolution. Because of the high demand for new products, the children had to work long hours. No matter the amount of work they did, they still got the same low pay. These kids resemble junk because they have close to nothing to look forward to in life.

The problems with the industrial revolution didn’t stop there though. There was still all of the pollutions and harms to the environment. Detroit Publishing Co. Took a picture of smokestacks from factories. Not only do they make for a bad view out your window, but they also can make for bad health. Because of all of the smoke from factories with new machines from the industrial revolution, people can breathe in the smoke and get very sick. These were big problems already, with the huge amount of immigrants that had just arrived, it was already hard enough to find fresh air to breathe.

Although there are the topics about the industrial revolution harming children and the environment, these aren’t the only thing that were impacted. There is already dangers in the environment because of the smoke, but there is also the fact about safety and security. The article titled “industrial accidents in Pittsburgh”, written in 1907, is a report on how many people have gotten injured and killed in workplace accidents. Although there are many new things, and interests for new technology, many people died in the making of these. Apparently, in a Pittsburgh workplace, in one year there were 526 deaths. 17 out of those people weren't even sent to the hospital. This is not only a risk to workers safety but also a risk to the economy with so many people dying.

All of these prices are a lot to pay. The environment and society can’t afford them! Even though many different amazing things came from the industrial revolution, some of them were not worth the cost that America had to pay. There are problems from child labor, to over 500 people dying in a year from work, to pollution from factories ruining the health of people living in the areas. These are a lot to pay for, and I don’t think that some of the prices are affordable for the environment.