United States and Great Britain Comparison

Industrialists were more likely to succeed in Great Britain. In the factories in Great Britain, the workers were paid less money, so the owners made more money. The owners did not have to give the workers the majority of their wages. The workers were paid less money because there was more labor available in Great Britain, most of which were previous farmers and their families. If someone quit their job at the factory, they could easily be replaced by another worker. In these factories, the workers were less likely to protest against the owners because they would be replaced right away. The factory owners did not have to worry about their workers’ feelings.  In “Observations of the Loss on the Woollen Spinning 1794,” the author writes, “In the eyes of the overseer she was but a brute, a slave, to be beaten, pinched and pushed about.” It is understood that the owners did not have to work hard in order to make sure that their workers were satisfied. The owners simply had to make sure that the workers were doing their jobs correctly, punish them if they were not, and pay them a small amount.

Workers had a more positive experience in the United States. For farmers, there was more land available. There were more land and job options for these workers if their small businesses were replaced by large companies. In “Early Factory Labor in New England 1883,” the author wrote, “Those of the mill­girls who had homes generally worked from eight to ten months in the year; the rest of the time was spent with parents or friends. A few taught school during the summer months. Their life in the factory was made pleasant to them. In those days there was no need of advocating the doctrine of the proper relation between employer and employed. Help was too valuable to be ill-treated....” The mills in the United States that textile workers worked in were cleaner and more sanitary than the mills in Great Britain. There were more breaks and fewer hours for workers in the United States than in Great Britain. In the United States, less labor was available, which meant that the factories were in need of their workers. Workers were able to protest for fair treatment, since the owners could not replace them.

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