The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution was the start of fast growth for machines and mechanics. This was the big change for our society. The cities grew and factories were being built and the revolution started from water, iron, steam and shift from agriculture. The second phase of the revolution was based on new technologies of technology, oil, the petrol engine emerged, and greater use of cheap steel.

In the Industrial Revolution, there was a huge population shift. It began moving from rural agriculture to work in factories and to work in cites.

The more cities produced it would get bigger and there was mass production of goods. This increased the pace and subtracted average costs and this made it easier and more efficient to produce more. Steam power, steam trains, and railroads were produced. This was the rise of steam-powered machines. This also expanded our scientific discoveries and created a revolution for our world and for the material world.

Poor conditions for working was caused by rapid industrialization and this also had a cost in terms of pollution.
The main reasons for the Industrial Revolution was for the new technologies because of the transportation speeds. This has dramatically changed the speed of transportation. The first railway was created in 1830 between Liverpool and Manchester. These made it super easy to be transported very quickly and cheaply. For example, “In 1700, it took four days to travel from London to Manchester, by 1870, it took four hours.” The device that increased the productivity of labour was the development of the steam engine. This was very important in the Industrial Revolution.

What this did, it would allow steam trains to work, and also steam-powered pumps and machines. The Agricultural Revolution created high food output but only from a few farmers. This lead to surplus workers who could possibly go and work in factories. This was another type of revolution only because it was for food and had new technologies such as the crop rotation, and selective breeding. The Industrial Revolution was also mainly created for the growth of global trade. Britain had a very large shipping capacity and a huge empire. This was basically a new source of raw materials that helped other countries.

The important inventions and discoveries were the steam engine, smelting iron, steam train, machine tools, chemicals, cement, tarmacked roads, telegraph wire, and the bicycle. What the Edmund Cartwright’s power loom did was create cloth but this was mass production. The steam engine was made first for the cotton industry and then it would later be used for steam trains. Smelting iron by Abraham Darby, was a new, smart, and efficient way of producing iron.

Instead of using charcoal they would use coke and therefore this created a higher production. Iron was mainly used for railways and buildings. The steam train, developed by Richard Trevithick, was important because he made the first working steam train. Machine tools were very important to the revolution and metal was created by hand. Things like cylinder boring tools and something called the milling machine, created mass production and was important for the steam trains. Cement was very important because of the new products such as the Thames tunnel.

A major problem in the Industrial Revolution was pollution. Pollution is mainly caused by the burning of coal, high population and no regulations on factories. The ‘Black Country’ was located in the West Midlands and the reason they call it that is because of the dark foundries and a very smoky atmosphere. Life expectancy was 30, but if you work in factories it would be lowered. There was child labour and they would work long hour and was poorly paid They were very unhealthy and were expected to early death. During these times there were slave trades. Some companies would need slaves for the cotton picking.

The benefits of the Industrial Revolutions were good for people who worked in factories. They were paid very badly but the wages rose throughout this time. Agriculture had very bad returnings and they got paid very poorly. Life expectancy slightly rose and big diseases were getting handled and getting put under control. The government looked into child labour and they provided safety legislation due to the number of deaths they had. Schools were finally being made for children and it was free education so most children wouldn't have to be working. The movement of people changed. What this means is people wouldn’t leave the area they were born in. The revolution changed that and helped people travel as far as they liked. Wealth led to philanthropy. This means people have sent big donations to charities and libraries, and also health care.

During these times there were also political movements. One of them were called Marxism. Karl Marx wrote a book called “Das Capital and The Communist Manifesto” He argued about capitalism and he also argued how it wasn’t fair for workers and continued to argue about capitalism and to overthrow it. Chartism was a movement to gain rights for men working-class men to have the right to vote. The Suffrage Movement was the movement for women so they could get their rights. Trade Unions were large workforces and they aimed for better working conditions and for better wages.

The Luddite Movement was not a political movement, but this involved self-employment and this would make workers destroy machines because they felt like they couldn’t work in that type of work environment anymore. The last movement is the Nationalist movement and this movement helps support other strong national movements. For example, “The Industrial revolution was a factor in changing Italian society and encouraging the growth of a united Italy, e.g.”.

Child labour was terrible for children in these tough days. They would work in factories, mines, and mills. Factory owners would need to have unskilled workers at this time so they would have to hire kids because they wouldn’t be getting paid a lot of money. These machines were so easy to work that you could have a small child operate one of the machines. They would also use kids to get into small areas, possibly for maintenance and adults wouldn’t be able to fit into a small spot like a child. Children would not join workers who go on strike either. Children would get paid 1/10 of what men usually get.

Two-thirds of factory workers were operated by children. The factories were very unsafe and unhealthy for children to be working there. A doctor described the kids to be sticky, small, and barefoot. They looked no younger than 7 and the men were 16 to 18. British Parliament looked at children conditions and so things could be more safe for them and so there wouldn’t be that much deaths. One of the doctors sent an investigator to check out the factories to find out what is making the kids so sick and die in a short amount of time. Sadler wanted to pass a bill to decrease child labor at to regulate everyone time to 10 hours daily. To this day that is the best primary source evidence of child labor.

Women had simple jobs but they had no rights and had no respect. They were mainly apart of the agricultural society and they would work in the production type of area. They would knit, work in factories, or tending to the fire. Women were a huge role in producing goods and food for the household or for work. Usually they would knit or work at factories. Women took care of the home and most of them would quit when they would get married. Factory workers would have to work 10-14 hours a day.

Industrial working families did not work together because it didn’t have a economic purpose to raise money or to even help one another. Women such as Jane Goode had twelve children and most of them had to work. There is a article that talks more about her and what she and her children had to go through and what they had to do. They all struggled and some of them died because they worked in a factory. She said she went from 12 to 8 in under 4 years due to these difficult times and how she struggled throughout this outrageous time. She even said that five of her children died before they were even a quarter of a year old.

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