Boston's Savage 1800s Sweatshop Slums (Terrible Tenements and Toil)

Boston's women and children worked in terrible slum tenement conditions in the 1800s. They would used as cheap labour, sewing garments and working long hours in appalling conditions, either in pest infested fire traps or in small lofts and cellar rooms. Sweatshop workers were paid so little for their work, that the long hours they toiled didn't even earn enough money to pay for rent and food. This documentary gives an account of a pastor's visit to sweatshop workers and the appalling conditions in which they lived and worked.
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Credits: Narration - markmanningmedia.com
CC BY - Illustration of a typical sweatshop, at 12 Hester Street, New York; appeared in a publication, 1885 by Kheel Center; Needles Sewing Machine by Auckland War Memorial Museum
CC BY-SA - Sewing demonstration of with a 1894 Singer sewing machine by Pannini
#Sweatshops #SweatshopsDocumentary #SweatShopsWorkingConditions #BostonHistory #BostonHistoryDocumentary #BostonSlums #BostonSlumsDocumentary #SweatshopsBostonDocumentary #SlumAmerica #SlumLifeInAmerica #FactFeast

[@FactFeast]

Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this and want to support the channel you can do this by using the SUPER THANKS button above! ▶ New York's FIVE POINTS SLUM Beer Dives - 1800s Underground: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXOWlaqIoNSng7s ▶ The Brutal Life of an 1800s New York 'Dead Beat' (Street Life in the Slums of Manhattan) ▶ Survival in New York's brutal FIVE POINTS Slum (The Bend on Mulberry Street): kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKLaqGVjptefkJY ▶ Unimaginable Filth in 1800s New York's Dirtiest Slum (Rag Pickers and Garbage Dumps): kzbin.info/www/bejne/goTdnaB5fNp8hsk ▶ A Horrific Night in a Filthy 1800s New York Flophouse: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH-5Yql9aJtokJI ▶ Battle for New York's Slums: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWrdlJqceJ6Uis0 ▶ Hell Holes of the Five Points Slum: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emHTnmp7fsuAeKc ▶ New York Tenement Slums: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKHSZHRsYricndE ▶ New York's Brutal Back Alley Slums: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5PIqWh6eqyNptU ▶ Dangerous Gangs of New York Slums: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3ewh6B4ndaCirM ▶ The White Death (Slum Life): kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZrbimp4hZ2Iqbs ▶ Slumming it in the Tenements: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGGonqGOltSooqM ▶ Evil Slums of Indiana: kzbin.info/www/bejne/baHXin-kl9KCndE ▶ Most Dangerous Slum Alley in 1800s Washington D.C: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGmao5J_rNiKfck ▶ America's Most Dangerous 1800s Criminal Slum (Murder Bay): kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4WWhaWIjd9lask

[@ddz1375]

My mother was an immigrant who came here in 1956. She worked in the sweatshops in the 60s and 70s doing piecework in Philadelphia. I remember how the air was always full of fabric dust and unbearably hot , the noise level was very high and the smell of hot machine oil would invade your nasal passages and stick in your mouth.

[@lalaboo251]

Before the North End of Boston was gentrified, I lived in an ‘apartment’ there. Every room had a doorway to the hall, which were sealed, the bathroom was a water closet. I realizes the space I had to myself probably housed a couple of families when it was built. It was a sobering thought

[@FactFeast]

Interesting. Thank you for sharing. The alterations to old buildings through the years tell a story as to how people lived and worked.

[@lalaboo251]

@@FactFeast indeed, and when my great grandmother came over she lived in the same neighborhood, though no one spoke of the difficulties. The family persevered, bought a lot in another neighborhood and built a brick home for the family which stands today . Thank you for your videos

[@s.v.2796]

I lived in an old Victorian with no indoor heating. We used piped in gas in the fireplace to heat the room in the winter. The stairs were steep and dangerous. One bathroom for all the tenants. I also had a treadle that I used to make clothing on. Although it was luxury compared to this, it still caused me to think.

[@kathyinwonderlandl.a.8934]

⁠@@s.v.2796what you described feels like it was 100 years ago not around current times. It sounds perfectly awful. Glad you got out of there.

