Robert-Owen-Day-WITH

Robert Owen was a man who lived about 200 years ago. He was a successful businessman in the textile industry.

Owen thought that ordinary working people should be able to enjoy education, good health, decent living conditions, and recreation.

Robert Welcome Owento Day

His ideas were not popular amongst many other businessmen at the time who were only concerned with making as much money as possible out of their workers.

Owen tried lots of schemes to improve the lives of his workers – some of these were more successful than others! Co-operatives and trade unions, for example, are still helping people today. And his idea of ‘sustainable communities’ is becoming popular again in days when we need to be more aware of our impact on the environment. Robert Owen’s story is one from the past which may help us to solve the problems of today and the future. Today you will learn more about Owen’s life and his ideas. We hope you will have fun too!

1 Owen’s story begins … Robert Owen was born in Newtown, a small town in Wales, in 1771. His father ran the local saddler and ironmonger shop and was also the town postmaster. At the age of seven, Owen had learned everything he could from the local schoolmaster and started to use his knowledge to help teach the younger children.

2 Childhood days Owen almost died at the age of 6 or 7 after falling off his horse crossing a narrow bridge. He also injured his stomach eating scalding hot flummery, a type of porridge. “On my hastily taking a spoonful of it I found it was quite scalding hot, the body of it retaining all its heat. The consequence was an instant fainting from the stomach being scalded. In that state I remained so long that my parents thought life was extinct.”

3 Starting work The Industrial Revolution made a big impact on the lives of ordinary people. People who had previously lived in small, rural towns had to move to the expanding cities for new work opportunities. At the age of 10, Owen was given forty shillings and sent to London in search of work. He stayed with his brother until he was offered a job as a draper’s apprentice in Stamford in Lincolnshire. He worked in Mr McGuffog’s drapers shop for three years. Owen later moved to Manchester where he worked at Satterfield’s wholesale drapery. When he was 18, he set up his own business making cotton-spinning machines. In 1792, he became manager of Bank Top Mill in Manchester.

4 Life in the mills Working life changed dramatically during the Industrial Revolution. Rather than working in their own home or outside on farms, people were forced to work in dangerous and crowded mills. Many workers were unhappy with the new conditions. Whilst managing a mill in Manchester, Owen helped found the Manchester Board of Health, which carried out inspections in mills. They discovered terrible living and working conditions.

5 New Lanark Owen became a mill manager at New Lanark in 1800. His enlightened management techniques improved life for the workers there and New Lanark soon became a model village. His system of reforms became famous and over 20,000 people visited the site. Owen paid close the health welfare of the New villagers, Drunkenness andattention theft wastocommon, butand Owen believed that byLanark improving the unlike manyformill conditions hisowners. workers he would be rewarded with a staff of hardworking and dedicated employees. He improved the educational and recreational facilities, encouraging workers to attend evening classes and go for walks in their spare time. New Lanark is now a World Heritage Site and can still be visited today.

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6 Working children By the start of the 19th century, lots of children were working in mills all over the country. Many of them were orphans who were supposed to be given food, clothing and access to education rather than wages. But by the time they had worked all day in the mills they were too tired to study in the evenings. Owen refused to let children under the age of 10 work in the mills. Older children could only work up to 14 hours a day and he gave them time off for meals. This was unpopular with other mill owners, but Owen further reduced working hours to 12 hours per day in 1816.

6 Working children In 1816, he also opened the Institute for the Formation of Character. It taught similar subjects to those taught in schools today – history, geography, reading, writing and arithmetic. Owen also helped mothers by establishing the first infant school in Britain. Owen believed learning should be pleasurable, so there were no punishments or rewards, and there were weekly concerts.

7 A decent place to live Owen wanted People neededtoencouragement improve this atto New takeLanark. up work Workers’ in mills,houses rather were than continuing very to work outside different there. Sewage on farms. was One removed of the ways each mill day owners and the attracted streets innew the village employees were cleaned was regularly, by providing helping housing improve for the workers. healthIt of was villagers. often very Eachcrowded, family had there an extra wasroom. usually only one room for each family and many people shared the primitive bathroom facilities. However, there were new rules and regulations. Houses had to be cleaned at least once a week and the villagers were banned from keeping animals in the houses. At first, the villagers, especially women, protested against having their homes investigated by officials, who became known as the bug hunters.

8 Community and democracy Owen wanted to encourage community responsibility at New Lanark to improve the village and ensure it was a peaceful place to live. Owen set up a committee of democratically elected individuals representing each neighbourhood, which met once a month. This was the villagers’ chance to suggest any changes and improvements. People were also taught how to budget, and all the profits from the village store were used for the benefit of the community.

9 New Harmony Owen was passionate about sustainable communities, believing that society could be improved if people lived in small communities like New Lanark. They would be arranged in large squares with agricultural land, schools, workshops, communal kitchens and places of worship. Encouraged by his success at New Lanark, he began to write on the subject and gave regular lectures. In 1825 he sold New Lanark and moved to America where he bought a settlement in Indiana.

9 New Harmony There, he set up the utopian community New Harmony with his partner William Maclure. However, the project ended in failure. It attracted lots of people with good ideas, but few people had practical skills in construction of farming. Housing was overcrowded and there were real food shortages.

10 Trade Unions A trade union is an organisation The Grand National Consolidatedof workers whowas haveformed come together with Trade Union just before a common goals to meant try to improve trade slump that business conditions. Owen that slowed down and believed employers cutif working people formed tradestrikes unions, wages. The Union organised in they would have a better chance of response. protecting themselves from the evil of industry. In 1833, he helped In 1834, Owen helped lead aset up the Grand National Consolidated Trade procession to the Prime Minister in Union. grew quickly and protestMembership at the sending of six Dorset at its workers height the union had half a farm (the Tolpuddle Martyrs) million members. to Australia. They were defeated and the government disbanded the union.

11 Labour exchange The notes Owen encouraged allowed the workers to buy establishment and sell their goods of thebased National on the Equitable Labour manufacturing time Exchange and theincost London of the materials in 1832, and to help it worked workers sell their well at first. products However, in aeventually more profitable the systemmanner. lapsed due Theto members pricing of the exchange disputes over thewere valueencouraged of to use labour products and the notes time instead takenofto moneythem. make in all Cash their was transactions. exchanged for labour notes, which saw the values of the notes decrease.

12 Owen’s ideas live on His followers, known as Owenites, set up the It hasco-operatives. taken almost One 200 years for some of first early co-operative Owen’s dreams to come true.Pioneers He believed was started by the Rochdale in that should school rather than 1844,children and grew into be theatCo-operative which working in in factories. manytoday. parts There of the are has stores the highInstreet world children still have tomembers work andin aroundtoday one billion co-operative miss education. over out 100 on countries today. Although he didn't persuade The environmental problems all of the other 21st factory at the time,people Owen to didexplore start to centuryowners are causing many get businesses thinking about their social Owen’s ideas about sustainable responsibilities – people andbeing planet – as well communities and plans are developed as forprofit. a number of new ‘eco towns’ around the UK.