The modern world
Michael Thomas Sadler is the author of the text. England began its journey into industrialization in 1800, and by 1900, industrialization had reached rural enclaves in England. One of the early reformers at that time was Michael Sadler; he had a poor background and understood how the poor were suffering in England. Although England was not fully ready for this kind of revolution, the change exposed various issues that have been in England over the years.
The rate at which children were used for labor in factories was alarming, and Michael could not afford to stop this trend until he was elected to the House of Commons. He served to the house bills against child labor, which seek to enact policies to stop child labor in Britain (The Sadler Report).
The report of Sadler as Chairman of the committee hearing on child labor was one among the many fights Sadler championed during his stay in the House of Commons. Sadler wanted to end child labor; he used the hearing to expose to the world the hazards these children faced while working to earn a living. Sadler used the opportunity to call for a social reform policy that should enlist children into insurance schemes that will cater to them.
The argument was that these children were being exploited and the situation was worse than what they know. Social reforms at that time were not accepted by the authorities in England due to the inequality margin. Sadler used the testimonies of these children to make a case for them and change history on their behalf.
Arguments from the text
Sadler used the hearing to educate the members of the House of Commons on how these children were treated at work. He used the opportunity to make a strong case against child labor, and the challenges children encountered while working at the mill.
The arguments were that these children suffered while working for their country just to make a living, and the elites did not see the need for social reforms. The House of Commons was moved beyond doubt by the testimonies of the little children. At the end of the hearing, they came up with some strong points that formed the basis of a bill against child labor. Sadler proposed that owners of factories and mills would be prosecuted or fined should there be cases of accidents with these children.
He pointed out that negligence on the part of the owners accounted for the rate of accidents in the factories. Another point raised was the number of hours that these children are forced to work. Sadler pointed out that children under the ages of eight and below were not permitted to work and if they should work in any mill, it has to be for six working hours. Sadler believed that this would give the children time to make use of other educational institutions in society (The Sadler Report).
The text showed the transformation process of England at that time. It was a time when the industrial revolution was just gaining speed. In addition, the dependency on individual labor was fading away. By the end of the nineteenth century, England’s revolution had reached its peak. Industrialization is the process whereby a country or nation evolves from farming and crop production into the production of goods and services. The text from Sadler’s report provided the answers on how the revolt for industrialization started in England.
Reference
The Sadler Report: Child labor in the United Kingdom. (2009). Pearson Education, Inc. Web.