[@MegaLivingIt]

I started out sewing on an old treadle (great fun!) and could do straight seams really fast but can't imagine doing this by hand like these poor ladies. Wonder how many owned their own machines at home? 🌿

[@FactFeast]

They must have been quite an expense on the household budget. Perhaps some were sold on a payment system or second-hand.

[@brianoneil9662]

Always fascinating and always impeccably produced.. My absolute favorite KZbin channel of any sort, not just history.

[@FactFeast]

You’re very kind!!

[@jennifermiller7139]

I “enjoy” watching these so informative videos because it keeps reminding me of the severe poverty and disease that these poor families with children endured. We have so much now than they ever did. So sad. And the poor children. 😢❤🙏🏻

[@AlexWatson-ii7ol]

Thanks for all your uploads the things we take for granted nowadays i dont think we would be able to live like that those poor souls worked there butts of for pittins

[@FactFeast]

Thanks for writing and for watching! Glad you find this history interesting.

[@lanacampbell-moore6686]

Thanks F.F.😊

[@FactFeast]

Always a pleasure and your comment very appreciated!

[@Ann65.]

I could tell you a few tales about the "Good Ol' Days" of 1965. I left school at 15 and my naivety and innocence left me totally unprepared for the stew of nefarious abuse I would find. 😳

[@mijiyoon5575]

Wages are a disgrace then & now & so is rent. That's why unions are vital b/c unions push up wages in general along w/ regulations & rules. Greed is alive & well now too just like always ... greed greed greed causes most of this ...then & now. That's why fairness has to be forced through unions

[@Kennephone]

Amen to that, the company I work for recently lowered the starting wage, which already wasn't enough, and there excuse was fairness cause some positions (but in the same rank in the heirarchy) paid the current starting wage and some paid the old one, so they lowered everyone to the lowest common denominator.

[@PumaLyn]

This is why I always tell my students to study hard so that they can get a good job in future. Education is the only way to a comfortable and secure future for those of us who are not born with a silver spoon in our mouth and are plain looking.

[@Khatoon170]

Last part of my research first sweatshops appeared in Great Britain in late 18 th century and persisted there until 20 th century. In USA , first textile sweatshops appeared in early 19 th century in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In worst forms of sweatshops people are forced to work up to 72 hours straight, without sleep . Those complaining are beaten and abused . There are cases of physical , sexual , verbal abuse are common and well documented. Sweatshop or sweat factory is crowded workplace with very poor socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. There are still sweatshops exist in USA , in major metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles. Thank you for giving us chance to read learn new information and improve our English as none native speakers. Best wishes for you your dearest ones .

[@FactFeast]

Thank you for taking the time to comment Khatoon.

[@died4us590]

I really enjoy these video's, it must have been a hard life back then. I think about a book i read over 30 year's ago called The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. His description of the working conditions was horrible, and so many people were physically injured, some permanently, and many died, much like many of your video's detail. I appreciate the work that goes into making these video's, always a thumbs up, and i tell my friend's to hop over here. G-d bless.

[@FactFeast]

You’re very kind! Thank you for supporting my channel and sharing it with friends. It’s really helpful.

[@ddz1375]

I read Upton Sinclairs The Jungle when I was in 6th grade. It made a huge impact on me and still to this day I am ultra cautious when it comes to the food I put in my body and an awareness of just how cruel the corporate mindset is about the bottom dollar really is.

[@daviddavid5880]

Exactly what I think of when people are nostalgic for "The Good Ol' Days" or want to "Make the Nation Great Again".

[@chudleyflusher7132]

…Or when they complain about the current younger generation. “Kids nowadays…” arguments are really a hallmark of intellectual laziness.

[@DelphineNoirel]

Sounds bad but she’s making about $2000 a month adjusting for inflation

[@DelphineNoirel]

$6 a month for rent in inner city Boston… earning $12 a month… plenty of people in the same boat today

[@coconutsmarties]

​@@DelphineNoirel It's really not the same boat. That calculation may be true but it's also an overly simplistic way of looking at it. For one thing, these days 'kid expenses' aren't just food and the occasional item of old clothing. Life may not be good for a lot of people now - and that's not ok, but my goodness it was terrible back then.

