The idea that life is getting better post-industrial revolution can be controversial. It is true that it has led to the rise in the material standard of living and an increased life-expectancy for the average person. However, several social evils threaten the positive work created by industrialization; poverty, inequality, and labor disputes (fear of unions) among them. The movie Norma Rae does a tremendous job showcasing working conditions in the 1900s. Oftentimes, employees were overworked, underpaid, and forced to work in hazardous environments. It is evident that industries such as the textile industry, cared very little about the well-being of their employees. Take Norma Rae’s father, for instance, he literally worked-himself to death. What’s very important about this movie is that it showcased how fearful of unions employees were; not because Unions did not do them good, but because they were manipulated by employers to think that unions were evil. As a result, labor disputes continued to increase. Nevertheless, we see the importance of Unions in the shirt-waist factory. Like the textile factory that Norma Rae worked in, women in the shirt-waist factory were getting poor wages with dangerous working conditions. Women were locked in their bays for hours on end, oftentimes unable to use the restroom. Poor working conditions lead to the loss of lives. If labor unions were in place back then, employers would have been forced to provide safe working conditions to
The Industrial Revolution brought many changes to society in the nineteenth century. With the rise of factories following the Agricultural Revolution and Enclosure Movement, it allowed goods to be readily available to the public due to mass production from having a large and available workforce. This led to further economic growth within the urban areas. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of this economic growth, it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s negative effects were the lack of working conditions, child labor, and horrible living conditions.
The Industrial Revolution brought about a more advanced era with lasting effects. Due to these effects, we can live easier, more comfortable lives that last longer and are, in comparison, far better. Some of these effects are still evident today. However, not all of them were positive, nor were all of them negative. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily negative consequences for society because of poor living and working conditions, it was actually a positive thing for society. Industrialization’s positive effects included better business, a ready workforce, and more efficient machines, production, and transportation.
The topic I have chosen to discuss related to the last 400 years in Western Civilization is the industrial revolution in Britain. The industrial revolution was what created the modern capitalist system. Britain was the first to lead the way in this huge transformation. Technology changed, businesses, manufactured goods, and wage laborers skyrocketed. There was not only an economic transformation, but also a social transformation. The industrial revolution is such an interesting subject to further explore, because it truly made a difference in Britain in the late 1700s. The industrial revolution brought an increased quantity and variety of manufactured goods and even improved the standard of living for some individuals, however, it resulted in grim employment and living conditions that were for the poor and working classes. The industrial revolution had a bright and dark side to it. It was dark due to all the horrible working conditions, crowded cities, unsanitary facilities, diseases, and unsafe work environment, but the bright side is that it was a period of enormous social progress.
The Industrial Revolution was a major turning point in history that took place between 1760 and the mid 1800’s. During this time frame, a variety of different machines were invented and put in factories to make workers and everyday people’s lives easier. These machines had to be run by people such as women and even children because the men were mostly in coal mines. Some of the many negative consequences about these new jobs and new machines being invented were; child labor, physical abuse on the job, and unsafe working conditions. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because more jobs became available, it was actually a negative thing.
In the film Norma Rae, the textile workers were unsatisfied with many aspects of their Capitalistic work environment. They fought to form a union so that they could change the undesirable characteristics to better meet their needs. Political, environmental and cultural processes all played a part in the workers struggle to form an effective union.
The Industrial Revolution brought about great changes in how goods were produced and consumed, but it also brought about social and political changes. Some were positive, such as machines relieving much of the toil previously placed on worker’s muscles. But there were also negative changes.
Although the Industrial Revolution had many good things about it, it has more negative things than positive. The Industrial Revolution has more negative than positive. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of medical advances it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s negative effects were pollution a danger to environments, harsh working hours, and child labor.
