A Trip to England in the 1800s, VIA Google

Last Tuesday, many kids from Mrs. Gallagher's Honors History 10 classes attended a live video chat via Google.  That chat was with two curators at an actual mill in Manchester, England.  It contained many of the machines used in the Industrial Revolution.  They showed, explained, and even demonstrated how they worked and how the machines were operated.  However, before we could do the chat, we needed to get some knowledge ourselves so we could collaborate and ask relevant questions regarding the things we learned instead of asking basic question to them.  The day before, we watched a brief video from one of the guys that was on the chat named Jamie.  It was just a general tour of the machines and the ways they worked but it was nothing compared to the actual chat.  We also researched through a textiles gallery of every machine and learned about each one individually.  During that video, we got into groups and each group got the eight words which we had to define and explain to the other members.  Then, based on hat we learned from the video and the websites, we had to draft possible questions to ask both Jamie and the other guy during the chat.  Then we were prepared for the chat the next day.

The textile process was a long tiring cycle that was continuous throughout the day without intermission.  That was in the factories but some machines could be operated in houses.  For example, the most common house and factory machines were the water frame and the loom.  The water frame spun thread and then the loom took the spun thread and weaved into a cloth.  These machines were very powerful and strong and were not often damaged if taken care of.  If a machine ever was damaged in house, then that family would be forced to go the workhouse because most families' lives depended on their machine in their house and they made money off of it.  If a machine ever broke, it was very hard to repair besides the fact that most families could not afford to fix anyways so machines needed very good care.  In factories, machines were innovated on and improved on endurance/stability and efficiency.  Machines got faster and louder.  This also brought problems.  Louder machines brought more noise which caused deafness on the workers.  It wasn't just one machine, it was all of the machines on the floor that got louder because they were faster.  They were not necessarily safer though.  They were so powerful that they could suck up a worker into it and crush them to death.  Women had to tie their hair back so it would not get caught in a machine.  If someone ever did get caught in a machine, they would stop the machine and try to save whoever was caught but rarely did that person survive or get out without being severely injured.  If they were injured, they would go the workhouse if they could not return.  However, there was sick pay and a trade union to protect workers.  Jamie made a great point that people today take that stuff for granted when back in the Industrial Revolution those were appreciated greatly and some families depended on it while not working.  The machines also excreted heat and gases through a shuttle which could get into the lungs of the worker on that machine which could possibly cause cancer.  Jamie also got specific about how the conditions contributed to the work.  He said when the revolution began, there was only 1 toilet for about every 25 people.  People eventually just started putting wastes into a bag and throwing it out the window.  The last thing that really made me interested was when Jamie said how if children got hurt, which constantly happened, it would be their fault and no sympathy was given to them by the owners or overseers.  Overall, the textile process expanded on their machines getting stronger and much more powerful but it brought negative impacts along with it like the sickness, the beatings, and dangerous machines while they got more powerful.

This discussion definitely helped me learn more from a real curator at the actual mill.  He really explained and demonstrated how the machines operated, how lifestyles were, and how life was so much different than today but changed so much.  There is a reason why he is called an expert.  I think I liked how he explained the daily lifestyle of the workers and families (and when he excreted gas from the shuttle into his mouth....)  I also liked when he actually turned on a machine to show how powerful and dangerous they actually were.  Reading about it in a book or seeing a picture of it is one thing, but actually seeing it run is another.  If I ever had the chance to do this again, I would because I believe that he really helped us learn more on the Industrial Revolution to our prior knowledge on it.