The industrial revolution reshaped America’s cities, society and way of life in the 1800’s. America is what it is today because of this shift from farmers, craftsmen, and merchants to factory workers, working middle class, and the wealthy class. News ways of transporting goods by using canals, steamboats and trains helped jump start the revolution. The invention of the cotton gin reshaped American slavery, shifting it to the Deep South. The rise of factories led to a new working class of semi-skilled and unskilled workers. All three of these things are responsible for the industrial revolution and bring America in the modern world of today.
The Industrial Revolution
Introduction to the Revolution
The Industrial revolution was a time of drastic change marked by the general introduction of power-driven machinery. This change generally helped life, but it had its disadvantages as well. Pollution, such as Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere rose, working conditions declined, and the number of women and children working increased. The government, the arts, literature, music, architecture and man's way of looking at life all changed during this period. Two revolutions took place.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of great change and increased efficiency. No more would be goods be produced by sole means of farming and agriculture, but now by the use of machinery and factories. Technology was beginning to increase along with the food supply as well as the population. However, this increase in population would greatly impact the social aspect of that time. Urbanization was becoming much more widespread. Cities were becoming overwhelmingly crowded and there was an increase in disease as well as harsh child labor. Although child labor would be reduced somewhat due to unions, the Industrial Revolution still contained both it’s positive and negative results.
The effects on society due to the industrial revolution varied on the person. Working during this area varied on what you liked to do versus what you had to do. People who liked their work didn’t usually have to do that job, but people forced to work didn’t really like their job or just had a bad job overall. While some might argue that industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of how America shaped and changed all of it to improve the way people work today, it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrializations negative effects were bad working conditions, long and strenuous hours, injury and even death took it role on the society during this time.
The Industrial Revolution was one of the major movements of the late 18th century moving into the early 19th century in American than spread eastward towards Europe. Using steam power to run machinery and then used as a form of transportation was the beginning of industrialization. Industrialization is defined as efficiency; things got done much faster and were not as time consuming versus doing tasks by hand. During this time, everything was centered on getting things done faster. Key factors of the revolution were traveling, the spreading of ideas, introducing more people into the workforce such as women and children, and negative effects on the population and the environment.
The Industrial Revolution changed America’s exceedingly in more positive than negative ways. The American industrial revolution has its roots in the Industrial Revolution which began in England. The demand for cotton was huge during this time. Many new industries that helped America’s business were developed, but some treated their workers poorly. Also, many new forms of transportation and communication were developed and improved. Agriculture became industrialized by teaming up with some industries to produce the needs of Americans and many immigrants. This event helped the U.S.’s population and economy to grow, even though it had some malicious things that went on it was still more positive than negative.
America has been expanding and growing since its birth out of Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution has been an influence in the American life since it first began in the 1700s. Many of the effects resulting from the revolution still affect America to this day. The entrepreneurs of this time and their industry still are around, although they have molded and shaped themselves into better products their still known from the originality of it all. Although the Industrial Revolution began hundreds of years ago it has affected everything on a global scale with other nations adapting from the innovations of this era. Economically speaking its increased money for the nation tremendously although the nation in debt to other nations to this day; during the era it rose so quick among the other nations it was spectacular. Now, ecologically speaking it has impacted the environment in a lot of negative ways. There has been so many positive and negatives to come out of the Industrial Revolution it has had more of a neutral impact on everything.
The Industrial revolution caused major changes in every aspect of the nation's economy, politics, society. The South was determined to expand and grow, just like the North, yet it became very different. In the South, the slave population expanded throughout because the plantation system depended on the slaves, race was a huge issue, and because the resistance made by the blacks had little to none effect.
Urbanization during the Industrial Revolution brought many changes to the economic and social lives of the wealthy, the working class, the poor and the homeless. The Industrial Revolution was the period from the first half of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century. Many major changes occurred in this period, including job loss on a large scale, a rise in unemployment, the shift from agricultural work to machinery work, transport, and trade. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the manufacturing of most goods was done at home using hand tools or basic machinery. During the Industrial Revolution there was a major shift into factories where they built special-purpose machinery in order to mass produce items.
A movement of industrialization transformed nations everywhere. Many countries experienced social and economic prosperity in this period known as the Industrial Revolution. The people of these countries also experienced change (Jacob, par. 1-5). Prior to the revolution, life for many was much different, allowing for many changes to occur; innovations reached several countries involved in this movement, and the lives of the citizens were largely impacted both positively and negatively.