Was it Worth the Cost?

I do not believe that the benefits of new technologies from industrialization were worth the costs. New technology was not worth the cost because of child labor, pollution, and accidents, caused through industrialization. A photograph by Lewis Wickes Hines (1913-1914), informs society on the impact of child labor. Employer’s lure children with high wages in exchange for work. As the children work they grow bored, dirty, and tired and their wages are lowered, resulting in human junk. Likewise, when factories grew as the industrial revolution continued, pollution swarmed the skies, killing plants and animals, and people could only see during the day with help of a street lamp. The pollution produced from factories also caused diseases such as typhoid fever. The constant increase of pollution also harmed pure water springs, waterfalls, and swamps. Also, an article by Crystal Eastman (1916), explains that 526 men were killed through work accidents and over 509 men were put in hospital because of severe injuries. These men were working in factories to support their families and when they died, what were their families supposed to do? The industrial revolution was not worth losing lives. These men didn’t deserve to die through work. In conclusion, industrialization was not worth pushing children through child labor, pollution, and accidents. I do not believe that the benefits of new technologies from industrialization were worth the costs.