One big cost of the Industrial Revolution was suffering.
Those who suffered most worked in factories and coal mines. Each day, they worked long hours for not much money. Many were badly hurt in accidents at work.
Living conditions got worse as factories pumped soot into the air and waste into rivers. Cities were very loud: machines made noise all the time. Industrial furnaces were always burning. Pittsburgh was America’s ironmaking capital. One visitor said it was like “hell with the lid taken off.” It took decades for reforms to make the Industrial Revolution better for workers.
