The Impact Of The Industrial Revolution In Great Britain

By Definition, a rapid major change in an economy (as in England in the late 18th century) marked by the general introduction of power-driven machinery, or by an important change in the prevailing types and methods of use of such machines.- Merriam- Webster This definition over simplifies the industrial revolution. In reality the Industrial Revolution was much more complex and encompasses many different aspects. With that said the events that led to the Industrial Revolution were even more complicated. How and why Great Britain was the first to lead the Revolution was multifaceted and involves many aspects of economic and social developments. The predisposition of easily acquired recourse and healthy state politics allowed Great Britain to prosper. A core piece of the Industrial revolution was the advent of new technology. This technology would increase the production and efficiency of all factories. As more and more people flooded the cities and towns the demand for more goods skyrocketed pushing civilization into a new age. The Industrial Revolution was a cycle that feed itself, with need came technology and with technology came need and through this process arose new society. What led Great Britain to become the first country to star in the Industrial Revolution, comes down to a complex system of factors. Each aspect holds a major role in the contribution in the growth of the Industrial Revolution and of Great Britain.

As Stephen Gardiner once said, “The industrial revolution was another one of those extraordinary jumps forward in the story of civilization.” The Industrial Revolution was in fact an extraordinary jump in the development of the U.S. It created a foundation for what the U.S is today socially, economically, and politically. The Industrial Revolution played a major role in the industrialization and modernization and still has effects to this day. These effects lead to more trade, better transportation, and modernization. It also had had many negative effects on America and England as well. These effects mainly focus on the social side of the Industrial Revolution. These effects include child labor, unfair wage, poor living conditions and poverty. When both the positive and negative effects are put together as a whole, the positive effects outweigh the negative. Mainly because they had a bigger effect on America and the world as a whole, and still affect us today. Because of the Industrial Revolution wages are more fair, living conditions are better, Manufacturing has drastically improved and children are no longer allowed to work in factories.

The industrial revolution led to massive and sudden changes to the way people lived and worked. From the 1750’s onwards, large parts of the population moved from the rural regions in search of work in the growing cities. Traditional jobs, such as farm work, declined and was increasingly replaced by dangerous jobs in factories and mines. The growing population in the cities created a crowded and polluted environment. For many people living and working in these industrial cities was a harsh and dangerous existence.

Throughout the course of the early 1700s and 1900s the world started to become introduced to the production of machinery. Starting in Europe and expanding into the Americas we today classify this era as the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial revolution put the use of hand tools downward while bringing up the use of factory machines. Factory machines by the late 1800s would soon replace farming with manufacturing at a large scale in the nation. This was seen to be a malificent time, for people from all around the world would be drawn to the Americas. Many came in hopes for a new and better life, but with every opportunity you must be ready to endure the burden. America’s revolution would go as far as impacting the aspects of civilization

From around 1750 to 1900 Britain went through major changes or transformation in industry, agriculture and transportation that affected everybody’s lives. For some it generally improved their lives, however not all were so lucky. The industrial revolution brought with it many changes good for some and bad for others.

The industrial revolution had a significant impact upon society and the business world. This impact is keenly felt throughout Bartleby as Herman Melville tries to illustrate the strong sense of tension and dread that manifests during the industrial revolution. The source of these sensations comes from the growing influence of technology. The industrial revolution hailed a plethora of new technology all centered on business, commerce, and productivity. However, with the increasing efficiency of technology, individuals preforming the same tasks are expected to work with the same mechanical efficiency, thus sacrificing humanity within the workplace for efficiency. This aspect of dehumanizing work and tension between humanity and technology is seen throughout Bartleby.

