Imagine you work in a steel mill in a large industrial city in England in the late 1800s. You live in a neighborhood with other
factory workers, and share the same living and working conditions they do. Write a letter to your representative in Parliament expressing your opinions on what the government should do, if anything, about the plight of the English working class during the Industrial Revolution. In your letter, include details about your situation, as well as solutions for problems. Include some of the points below:
• Working conditions in English factories, the hours you work, opportunities for breaks, the average wages workers are paid, safety on the job, ages of those you work with (including children), health and healthcare, and what you will do when you are too old to work
• Types of laws that might be passed to address your concerns, including measures that factory owners should take to improve conditions, or steps the government could take to protect workers and insure better living conditions
• Ideas you have for improving urban life such as city planning, technological innovations, sanitation, schools, hospitals, and law enforcement
• How the government’s actions can affect England’s future, including the health, education, and welfare of its citizens
