England: Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
The effects on the general population, when they did come, were major. Prior to the revolution, most cotton spinning was done with a wheel in the home. These advances allowed families to increase their productivity and output. It gave them more disposable income and enabled them to facilitate the growth of a larger consumer goods market. The lower classes were able to spend. For the first time in history, the masses had a sustained growth in living standards. In the decades to come, outrage over substandard working and living conditions would fuel the formation of labor unions, as well as the passage of new child labor laws and public health regulations in both Britain and the United States, all aimed at improving life for working class and poor citizens who had been negatively impacted by industrialization. The primary industry of the time was the textiles industry. It had the most employees, output value, and invested capital. It was the first to take on new modern production methods. The transition to machine power drastically increased productivity and efficiency. This extended to iron production and chemical production. An icon of the Industrial Revolution broke onto the scene in the early 1700s, when Thomas Newcomen designed the prototype for the first modern steam engine. Called the atmospheric steam engine, Newcomens invention was originally applied to power the machines used to pump water out of mine shafts.
The impact and scope of the Industrial Revolution is hard to gauge because we live in the wake of its continually changing and evolving force. As Jean Jacques Rousseau once said, Civilization spoils people but, did people spoil civilization by implementing machines to do our work ? Artisans and farmers were the masters of their wishes, they had a very flexible work schedule they were self-employed people that worked from the convenience of their own homes. These workers worked with immense dexterity and were very dedicated workers that gave the public in return a quality and exceptional product. They did not have a supervisor that watched their every action. All the money they made was theirs to keep for them. Amidst all of this evolution there was an appalling phenomenon going on the artisans and the workers of England. The farmers and artisans that lead a serene and tranquil life, free of worries and long hours. They now stared a life of desolation and melancholy in the face. The farmers and the artisans were diligent and thorough people with the purpose of providing the general public with quality and custom made products that the public adored. These artisans and farmers played a foremost role in the economy of England at one time before the industrial revolution.
Trade between nations increased as they often had massive surpluses of consumer goods they couldnt sell in the domestic market. The rate of trade increased and made nations like Great Britain and the United States richer than ever before. Naturally, this translated to military power and the ability to sustain worldwide trade networks and colonies. In general the quality of living was higher for the craftsman and the farmers, because in the long run, the Industrial Revolution has benefited the lives of all when measured by living standards. We live longer, work less and generally live healthier lives. This is only the product of many years of adjustment and adaptation. The Industrial Revolution was just that, a revolution. It violently changed the world making it better for some and unbearable for others. The artisans were deeply affected by the corrupt force of this part in history. The middle and upper class spurned change without ever thinking of the consequences, and predictably, the lower class suffered. The quality of life fell to a new low but with responsible government and individual foresight, the lives of all gradually improved.
Industrial revolution essay - During the Industrial Revolution, there were periods of innovation. This meant that machines were able to generate mass produced items, allowing countries to create more jobs and boost trade. This had the knock on effect of increasing wealth for merchants, and led to the establishment of a middle class that was then able to enjoy and stimulate the arts industry. However, poor individuals who previously relied on home based industries were forced to move into cities. Rapid urbanization meant that there were public health issues, as well as squalid living conditions and child labor.
The expansion of the industrial revolution started from the building of roads and canals with these in place transportation improved. It started in Great Britain and soon expanded into Western Europe and to the United States. The actual effects of the revolution on different sections of society differed. They manifested themselves at different times. The trickle down effect whereby the benefits of the revolution helped the lower classes didnt happen until towards the 1830s and 1840s. Initially, machines like the Watt Steam Engine and the Spinning Jenny only benefited the rich industrialists. A major new feature in the citys skyscapes were factories and mines. They dominated the skyline and played a key part in the Industrialisation of Great Britain. The new factories could mass produce goods such as cloth and car parts at a much faster rate and for a lot less money. Because these items costed less to make, they costed less to buy. This in turn meant that more people on Britain could afford to have items they couldnt have beforehand. There was a lot more economic freedom in the UK which sparked the Revolution, this freedom inspired entrepreneurs to experiment and invent. For lots of the entrepreneurs, this was how they made their name. The Industrial Revolution meant that factory owners got richer, as did the entrepreneurs.
Due to the invention of cars, canals and steamboats, good and materials were getting around the country at far quicker than they had done before. Some factory owners were genuinely nice to their employees, such as Robert Owen. He gave is workers payed holidays, homes, and schooling before it was law, even to adults. He worked with his employees to combat alcoholism and abuse. The large majority of factories provided food for their employees who would not otherwise be able to feed themselves. The fact that they did not have to buy food meant that they could save up and spent their money on things like holidays, clothes and homes. The mines provided the fuel to the Industrial Revolution both metaphorically and literally. Coal was essential to powering machinery and was a resource that was plentiful in the UK. The growing demand for coal provided jobs for more people as the mines got bigger. The mine owners also got extraordinarily rich for coal was so important, it was known as black gold. It was these rich factory and mine owners that boosted the economy and made Britain a world power. More efficient, mechanized production meant Britains new textile factories could meet the growing demand for cloth both at home and abroad, where the nations many overseas colonies provided a captive market for its goods.
How the Second Industrial Revolution Changed Americans' Lives - As Ludwig von Mises once described what he thought about the industrial revolution like this The factory owners did not have the power to compel anybody to take a factory job. They could only hire people who were ready to work for the wages offered to them. Their only refuge was the factory. It saved them, in the strict sense of the term, from death by starvation. This quote really describes why there were so many factory workers that were ready to slave away at machines all day long.
Transportation During the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a time of great age throughout the world. It represented major change from 1760 to the period 1820-1840. The movement originated in Great Britain and affected everything from industrial manufacturing processes to the daily life of the average citizen. I will discuss the Industrial Revolution and the effects it had on the world as a whole. Meanwhile, even as industrialization increased economic output overall and improved the standard of living for the middle and upper classes, poor and working class people continued to struggle. The mechanization of labor created by technological innovation had made working in factories increasingly tedious (and sometimes dangerous), and many workers were forced to work long hours for pitifully low wages. Such dramatic changes fueled opposition to industrialization, including the Luddites, known for their violent resistance to changes in Britains textile industry. Thanks in part to its damp climate, ideal for raising sheep, Britain had a long history of producing textiles like wool, linen and cotton. But prior to the Industrial Revolution, the British textile business was a true cottage industry, with the work performed in small workshops or even homes by individual spinners, weavers and dyers.