“People were forced to work in harsh, dangerous conditions in order to be able to provide for their families” (Document 8). Although most people were grateful to have a job, the conditions that they were forced to work for in order to provide for their families were unfair to them, and their families. Just because they obtained a job one day, doesn’t mean they would have it the next day, for example, if an employee was sick, or injured and had to miss a day of work the employee wasn’t guaranteed to continually have the job after they finally recovered. “I am at work in a spinning room tending four sides of warp which is one girl’s work” (Document 1) working conditions such as these are very harsh for the employees, not only do they have to keep up with the work of four people. Not only do the employees have to keep up with the sea of work, they also have to attempt not to get injured with the very harsh conditions lots of employees did in fact end up with serious injuries. “5 in the morning till 9 at night…” (Document 7) Those were the harsh working hours according to twenty-three year old Elizabeth Bentley. Long hours such as those were very common for factory workers, which made life hard for employees. Not only was harsh working conditions bad, but also the worst consequence that came about through the Industrial Revolution was child

Many had to work from dawn until dusk and barely got to see their families. In the spring of 1866, a group of three hundred fifty thousand workers went on strike in hopes of an eight hour work day. Throughout cities all over the country large groups of strikers took to the street. In New York, twenty five thousand people marched down Broadway all in hope of a shorter work day. The biggest effect of the strike took place in Chicago. With forty thousand strikers, every railroad, stockyard and many businesses were forced to close. Unlike most strikes against big business, many people did receive what they had asked for. In fact, forty five thousand people were given the eight hour work day just to not strike. The meer numbers of this strike truly speak to how desperate workers were of shorter work days. However, big business did not care the only thing on their mind was money. The only reason many of these workers received their demand were due to the fact that business would lose more in a few days of shut down as compared to 2 hours less work a day. Another example of how work hours affected the poor was described by Morris Rosenfeld as, “I have a little boy at home… A stranger I am to my child; and a stranger my child is to me.” This excerpt from his poem entitled “My Boy” shows how due to the long work hours, many parents were not home enough to raise their children. However, this was the least of

The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain did little to improve life for the common people; the Industrial Revolution negated the principle of Utilitarianism as seen through the lack of support given to the middle and lower classes. Although the Industrial Revolution may have provided work for the lower classes, the work required was dangerous and paid next to nothing. The Industrial Revolution also led to the creation of monopolies which prevented Adam Smith’s idea of a capitalist market driven by competition nearly impossible. Industrialization left many people poverty stricken and uneducated. The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain reduced living conditions in Great Britain through income inequality, the degradation of the environment,

The Industrial Revolution made a huge impact on Europe in the 19th century. Cities in Great Britain were growing rapidly, this was known as urbanization. Many cities such as Glasgow and Berlin more than doubled in size due to urbanization. The Industrial Revolution had a big positive affect on Great Britain. Many things happened during the Industrial Revolution that caused many lasting effects.

The Industrial Revolution had many positive and negative impacts on society. The positive include cheaper clothes, more job opportunities, and improvement in transportation. And the negative would include exploitation of women and children, workers work long hours and environmental damages. These are just a few that I believe had an impact on the Industrial Revolution.

Upon critical investigation of the primary document titled, “Testimony before Parliamentary Committees on Working Conditions in England,” it is clear to see that the industrial revolution in 19th century England had a direct impact on workers. England, in particular, experienced a rapid growth of the people entering into the workforce. There was many openings due to this increased need for cheap labor in the factories, mills and mines. Often times, children were used in the workforce for their small bodily features. There were also many adults that worked long hours, daily for very little money.

In England during the 1750’s, even though the Industrial Revolution brought an increase of goods, it also harmed the people with suffering and child labor. The Agricultural Revolution led to an increase in farm profits, providing capital for new technology and businesses, and the population increased. It began because of the demand for more goods, the discovery of natural resources, such as iron and coal, and government support, known as laissez faire. Laissez faire is a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering. The Industrial Revolution had a negative effect on England, because of all of the suffering and miserable times the workers had to go through.

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic of the continental of Europe; it is the largest island in Europe. The kingdom of Great Britain is created from the union of Scotland and England. Britain is consider as a world power. Before world war I and world war II this country was the center of the world’s largest empire, with benefits of the colonial resources and the trade the country was growing. After the world wars Great Britain became less power.

There is no doubt that the Industrial Revolution plays a central role in the modern British history. The structure of British society has forever changed by the impact and consequences of Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution is often stated as the increase of the number of factories, the exercise of steam power in a wide range of area and the mass-production produced by new technology in the course of 1750 to 1850 (Lane, 1978: 72). Engles (1986: 37) argued that the Industrial Revolution’s mainly development were the invention of the steam engine and the cotton industry. As the improvement of technology, the steam engine could produce more power with less