Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the 1780’s and took several decades to spread

to the other Western nations

Contributing factors to industrialization Increased food supply

Expansion of farmland Good weather Improved transportation New crops (potato)

Contributing factors to industrialization

Increase in population Parliament passed laws allowing people to

fence off land- enclosure movement Forced many peasants to move to cities to

work in factories

Contributing factors to industrialization Capital

Invest in factories and machines Wealthy citizens- entrepreneurs

Interested in finding business opportunities to make money

Contributing factors to industrialization Natural resources

Rivers provided water power and a way to transport raw materials

Supply of coal and iron ore Large supply of markets

Could sell products almost anywhere in the world

Contributing factors to industrialization Cotton production

Two step method Spinning cotton to thread Weaving thread on a loom

Cottage industry- done at home by individual Flying shuttle- made weaving faster

Spinners could not produce thread fast enough Spinning Jenny (James Hargreaves) - spin

cotton to thread faster Now thread was produced faster than weavers

could weave the thread Edmund Cartwright- water powered loom to

weave faster Needed workers in factories near rivers and

streams

James Watt- improved the steam engine in 1782 Fired by coal Now a steam powered factories could be placed

anywhere 1760- 2.5 million pounds of cotton was imported 1787- 22 million pounds of cotton was imported 1840- 360 million pounds of cotton was imported

Coal and Iron industry

Steam engine depended on coal Production of coal increase

Aided transformation of the iron industry 1780’s better production of iron Use of puddling- burned away impurities in crud

iron to produce a higher quality 1740- 17,000 tons 1780- 70,000 tons 1852- 3 million tons

Railroads

1804- first steam powered locomotive Could carry 10 tons of ore and 70 people at 5mph

1830 the rocket first public railway line 16mph Liverpool to Manchester

20 years later could go 50mph Created jobs Lowered the price of goods Larger markets

New factories

Created a new work environment Factory owners wanted work done around the

clock Workers worked in shifts to make this possible

Workers were fined if they were late and dismissed for misconduct

Child workers were beaten

Industrialization spread throughout Europe

Belgium, France, and Germany Governments spent money on industrialization Railroads were built across Europe

United states In 1800 6 of 7 workers were farmers By 1860 population grew from 5 million to 30

million 9 cities had population above 100,000

Only 50% of workers were farmers

Social Impact of Industrialization

Social life drastically changed with industrialization Between 1750 and 1850 population almost doubled.

Decline in death rates, wars, and disease (small pox and plague)

Increase in food supply Famine almost disappeared

Cities population grew Left farm land to work in the city Living conditions in the cities were bad

Industrial Capitalism- an economic system basked on industrial production

Brought a new middle class

Before middle class were merchant, official, artisan, professionals, bankers

New middle class included people who built factories, bought and sold machines, and found markets to sell products Often greedy

“getting of money…is the main business of the life of men”

Working class

12-16 hour days, 6 days a week, ½ hour lunch

No job security No minimum wage Unhealthy working conditions

Sometimes 80-84 degrees Dirty, dusty Dangerous- cave-ins, explosions, gas fumes

Factory Act 1833- had to be 9 to work in a factory 9-13 year olds could only work 8 hour days 13-18 years could only work 12 hour days Women made 50% of work force

Paid half as much as men

During the cottage industry the whole family worked together

Now men had to bring in the most money and women did the house work

Industrialization led to socialism Society owns and controls the means of

production Robert Owen was a utopian socialist- humans

would show their natural goodness if they lived in a cooperative environment Created a town in Scotland that flourished Tried in the United States but failed