US Events

In 1842, the United States started limiting children's work days in factories. Massachusetts lead the way by limiting children under 12 years old work days to 10 hours. Other states soon pass similar laws, but most of these laws are not consistently enforced. In England in 1844, the Factory Act was passed which made a maximum work day of 6 1/2 hours for children under 13 in textile factories. The child labor laws in England were better thatn those in America because they also provided 3 hours of education per day for the children.

The Stourbridge Lion was a railroad steam locomotive. It was not only the first locomotive to be operated in the United States, it was also one of the first locomotives to operate outside of England, where it was manufactured in 1828.It was tested along tracks built by the Delaware and Hudson company. The first locomotive in England was the Rocket, which was built by George Stephenson. His locomotive set a speed record of 29 mph.