Chapter Two
The Eradication of Infectious Pandemics
28 Here is a page from the website of the National Archives of the U.K. They discuss the “Factory Act” of 1833, an early attempt to regulate child labor and protect children. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1833-factory-act/
Google “child labor” and many wonderful resources, including many from university pages, can be found describing the ubiquity and horrors of child labor throughout the industrial revolution.
29 Here is a small collection of first hand accounts from child factory workers about the food they ate and the conditions in which they ate. Note the “blue” milk as described by Robert Blincoe. http://spartacus-educational.com/IRfood.htm
30 This article from “The Economist” magazine discusses the changing quality of life in England during the industrial revolution. Near the end they give life expectancy figures for a few cities. They dip as low as 25 in the heavily industrial city of Liverpool. http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2013/09/economic-history-0
31 Here is the Wikipedia page on life expectancy. There are still a few countries with life expectancy under forty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy
32 Edwin Chadwick was a central figure in the British reform movement of the mid 19th century. In particular he was a leading figure in evaluating the working and sanitary conditions of the poor. He published his report, “The Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population” in 1842. It is often referred to simply as “The Chadwick Report.” It was a turning point in the history of the industrial revolution. You can read more about Edwin Chadwick and his work here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Chadwick
Chadwick's work led directly to the first public health acts, in 1848. You can read about them, and their descendants, here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Act
Another investigator was the early epidemiologist, John Snow. His work was central in understanding the cholera epidemics of the 19th century and spurred the building of the London sewer system, and modern sewage in general. His Wikipedia page can be found here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow_%28physician%29
The entire history of the reform movements is fascinating and goes back to the earliest days of the industrial revolution. See the website for this book for further historical research on this and other issues. www.vaccineprimer.weebly.com
33 While there were many reformers, two in particular provide a good place to begin studying the movement. The first is one of the most prolific British philosophers of the early 19th century, Jeremy Bentham. Much of his work was more radical than practical but the list of those who studied with him and were influenced by him is long and includes many influential people, including Chadwick and John Stuart Mill. You can read more about him and his influence here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham
Another was Robert Peel, the son of a textile factory owner and twice prime minister of Britain. While he waffled and had his political struggles, his general intention and a good deal of his work was directed towards reform. You can read more about him here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Peel
We have discussed the London sewer on more than one occasion. Many an historian has hypothesized that it and its progeny around the world were the single most effective development in the reduction of deaths from infectious diseases in history. You can read about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_sewerage_system
34 The case of small pox is complex and not easily reducible. In the early industrial countries it is clear that vaccination had no role in reducing its spread. An excellent, thoroughly sourced examination of the issue can be found in the book, “Dissolving Illusions” by Roman Bystrianyk and Dr. Suzanne Humphries. The book can be found at their website. www.dissolvingillusions.com
35 The Rhode Island system of Samuel Slater was providing Sunday school classes for mill girls as early as 1790. You can read more about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltham-Lowell_system#Rhode_Island_System
Other educational reforms were slower to take effect. Compulsory education for five to ten year olds was established in Great Britain in 1880. You can read more about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-funded_schools_%28England%29
36 Here again is the London sewer system page from Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_sewerage_system
You can read more about the development of trash removal programs here. They began in London as a result of the Chadwick Report and can now be found in most cities in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_waste_management
Here is an entertaining account of the historical development of waste management written by an outhouse worker. It is complete with a rich photographic record. http://www.19thcenturybottlediggers.com/sanitation101.htm
37 Here is an article on the website of the Economic History Association describing changes in work place safety in the U.S. from 1880 to 1970. It is thoroughly sourced and offers interesting insights. http://eh.net/encyclopedia/history-of-workplace-safety-in-the-united-states-1880-1970/
Here is an article on the history of workplace regulation from the website of the U.S. Department of Labor. http://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/osha.htm
Here is the Wikipedia page discussing the Factory Acts in England which regulated both the hours and ages of workers and the conditions in which they worked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_Acts
This is a page on the website of the FDA chronicling major developments in food safety in the U.S. http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/Milestones/ucm128305.htm
Here is the article on Wikipedia about the development of Local Boards of Health in the U.K. Note that their duties include early versions of building codes, slaughterhouse regulation, trash removal and similar activities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_board_of_health#General_Board_of_Health
38 Here are the Wikipedia pages on the development of refrigeration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigeration and pasteurization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization.
