Rural Exodus

Rural Exodus
In the 19th century, thousands of people left the countryside and moved to the cities for various reasons. As technology advanced, goods that used to require skilled workers could now be mass produced in a faster speed. As a result, people that used to work at their homes moved to the cities to look for new jobs; those who remained had to watch helplessly as their wages began to diminish day by day. Other laborers, such as farmers, were driven out of their land because of enclosure. Different factors, led people into finding new directions; but were they pushed by the pressure of life that squeezed the breath out of them, or were they pulled into the cities by the glamorous city life?

In 1733, John Kay invented the flying shuttle, an improvement to looms that enabled weavers to weave faster. In 1764, the spinning jenny was invented by James Hargreaves. This invention enabled a worker to work with eight spools at once, which also greatly reduced the amount of time needed for work. These two inventions have something in common: many workers were no longer needed. Angry spinners broke in to Hargreaves’s house and destroyed his machines in 1768. Angry textile workers attacked Kay in 1753, Kay had to flee to France, where he died in poverty around 1780. Unfortunately for the workers, the problem was not solved, the Industrial Revolution has begun.

By that time, life was harsh, unbearable; moving into the cities seems like a chance to start a new life. More people, means more business; more business, means more workers are needed. Since factory owners wanted to gain as much profit as possible, women and children laborers were widely used since they were cheaper to hire. The working condition was awful; dust and fumes in the air choked the workers, the working place was unsanitary, and the dangerous machines injured the little hands of the young kids. Yet they continued working; long hours, backbreaking works, insufficient food—all for the sake of...