As America industrialized, workplaces became more dangerous and legislation failed to protect workers. Alice Hamilton worked tirelessly to uncover industrial poisons in a nation with minimal emphasis on occupational health and limited knowledge of toxins used in factories.
The "Modern" Workplace
Fraught with new chemicals, machinery, and processes, workers in the early 20th century endured unique challenges that previous employees had not encountered. In addition to traditional workplace accidents, workers now faced more sinister industrial diseases.
I went as a pioneer into a new, unexplored field of American medicine, the field of industrial disease." |
"The Jungle - A View of Industrial America" (YouTube, 2014)
The character of the workplace was also changing. Large immigrant workforces, including women and children, were hired as a cheap, submissive, and easily replaceable labor force. Alice Hamilton made it her mission to protect the wellbeing of America’s rapidly expanding workforce.
Many of the more dangerous trades employed unskilled labor fearful of their job security if they complained about unsafe conditions. And many of these workers were immigrants who often did not speak English, making it difficult for them to appeal to the appropriate authorities. |
Workplace Regulations
Even in the midst of huge workplace developments, there was little legislation to protect workers and prevent workplace illnesses. Once workers contracted diseases, they could sue employers for damages. However, it was difficult to prove the negligence of companies and many employees ultimately never received compensation.
To [Hamilton's] surprise and disappointment, she found almost nothing on the subject in the American journals, although the European ones had a great deal of material. She discovered that American medical experts did not consider industrial disease a serious problem in this country and the subject was not deemed 'respectable' in the profession." |
Moreover, the fields of occupational health and industrial toxicology were brand-new in America. Alice Hamilton emerged as the first expert, conducting original investigations and drawing new conclusions about workplace dangers.
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