...not on governments, but on men of initiative, determination, ambition, vision, resourcefulness, single-mindedness, and (not infrequently) good, honest greed” (117). The Industrial Revolution, led by Great Britain, greatly changed the existing attitude of powerlessness towards nature to one of power because now people were able to produce enough goods and food to support the expanding population. The ability to produce a surplus that arose from the ongoing industrialization meant that people no longer had to worry over nature and its effects on the economy. The Industrial Revolution led by Great Britain radically changed Europe's social and economic ways of life and provided the impetus for the tremendous progress of the 19th century.
Starting in the mid 1700s and continuing to the late 1850s, arguably still ongoing today, industrialization is centered on the development of machinery and urbanization. This new era found its roots in Great Britain, and later in the entirety of Western Europe once the French Revolution and the Congress of Vienna were resolved. Development was essential in Great Britain simply because it was not connected to continental Europe and Britain had the resources, like coal, to fuel the industrial revolution. Once the idea of industrialization was sparked, it burned like wildfire and spread to the rest of Europe. Results of industrialization were exceptional and robust; calling for others to join. Industrialization was a time for growth, both economically and politically, wide
The industrialization of Great Britain led the planet with modern technology because of their ample amount of natural resources and their political stability. With multiple entrepreneurs looking for innovative machines and capital to invest in those machines, they continued to demonstrate to the world they were the leaders in urbanization at that time. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of modernized machines, it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s negative effects were child labor, separated families, and bad quality of life.
During the Industrial Revolution, many workers were put out of employment or had their wages reduced because of uprising machinery. For example, the cost of cotton yarn decreased because of the technological and industrial advances. These advances also reduced the amount of needed workers (Rempel 2). Many employees disagreed with assembly line machinery over man-labor because they needed their jobs for familial financing. With a redundant amount of machines, it reduced need for human hands, which inevitably, reduced worker’s wage (Hooker 4).
As the industrial revolution emerged in Britain many things changed, including labor and the effects that the labor had on men, women, children, and the society. Before the industrial revolution the days were long and the work was rough. However, small enjoyments such as days off, family togetherness in the workforce, and the rare ability to flex the hours to meet the needs of the employee, made the work bearable. But then the workforce became warped by the industrial revolution and many of the old ways that employees were used to, disappeared due to an increase in demand for merchandise and wealth. These changes also had varying effects on the people of and society living through the Industrial Revolution which
The Industrial Revolution was a time in history from about 1740 to 1840, with booming factory development (History.com). During this time period, people were moving from their farms in the suburbs to the big cities to work in the factories. While people were moving to the cities the population in places was growing quickly which caused more poverty in the city. Owners of businesses found that if more people came for work so they could pay them less and get more workers. This made the factories horrible to work in. The factory conditions in the Industrial Revolution were appalling because there were unsafe working conditions, the owners had condescending attitudes, and there were unreal expectations.
As with almost any major change in society throughout all of human history, there were both positive and negative effects that were a result of the Industrial Revolution. However, despite the evident negatives, this revolution had an overall positive, lasting impact on society with the advancements that accompanied it.
Great Britain’s Industrial Revolution dramatically revolutionized the means of production and labor. Human workers were replaced by powerful new industrial equipment which could do jobs several workers took to complete. The new machines were more consistent and quicker at producing goods than human workers; this began the rise of factories. British goods became cheaper to produce, sending prices down substantially. Industries throughout the rest of the world and Europe struggled to compete. Increased demand and competition throughout Britain and the world lead to unhealthy and unsafe working conditions for workers, a paramount issue at the very center of the revolution. The industrial revolution had several significant political, economic, social, and environmental effects on Great Britain and the world.
In order to argue the positives and negatives of a broad and subjective term such as “industrialisation”, one must first define the terminology. The standard definition would allude to a “period of social and economic change”, the “Industrial Revolution”, which occurred from the 1760s onwards, to the mid-19th century. This move from an agrarian to an industrial society brought both positive and negative effects on the lifestyle of British people, from all backgrounds. Scientific advances in mass production and agriculture caused an expanding capital stock. Urban Britain soon became the factory of the world, with changes to health, housing and real wages seen at all levels of society.
