William Blake and His Impact on Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution
At first glance, the Industrial Revolution might have been seen as a blessing, but after a closer look, the costs of such a “blessing” are shockingly high. The Industrial Revolution had a great effect on the economy of many nations, however, while economic growth was on the rise, the treatment of everyday laborers was quickly headed for the worst. ... This harsh “survival-of –the –fittest” lifestyle soon led to the unjust field of child labor, which in turn led to the emergence of the Child Labor Laws, and the advocates of these laws who brought much acclaim to the controversy such as poet William Blake. Child labor is an inhuman way to take advantage of impoverished children all over the world that carry the difficult task of caring for themselves at a young age. During the Industrial Revolution, children as young as five years of age were working in factories and being taken advantage of by factory owners. These young children worked under horrendous conditions and barely made any money for their labor (if indeed they were paid at all). ... Another occupation that young children worked during the Industrial Revolution was the very common, very socially accepted practice of child chimney sweeps. ... This type of treatment of children is what led to the strong fight against child labor, and as afore mentioned, one of the people responsible for bringing the fight against child labor into the lime light was none other than the poet and artist William Blake. William Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in London, on 28th Broad Street in Golden Square. As a young child William spent a portion of his childhood roaming London and the countryside on the edge of town. These happy memories inspired the future poet to write some of his earliest works, and also gave Blake a source to refer to in his later years when he would write his famous collection of poems Songs of Innocence and Experience. In this collection of poems, Blake exposes two contrary states of the human soul, both those of “Innocence” and “Experience”. In both collections, Blake shows his interest and condemnation of child labor by writing two poems entitled “The Chimney Sweeper”, one as a poem of Innocence and the other as a poem of Experience.