Gaskell Artisans and Machinery title page
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Gaskell Artisans binding
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Detail map of London, England, United Kingdom,Manchester, England, United Kingdom Overview map of London, England, United Kingdom,Manchester, England, United Kingdom

A: London, England, United Kingdom, B: Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Surgeon Peter Gaskell Critiques the Impact Upon the Work Force of Steam-Powered Mechanization in the Cotton Mills

1833 to 1836
Gaskell Manufacturing population
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After the development of the Roberts iron loom and self-acting spinning mule, and their operation by steam power, factory production in the cotton mills underwent very dramatic expansion, with inevitable impact on the work force. In 1833 and 1836 Manchester surgeon Peter Gaskell published two works on the socioeconomic and health issues caused by steam-powered mechanization in the cotton mills. These works were in contrast to the factory-promoting publications by writers such as Andrew Ure and Charles Knight that were issued almost at exactly the same time:

The Manufacturing Population of England, its Moral, Social and Physical Conditions, and the Changes Which Have Arisen from the Use of Steam Machinery; with an examination of Infant Labor (1833).

and:

Artisans and Machinery:  The Moral and Physical Condition of the Manufacturing Population Considered with Reference to Mechanical Subsitutes for Human Labour (1838).

Both of Gaskell's books considered the human problems caused by the development of steam-powered mechanization, especially in the cotton mills of Manchester, with the goal of eventual regulation and improvement of working conditions. Among the issues that Gaskell focused on were the disruption of traditional family life caused by factory work, the employment of women and children in factories, the excessively long work hours demanded by factory employers, industrial accidents, exposure to contagious disease resulting from hundreds or thousands of people working in close quarters, lack of education for child workers, lack of normal exercise for children, and other problems.

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