Europe’s industrial advancements emphasized on production rather than the treatment of industrial workers. This included intolerable hours, poor working conditions, and living conditions for families (The Social Question in Coffin et.al, 465). The intolerable conditions of industrialization in the 19th century was referred to as the social question, which pertained to socialist thinkers. Thinkers of the industrial revolution, Robert Owen and Flora Tristan realized the problems of industrial advancement and argued a solution to address them. Owen was a socialist, who created a Utopian Society for his workers because he felt that the workers negative behaviors reflected from their poor surrounding environments. Flora Tristan was a French socialist writer and feminist who argued that the unfair treatment of women lead to the corrupt treatment of the condition of workers, because women influenced the function of a household. Socialist thinkers Owen author of A New View of Society and Tristan author of “Workers Your Condition… is Miserable and Distressing,” observed the poor conditions of industrialization during the 19th century and determined theories explained by the social question. The solutions proposed were focused on the family unit’s impact on workers, each thinker’s plan of action intended to address the social question, and how these theories were thought to improve the quality of life through agency in their documents.
First of all, Britain was lucky to have all the necessary natural resources to make industrialization happen. Those resources were coal, iron, rivers, and ships. Iron and coal were used to operate and make machines
A major cause for the Industrial Revolution was the enormous spurt of population growth in England. The increase in population meant that there were more people in surplus from agricultural jobs, and they had to find work in industrial factories. Enclosure brought forth a great increase in farming production and profits. Farming was improved through the use of crop rotation, enclosures, and the division on farms across England. Crops that were grown consisted of turnips, barley, clover, wheat. This improvement in farming caused a population explosion, which soon led to a higher demand for goods. The new means of production demanded new kinds of skills, new regulation in work, and a large labor force. The goods produced met immediate consumer demand and also created new demands. In the long run, industrialization raised the standard of living and overcame the poverty that most Europeans, who lived d...
Let’s take a look at some necessities for a country to industrialize. First of all, raw materials would be needed in whatever industry you would want to develop. Without a source of power or materials, the product would not be able to be produced at a large factory. Surplus of food is another necessity for industrialization. Without this extensive food supply, laborers would not be fed properly which could result in catastrophic losses. Another major element in the development of industry is entrepreneurs. Since Britain had a sizable middle-class with entrepreneur ideas, they seemed to fit more and more into this equation. Labor Force is also a large contributor to this cause. With an ability of laborers to leave their homes and go into factories, people started realizing the positive effects of big business. One distinct feature that was possessed by Britain was wealth. At the time, Great Britain was one of the wealthiest nations and could afford to dump large sums of money into buildings and export. Finally, one of the last things that were needed that could limit all the other elements is the possession of a government that was open to new ideas. If people in a nation could not get their government to back the ideas, they would have nothing. It was up to the entrepreneurs to convince the government officials that money could be made and power could be established.
In the history of the United States, it can be argued that the economic change that occurred in the midst of industrialization was the foremost change that led to us becoming a world power. This change began with the newfound desires of U.S. companies to do things efficiently, and the invention of newer machines such as the cotton gin enabled them to do so. These inventions made many industries that were becoming unprofitable more profitable again, and gave the economic boost that the U.S. economy needed. With increased efficiency and the lowering of costs, many factories blew up around the country, and thousands of jobs were created. People began to migrate to these newly established urban areas around factories, seeking opportunity, steady income to feed their families, and a way to move out of poverty. The people who took this risk helped develop the new urbanization period in the US, where hundreds of thousands of people left their low wage rural jobs and sought opportunity in the factories.
Britain became major exporters. However these new working conditions were often very harsh and pay was very low. Workers went from the flexibility of working for themselves, or working with family ...