39 Here is an epidemiological study from 1927 discussing the decline in measles in part as a result of clean milk and water. It was completed by an epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and published in the “American Journal of Public Health.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1321692/?page=1
40 We have already shared a great many disease statistics demonstrating this decline.
Google “child labor” and many wonderful resources, including many from university pages, can be found describing the ubiquity and horrors of child labor throughout the industrial revolution.
29 Here is a small collection of first hand accounts from child factory workers about the food they ate and the conditions in which they ate. Note the “blue” milk as described by Robert Blincoe. http://spartacus-educational.com/IRfood.htm
30 This article from “The Economist” magazine discusses the changing quality of life in England during the industrial revolution. Near the end they give life expectancy figures for a few cities. They dip as low as 25 in the heavily industrial city of Liverpool. http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2013/09/economic-history-0
31 Here is the Wikipedia page on life expectancy. There are still a few countries with life expectancy under forty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy
32 Edwin Chadwick was a central figure in the British reform movement of the mid 19th century. In particular he was a leading figure in evaluating the working and sanitary conditions of the poor. He published his report, “The Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population” in 1842. It is often referred to simply as “The Chadwick Report.” It was a turning point in the history of the industrial revolution. You can read more about Edwin Chadwick and his work here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Chadwick
Chadwick's work led directly to the first public health acts, in 1848. You can read about them, and their descendants, here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Act
Another investigator was the early epidemiologist, John Snow. His work was central in understanding the cholera epidemics of the 19th century and spurred the building of the London sewer system, and modern sewage in general. His Wikipedia page can be found here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow_%28physician%29
The entire history of the reform movements is fascinating and goes back to the earliest days of the industrial revolution. See the website for this book for further historical research on this and other issues. www.vaccineprimer.weebly.com
33 While there were many reformers, two in particular provide a good place to begin studying the movement. The first is one of the most prolific British philosophers of the early 19th century, Jeremy Bentham. Much of his work was more radical than practical but the list of those who studied with him and were influenced by him is long and includes many influential people, including Chadwick and John Stuart Mill. You can read more about him and his influence here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham
Another was Robert Peel, the son of a textile factory owner and twice prime minister of Britain. While he waffled and had his political struggles, his general intention and a good deal of his work was directed towards reform. You can read more about him here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Peel
We have discussed the London sewer on more than one occasion. Many an historian has hypothesized that it and its progeny around the world were the single most effective development in the reduction of deaths from infectious diseases in history. You can read about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_sewerage_system
34 The case of small pox is complex and not easily reducible. In the early industrial countries it is clear that vaccination had no role in reducing its spread. An excellent, thoroughly sourced examination of the issue can be found in the book, “Dissolving Illusions” by Roman Bystrianyk and Dr. Suzanne Humphries. The book can be found at their website. www.dissolvingillusions.com
35 The Rhode Island system of Samuel Slater was providing Sunday school classes for mill girls as early as 1790. You can read more about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltham-Lowell_system#Rhode_Island_System
Other educational reforms were slower to take effect. Compulsory education for five to ten year olds was established in Great Britain in 1880. You can read more about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-funded_schools_%28England%29
36 Here again is the London sewer system page from Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_sewerage_system
You can read more about the development of trash removal programs here. They began in London as a result of the Chadwick Report and can now be found in most cities in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_waste_management
Here is an entertaining account of the historical development of waste management written by an outhouse worker. It is complete with a rich photographic record. http://www.19thcenturybottlediggers.com/sanitation101.htm
37 Here is an article on the website of the Economic History Association describing changes in work place safety in the U.S. from 1880 to 1970. It is thoroughly sourced and offers interesting insights. http://eh.net/encyclopedia/history-of-workplace-safety-in-the-united-states-1880-1970/
Here is an article on the history of workplace regulation from the website of the U.S. Department of Labor. http://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/osha.htm
Here is the Wikipedia page discussing the Factory Acts in England which regulated both the hours and ages of workers and the conditions in which they worked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_Acts
This is a page on the website of the FDA chronicling major developments in food safety in the U.S. http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/Milestones/ucm128305.htm
Here is the article on Wikipedia about the development of Local Boards of Health in the U.K. Note that their duties include early versions of building codes, slaughterhouse regulation, trash removal and similar activities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_board_of_health#General_Board_of_Health
38 Here are the Wikipedia pages on the development of refrigeration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigeration and pasteurization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization.
39 Here is an epidemiological study from 1927 discussing the decline in measles in part as a result of clean milk and water. It was completed by an epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and published in the “American Journal of Public Health.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1321692/?page=1
40 We have already shared a great many disease statistics demonstrating this decline.