Why did mostly women and children work in early factories?
Neccesity. Women and Children who worked in the cities had to work in factories simply to get by. It’s not like how it is today, there were no minimum wages a long time ago…. people simply were not paid enough to live even a decent life. There were also no child labor laws (or laws mandating education), so kids were allowed to work in factories too. I too have read the Jungle, and agree with the person above who mentioned that kids could fit back in the machines to do work – this is why they were a beneficial hire for the employers. Why were they mostly women and children? It has nothing to do with agrarian society. If a family lived on a farm, everyone worked on the farm. If they lived in a city, chances are everyone worked in the city. Just do the math. In the average family back then you’ve got the husband, the wife, and two or three kids. The wife and 2 kids equal 3 while just the husband is 1… suggesting that 3/4 of all workers were either wives, widows, or children.
