The Industrial Revolution

By Tyler Daley

What is the Industrial Revolution?

• The Industrial Revolution was a period of time spanning from about 1750-1850 in which rapid development of industry took place in Europe

Culture Pre-Industrial Revolution

• Before the Industrial Revolution, work centered largely around one’s home, mainly farming and weaving

• Men farmed while the women stayed home and “put out”

• “putting out” was similar to the assembly line, but instead of the product going down the line, each person did their part in their own house, then sent it to the next house

Pre-Industrial Revolution(Cont.)

• Soon, the wealthy started moving into the rural farming areas, and buying the farmer’s land

• Parliament then passed the Enclosure Act, allowing the wealthy to buy land previously by the farmers

• Now instead of one person owning one field, one person owned the equivalent of many farms

• The now wealthy land owners could employ many more workers on the same amount of land, but for much less money

Cultural Life During the Industrial Revolution

• With the loss of their land, many farmers moved towards the city in search of a new job

• With the inventions of machinery too big for homes, such as the water mule and the cotton gin, and the business investments of entrepreneurs, big buildings had to be opened to house them, called factories

• With the new factories being built there were many new jobs, as well as many jobless farmers moving to the city

Cultural Life During the Industrial Revolution (Cont.)

• With the wages so low in the factories, many families had to have their children work as well

• Families used to be close knit while working in their own homes, but in factories, they were often split up, and soon family life became isolated

• Small farming families now turned into isolated families that worked in factories in the city

Political Changes Brought by the Industrial Revolution

• Britain’s government was a Parliament, where only wealthy, male landowners could vote

• Most of these landowners came from rural areas where they owned large properties, so the cities were not represented in Parliament

• With the rise of the middle class, rich factories owners and skilled factory workers, power was wanted to match that wealth, and they demanded a place in Parliament

• In 1832, the Reform Act was passed granting voting privileges to 20% of the male population, increasing the amount of voters by about 250,000

Political Changes Brought by the Industrial Revolution (Cont.)

• In 1832, the Reform Act was passed granting voting privileges to 20% of the male population, increasing the amount of voters by about 250,000

• The changes brought by the Reform Act brought more diversity to the electorate by allowing men from the cities to take part in government

Economical Changes Brought by the Industrial Revolution

• Britain’s main exports during the Industrial Revolution was cloth, primarily cotton

• Since cotton was so popular, people wanted to buy it, but the workers could not keep produce enough to keep up with the demand

• In 1764, James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny, which allowed weavers to spin thread twice as fast

• In 1769, Richard Arkright invented the water-frame, which was powered by streams, but worked much more efficiently than the Spinning Jenny

• Through all these inventions, Britain prospered greatly and became the economic superpower of the world during this time period

Economical Changes Brought by the Industrial Revolution (Cont.)

• By 1779, Samuel Crompton blended the Spinning Jenny and water-frame into the Spinning Mule

• The Spinning Mule carried up to 1320 spindles and could be 150 feet long

• It was able to produce one pound of cotton in a day

• This was much faster than anyone could do by hand, and the large increase of cotton caused the economy to be boosted greatly

Economical Changes Brought by the Industrial Revolution (Cont.)

• In 1765, James Watt improved the steam engine enough that it could be used in factories

• With this improved model, factories could be moved away from streams and moved into the city

• This increased the rate at which industry spread in Britain, bringing in many more jobs and money into the economy

Economical Changes Brought by the Industrial Revolution (Cont.)

• The only way goods could be transported used to be by rivers, via barges, and dirt roads with horse drawn carriages

• By the early 1800s a series of canals had been constructed to allow barges a greater range of travel, increasing the speed and range goods could travel

• Around the same time a man named John McAdam invented a way to improve the road, called the “macadam”

• The “macadam” was placing large rocks filled with smaller, crushed rocks over the road to allow horses to travel in any weather while still letting water drain out

Economical Changes Brought by the Industrial Revolution (Cont.)

• Soon, the steam engine was modified to be able to run on tracks, creating the first steam train

• These steam trains could support several tons of cargo, making it extremely efficient to transport large quantities of goods in a very short amount of time

• The trains also provided quick, cheap travel, allowing people to take trips and afford to move out of the country to the now booming cities with factories

How the Industrial Revolution Affected Social Life

• With the introduction of entrepreneurs to the industry, a new social class emerged, the middle class

• No longer were there only the rich and poor, there was a spot in between

• The middle class consisted primarily of the factory owners, skilled factory workers, and people who held positions of management

How the Industrial Revolution Affected Social Life (Cont.)

• The factory owners were only after wealth and treated their workers poorly

• People had to work 12-16 hour days, work in deplorable conditions, and even children had to work

• In one week, an entire family could earn about one pound working the factories when about two pounds were needed to live comfortably

How Capitalism led to Progressivism

• Since Capitalism had the “laissez-faire” attitude, government intervention was not in place, leading the factory workers to create horrendous working conditions

• Progressivism rose as a way to try and combat capitalism• Progressivism is the political orientation of those who

favor progress toward better conditions in government and society

• Since the people complained too much, the government finally stepped in, creating progressivism as an attempt to “fix” capitalism

Progressivism in America

• Progressivism is what influenced the changes in safety to factories, such as doors opening outwards, fire escapes, fire alarms, and sprinkler systems

• Progressivism helped to lessen the damage dealt by capitalism and create better working conditions for those under it

• Another example is saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”

• It advocates change in an attempt to better society and to try and make people not offended

How Capitalism led to Socialism• The natural greed of man led to Capitalism, and Socialism

is an attempt to rectify the class gap created by Capitalism• Socialism is a political and economic theory of that

advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the government

• This meant that the government redistributed the wealth to create equality between the social classes

• All this does though, is give money to people who did not earn it, and take from those who did

Socialism in America• Socialism can be seen in America in many forms• One of these is welfare• Money is taken from the working class, and given to those who

cannot work, redistributing the wealth• It creates a false sense of moral justice, and is essentially encouraging

the jobless to stay that way and just collect their weekly check• Another examples is bailouts• The government gives large amounts of money to business in an

attempt to keep the American economy from failing, but just takes money from the working class and gives it to those who don’t

• Socialism is in theory a good idea, but in practice is unfair and unjust