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The Industrial Revolution began in the 1700s 

in Britain. It brought many changes to the 

way of life. People began to work in factories 

for wages, instead of on the farm. 

People moved to cities that were crowded, 

unsanitary, and dangerous. Children worked 

long hours for low pay in dangerous 

conditions. 

Some people protested against these 

changes.

This book is about those protests.

This is painting of 

Ned Ludd. He 

destroyed some 

machines that 

had put him out of 

work.

Other people that had lost their jobs to 

machines thought they would get their jobs 

back if the machines were gone. They followed 

Ned's actions. They were called Luddites: 

people against technology that replaced 

people.

Some factory owners wanted 

to improve life for their 

workers. One man, Robert 

Owen wanted to make a 

town for his workers.

Each family had a house, and 

children under ten were 

forbidden to work in 

factories.

These wealthy owners were 

called Utopian Socialists. 

Utopia is a word that means 

ideal place, which is what 

they were building.

There were so many complaints about industrialization 

that the British government got involved. They passed 

a law called The Factory Act of 1833. This included 

the following protections:

Children under 8 could not work in factories.

Children from the ages of 9-13 could only work 9 hours 

a day.

Children ages 13-18 could not work more than 12 

hours a day.

Later acts of Parliament (the British government) 

added more protections for the young and other 

workers.

Karl Marx was thinker 

who argued that 

capitalism led to 

economic and social 

inequalities. He predicted 

that the workers of the 

world would rise up and 

seize the factories and 

run them for the benefit 

of all. He called this 

Communism.

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