What Is The Role Of Industrialization In The Late 1800s

Patrick Fries
Mr. Beecher
AP Euro
28 February 2016
Nineteenth Century Industrialization Beginning in 1830, Europe was beginning to transform into an industrial society. Great Britain was ahead of the curve due to multiple factors including: natural resources, growing food supply, and a high demand for goods domestically and foreign. The rest of Europe will eventually catch up and this will have radical ramifications for society, especially the family life. Parents and children that once spent their days working together on a farm now rarely see each other in factories. Women used to be keepers of the home but now slave away along with their male counterparts. Urbanization, or the growth of cities, and people flocking to those cities

The textile industry was the first affected by industrialization, so women were involved from the start. In the 1820's, unmarried women and widows became a majority of the workers in factories. Married women could sometimes afford to live off their husbands pay. Factory work opened new job opportunities but required less skill than the textile production. Traditionally, a family worked as a unit, with the mothers producing goods for the family and tending to the children. The work and home life became separated; men provided for families, so married women lost the economic influence. Children were sent to work before the mother and explains the increase in child birth rate. Women often worked in domestic cottage industries, such as glove making or needlework. These conditions were harsh and provided little pay. Women had little protection from exploitation if they were not married. Overall, women did not benefit the industrialization

Because the industrialization movement was happening at the same time as enclosure of public lands, many migrated to cities looking for work. Unfortunately there were not nearly enough jobs for everyone. This meant that the worker had no bargaining power with their employer anymore. If you had a profession previously, you owned your own equipment and did the entire process by yourself. This took skill and the skill gave your job value. A craftsman had wiggle room with their wage. Now factory jobs were menial and simple. The equipment was owned by the factory and the jobs were so easy kids could do it, which they did. All of this led to low wages and disposable workers. Men could no longer support his family financially alone. The wife was now a factory worker as well and no longer could be keeper of the home. Families began to have more children in hopes of them working with them. The industrialization movement changed the European family from a unit of production and consumption to just consumption. It was no longer just the father's task to provide for his family, it was the entire family working to put food on the