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Enclosure Acts
The Enclosure Acts were one factor. These were a series of Parliamentary Acts, the majority of which were passed between 1750 and 1860; through the Acts, open fields were closed to use by the peasantry. Open fields were large agricultural areas to which a village population had certain rights of access and which they tended to divide into narrow strips for cultivation. Rural laborers who lived on the margin depended on open fields and the wastes to fend off starvation. -
Factory Act of 1802
For the working class, living conditions were rough and factory work was very dangerous. The Factory Act of 1833 was act created by parliament to promote safer working conditions in specifically cotton mills. -
Corn Laws of 1815
The Corn Laws were taxes placed on imported goods to protect Britain's own goods. They forced the British people to buy the more expensive and lower quality British grain by putting a tariff on French grain, which tended to be less expensive and higher quality. The goal was to keep British money in Britain, rather than being spent on importing French grain.The Corn Laws were passed because of the Tories' control of Parliament. The Corn Laws were eventually voted out of law in 1846. -
Peel’s Factory Act of 1819
Cotton mills could no longer employ children under the age of nine. The act also shortened workdays for children 9-16 years old to 12 hours. This act served as the 'compass of guidance' for future acts regarding the workplace for children. -
The Reform Act of 1832
The Reform Act of 1832 In the early 1800’s, the British Parliament was comprised entirely of the wealthy, aristocratic class, which gave very little power to the middle and working classes. After several failed attempts to give more power to the middle class, the Reform Act of 1832 was passed. This act gave industrial cities representation in Parliament when they had previously had none, which increased the political power of the middle class in these cities. -
Factory Act of 1833
The Factory Act of 1833 In response to the Sadler Report, a report which illustrated the terrible working conditions of children in factories and textile mills, the Factory Act of 1833 was passed. This set limits for child labor in textile mills only. This act required that children age 13-18 could not work more than twelve hours a day, and children age 9-12 could not work more than nine hours a day. No child could work between the hours of 8:30 pm and 5:30 pm. -
Mines Act of 1842
Mines and Collieries Act 1842, commonly known as the Mines Act of 1842, was an act of the Parliament. It prohibited all child workers under the age of ten from working underground in coal mines. No female was to be employed underground nor was any boy to be employed underground. The act also perished apprentices between the ages of 10 and 18 could continue to work in the mines. -
Ten Hours Act of 1847
After several previous attempts, the Ten Hours Act of 1847 was passed by Lord Ashley and John Fielden in 1847 (go-figure). The Ten Hours Act was made to ensure that women and children only worked up to ten hours a day in factories. This would now make their maximum schedule ten hours of work on each weekday, and eight hours on Saturdays. In total, this limited the work time per week to about 58 hours. This act made the working conditions of women and children more comfortable and efficient. -
Reform Act of 1867
The Reform Act of 1867 was written and proposed by Lord John Russell. After being passed, the act granted suffrage to ⅓ of British Men. This later escalated to about 4.5 million men, including urban workers, being able to vote.
