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Starter1.) How does this picture show advantages and

disadvantages of the Industrial Revolution?

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What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution?

19th Century Widnes

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#1 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution? - Urbanization

Social transformations brought about by the Industrial Revolution:

•Urbanization: The change in where people lived. People went from being village dwellers to being town dwellers. Towns grew rapidly with significant social consequences.

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#2 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution? - New Social Classes

2. New social classes. The change in who people were. The rise in the new entrepreneurial middle class and urban working class.

The new capitalist class were owners of factories, mills, foundries and mines. They also provided services to the expanded populations of the new towns. They were self-made men and entrepreneurs.

The new industrial working class were unprotected, unorganized and easily exploited in badly paid, unsecure and dangerous occupations.

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#3 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution?

The new middle class had significant economic influence but little national political power because Parliament was still dominated by a ruling landowning aristocracy. Many of the new middle class campaigned for political reform and changes to favour the interest of the new industrial economy. They were often very influential in local politics.

In the new capitalist class, men like Titus Salt (left) and Samuel Gregg (right) were sons of merchants and early industrialists that made vast fortunes in the industrial revolution.

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#4 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution?

The new industrial working class were recent migrants from the countryside. They were attracted to the freedom and excitement of the towns. Most were driven from the countryside by declining wages and lost work opportunities.

In the new towns populations increased greatly and people were better educated than the peasants of the countryside. However they were victims of unregulated industrial living and working conditions. Their life experiences and expectations were unlike any social classes in previous history.

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#5 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution? - New ways of working

Recap: So far we have identified 2 social consequences of the Industrial Revolution. What were they?*Urbanization*New Social ClassesOne more consequence brought about by the Industrial Revolution was:

•New ways of working. The change in the mode and method of production resulting in new ways of earning a living.

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The home you left to go to work would probably have been overcrowded, damp, rat-infested and without any sanitation (no toilet, bath or running water). You also would have had a very poor diet, based mainly on bread, bacon and tea. To get to work you would have had to walk possibly two or three miles, no matter what the weather. Your only set of working clothes smelt of sweat and your shoes, if you had some, would have been well-worn and probably letting in water. Feeling dirty, hungry and weary you now have to face 13 hours of hard work in the factory.

#6 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution? - New ways of working

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Imagine standing at the same machine for 13 hours a day or more.

What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution? - New ways of working

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Today we expect our place of work to be safe and reasonably comfortable, but a little over 200 years ago there were no laws governing health and safety. A factory owner’s main concern was how much profit he made and he was free to do this as he wanted. If he paid his workers more and put in safety precautions he had to spend more money and therefore made less profit. Very few factory owners were prepared to reduce profits by improving the working conditions of their workers.Unlike the workers in traditional skilled industries who were protected and represented by guilds, the new industrial working class had no union representation and because they were unskilled could easily be replaced.

#7 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution?

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Many new machines were invented for mass production in the factories. These cost a lot of money. These machines were often dangerous for the operators but that was of little concern to the manufacturer. Usually he was more worried about accidents delaying the production process. Accidents were commonplace and many people lost fingers, hands or limbs with no compensation.

“She was caught by her apron, which wrapped around the shaft. She was whirled round and repeatedly forced between the shaft and the carding engine. (Her right leg was found some distance away.)”A factory inspector reporting what happened to a young girl in a textile factory in the 1840s.

#8 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution?

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Some factories were so noisy that the workers went deaf.

“The packer has to enter a chamber which has been filled with chlorine gas. Though the worst of it has been allowed to escape, the atmosphere is still charged with deadly fumes. The heat is tremendous. Gassing is such a common matter that the men would describe it as they would tell you what their Sunday dinner was like.”

Reference to ‘bleach powder packers’ in a Home Office report of 1893.

Factories were rarely heated in winter or ventilated in summer. Steam or gases often made the air unbearable.

There was no protection against dangerous chemicals or gases and the owner was not liable for any injuries.

#9 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution?

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‘In what part of the mill did you work?’‘In the card-room. It was very dusty. The dust got upon my lungs. I got so bad in health.’ Evidence given by Elizabeth Bentley to a Parliamentary Committee in 1831.

‘…we had but half got our dinners, and he put the clock forward to one, and he rang the bell, and we were obliged to run back to our work.’‘Is there not considerable dust in that employment?’‘Yes.’‘Does it not injure your food very much?’‘Yes, you cannot take the food out of your basket but that it is covered with dust directly.’ Joseph Hebergam, aged 17, 1831.

#10 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution? - New ways of working

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Today we, quite reasonably, expect to be treated fairly at work, but this was not the case in 19th century factories.

•Why were children employed in factories?

•Workers are not likely to be treated this way today. Why did they accept it then?

Many children, from as young as six years old, were employed because they could be paid very little and were small enough to crawl under the machines. Often they would be beaten to keep them awake. All workers were fined for being late or slowing down in their work and they could be sacked immediately with no explanation.

#11 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution? - New ways of working

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New laws (Acts of Parliament) passed during the 19th century in England tell us much about what work was like. In addition, new laws were often ignored.

#12 What were the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution? - New ways of working