Despite being able to cause a small improvement in workers’ pay and hours, labor unions ultimately died out by the 1900s due to their methods. Unable to truly focus on the plight of skilled workers, most labor unions instead focused on that of unskilled workers, pushing aside the skilled workers. (Doc D). The actions of labor unions ended up being counterproductive, forcing companies to wage war against the labor unions. These stricter contracts such as that of Western Union Telegraph Company, forced workers to affiliate themselves against labor unions. (Doc E) One important thing to note is that the workers’ rights advocates were never able to coincide on one factor. As evidenced in an illustration in 1887, labor unions had to compete with other movements such as socialism, anarchism, and other labor unions. (Doc F). Because of this, the media, although recognizing the labor union movement, began viewing the labor unions as dangerous entities. Although the initial strikes such as the Wabash strike were successful, the ones that followed proved detrimental to the movement, and caused the steady decline of the labor unions. Because some of the strikes were dangerous, many strikes resulted in the deaths of those involved, such as the Homestead Crisis, and Pinkerton (Doc G). Combined with events such as the Wildcat strike, Haymarket strike, the Pullman Strike, the public began to associate a negative
The Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain and America around the late 1700’s to 1900. This revolution improved the production of goods using new mechanisms and machines. Human labor was in high demand in order for the highest production rates. Factories employed low to middle-class people that were as young as three years old (Document 9). These workers were benefited with money, shelter, and clothes, but the working and living conditions were not satisfying. The average industrial worker experienced a variety of factors that can be classified as good or bad, including the positive effects of labor, like the shelter, money, and food they were given; and the negative effects of the factory,
The Industrial Revolution was a huge turning point in history. The place where the Industrial Revolution began was in Great Britain because they had many natural resources and a strong economy. By the 1850’s many country villages had grown into industrial towns and cities, and their inhabitants bought food and clothing in stores that offered a large variety of machine-made goods. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily negative consequences for society because of poor working conditions, it was actually a positive thing for society. Industrialization’s positive effects were transportation became more efficient, more jobs were available, and more inventions were created.
At one point, Industrialization had a very negative impact on society. It had affected many people’s lives in a very gloomy way. While some people might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive effects for society because there was better business and financial opportunities it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s negative effects were unsafe working conditions, bad employers, and many people were separated from their families.
The Industrial Revolution began in England during the late 1700s. It came with a wide range of both positive and negative effects for the economy and the people. Looking back from today, the Industrial Revolution was definitely a positive thing, as people now have a high standard of living with lots of conveniences. One must also acknowledge the people living during the Industrial Revolution and how they viewed the Industrial Revolution as a bad thing that came with many negative effects. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily negative consequences for society because of the terrible living conditions and hazardous working conditions, it was actually a positive thing for society. Industrialization’s positive effects
The working class during the Industrial Revolution made up 80 percent of society, the other 20 was composed of wealthy business owners. People in the 1800’s migrated from shops in their home to work in dangerous and life threatening factories. While many say this was a positive period, it came with negative consequences. The Industrial Revolution was more negative than positive because working conditions were very unsafe, workers worked extremely long hours, and employees worked for cheap wages.
Two years after the infamous Triangle fire, 20,000 workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts; angered over wage cuts and deplorable conditions went on strike, prompting the twin reactions of police brutality and press coverage (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008). “As a result of the strike, not only were wages raised and conditions improved in the textile industry as a whole, but important legislation was also enacted that restricted the exploitation of child and female labor” (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008, p. 132). It is doubtful that working conditions would have evolved to the level of equity we find today, without the sacrifice and activism of unions and their members.
One would think industrialization would bring better paying jobs and more employment opportunities, but the stories of the people who lived through the Industrial Revolution say otherwise. Workers faced long days, if not even longer days than those who worked in preindustrial times. Even though work hours were somewhat the same as preindustrial labor, the way those hours were carried out differed greatly. Laborers no longer had the comfort of working alongside and socializing with their families nor the power to control their pace of work. Workers would now be punished and penalized for doing such things. Companies would enforce punctuality and pace usually by correlating it with a worker’s pay. The less punctual and lazier you were, the more fines and the more pay decreases you would suffer. The nature of this new labor emphasized more on the importance of the company rather than the individual. Companies often had little concern when their workers suffered. If someone was incapable of performing their duties, there was always somebody else to take their place. It was unfortunate because many of these workers who were unable to perform well at their job often suffered from