Anthony Ashley-cooper was the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury and is most known for his philanthropy during the Industrial Revolution. Ashley’s early life was loveless; he grew up without the experience of parental love. He did not see his parents very often and when they had to take notice of him, they were formal and scary. His difficult childhood was softened by his house keeper and his sisters. His housekeeper, Maria Mills, provided a form of Christian love that would form the basis for his later social activism and philanthropic work. She also told him Bible stories and taught him prayers. Despite the reprieve his school became another form of misery. The school that he went to was bad, wicked, and filthy. The treatment was starvation and cruelty. …show more content…
The Whig government amended thirteen to substitute eighteen and assured that no child under thirteen worked more than nine hours. They insisted that they go to school and appointed inspectors to enforce this law. In 1836, another ten hours act was introduced to the commons. Ashley thought that this bill was ill-timed but still supported it. In 1837, he accused the government of ignoring the breaches in the 1833 Act and moved the resolution that the House regretted the regulation of the working hours the children had been found to be unsatisfactory, but it was lost by fifteen votes. In 1842 Ashley wrote twice to the Prime Minister to support a new Factory Act He wrote in reply that he would not support one. In 1844 Ashley moved an amendment to a Factory Bill limiting the working hours of children to ten hours which passed by eight votes. Later, James Graham introduced a bill which limited children employment to twelve hours. Ashley supported this but wanted ten hours instead of twelve but was lost by 138 votes. In 1846, when Ashley was out of parliament, Ashley strongly supported another ten hours bill but lost. In 1846 the same bill was reintroduced and finally passed through parliament. It was called the Ten Hours