[@561ram]

This comment just proves that it's not intelligence young people are lacking it's just experience. You can take any point in time and if you only zero in on the negative while ignoring great accomplishments, marvelous ingenuity and huge drive and determination make it seem so awful. The industrial revolution improved the quality of life for people and expanded our capabilities greater than any other time before it. Were mistakes made? Looking back with modern mentality sure it's easy to point things out but to dismiss the entire event the entire point in time as "wrong" "offensive" or whatever lable you put on it is just ridiculous and as young people mature and start to gain some real world experience their thinking will change...for most at least.

[@rjhayes-dc1ji]

It sucks knowing your doing all you can to feed your family but still has to watch your child slowly fade away. That hurts me more then anything, greed is a real thing

[@melaniemills4505]

Greedy companies making money off of workers who can't even make ends meet with the wages they earn. Sounds familiar. Take pride in these people who worked themselves to death and the contributions they made to society. 😢

[@nataanda2486]

such great content here!!!! thank you so much

[@FactFeast]

I’m glad you find the history for you here interesting. Thank you!

[@Khatoon170]

How are you doing sir. Thank you for your wonderful cultural documentary channel. I learn new idioms and new information with every new video you posting. As always iam gathering key points about topics you mentioned briefly here it’s sweat shops are factories were named sweatshops because employees, mainly women, children, worked long hours for low pay in terrible conditions that caused to sweat as they worked. Sweater used as early as 1850 to describe employer who exacted monotonous work for every low wages . Sweating became widespread in 1880 s , when immigrants from eastern and Southern Europe provided influx of cheap labour in USA and Central Europe. Sweatshops strat in America ( 1880- 1940) as tenement sweatshops.

[@FactFeast]

Thank you Khatoon. I’m glad you find this helpful and interesting.

[@brianoneil9662]

Thanks!

[@FactFeast]

Thank you so much Brian! I really appreciate your support 😊

[@HornyTaurney]

Much Love

[@angel8fingers]

You have a future in novel narration if you were to pursue it.

[@tonib.3016]

Absolutely horrible...and sadly its not changed that much tbh.

[@bobcosmic]

Good night to Double F. As you well know there are still people working in sweat shops in the tri state area. Thanks for this view into the past.

[@FactFeast]

Thanks Bob! I appreciate it. Good night.

[@egriffiths8993]

You have to wonder why they didn’t pay them more. Surely not having exhausted starving malnutrition’s workers would produce better work. Huge gap having no profit and allowing people to live

[@ryanhoward3383]

Just what happened to Fievel in the first "American Tail" movie.

[@samnpoppythedog4416]

I think this is a informative channel and in the new year will be joining the channel as I do every so often with channels I like, nowt to do with the channel but I keep expecting you to tell me how good Mr Kipling fruit pies are.

[@Kennephone]

I'm completely lost for words, even carnigee steel mill workers got something like $1.20 a day.

[@stairway211]

That’s pretty damn savage

[@EDDIELANE]

I wonder if anything came from the pastors visit?

[@christinecollins6648]

This specific industry- textiles, still maintains these working conditions and low pay. They moved overseas to “ third world” countries in order to avoid minimum wage, osha requirements, unions and pressures to offer benefits . People act like this is okay!! That said petty and organized criminals through shop lifting and identity scams are actually chipping away at owner’s “profits”who always look for savings at their laborers expense

[@mijiyoon5575]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@FactFeast]

Thank you Miji. It’s appreciated!

[@marjorieallworth6172]

It was - maybe stick is - Called piece work I know I've done it !

[@cherylT321]

I wonder where all the men are?

[@Salt_Ed_One1]

Feminists would lose their minds over this video. I mean, they have it so bad today.

[@hondaxl250k0]

😂 modern women ☕️

[@coconutsmarties]

Profile pic checks out... 🙄

[@ddz1375]

You are assuming that they would deign to thread a needle or know what a bobbin is.

[@peregrinemccauley5010]

Capitalism . Nothing's changed .