Great Britain vs. United States Industrial Revolution

An industrialist was more likely to succeed in Great Britain than in the United States. In the US, land a great amount of land was available to people who did not want to work in the mills. However, GB is smaller and there were less options for the people. Many citizens were forced into the mills in order to survive. Mill owners were never at a shortage for workers, allowing them to pay low wages and earn more profits. They didn't have to please their workers and they could treat them however they wanted to without worrying about losing employees. Also in Great Britain, not only were the men in the family looking for work, but so were the women and children. The women and children could work long hours for minimal pay. Great Britain was also covered in canals and railroads making it easy to transport both raw materials and products made in the mills to wherever they were needed.

Industrialists may have had a greater chance at being successful in Great Britain, but workers had a better experience in the American mills. In America, the was a shortage of workers for the mills. Mill owners had to make working at the mill look enticing. Wages were made higher than those in England, living conditions were better, mills were cleaner and the workers were treated in a much more humane manner. The hours were shorter; they included breaks for meals unlike mills in Great Britain. Finally, the biggest worry of workers in America was: the women working in mills could be no longer considered "pure" if they left their parents to work before they were married. In England, people worried about not being able to earn enough money to live or what the women and children could do to try to earn more money for the family. Children were forced to work long hours doing dangerous jobs. Workers in the US had less to worry about and had a better experience working in the mills than those living in Great Britain.

                             United States Mill Worker             Child Laborers in Great Britain