The Industrial Revolutions

The slums were packed with the urban poor. These people would be crammed into awfully built apartment buildings. There were roughly four families that would live on each floor. These building were called slum tenements. These buildings were placed side by side, therefore making them appear and feel even more crowded. Since these tenements were so incredibly crowded, fire and illness were a big hazard. Many city roads and sidewalks were made of wood which made them very flammable. If a fire was lit, it could spread to the crowded building forcing many people to attempt to evacuate, which was very difficult because of the tiny space and the surplus of people. Illness was another big issue. Illness would spread incredibly fast because of the horrid conditions of the tenements and again, the amount of people crammed in these spaces. Therefore, the slums are not suitable for any person, especially not one who needs an adequate amount of rest after an incredibly exhausting day at the factory.

Many people lived in small, run-down apartments in cities called tenements. Like the cities, these tenements were also overcrowded, with some homes showing “six children on a single fire escape” (Document 6). With long work hours, many families were unable to come home and see their children; they were essentially separated. Some even described themselves as “a stranger am I to my child; and he one to me” (Document 2) due to the family separation. Another horrid living condition within the cities was pollution. With coal being the main source of power, especially in factories, it could create pollution (Document 3). The pollution could eventually cause breathing problems for the people within the cities, making the living conditions even worse. Even the “fast travel of railroad” (Document 5) could contribute to pollution, since it also ran on coal. Like the machines in the factories, it could create pollution as well since the coal could release potential toxins into the air, worsening living conditions even

The society was affected because the farm lands abandoned and the food food prices dropped. There was not as much food needed because the populations had dropped. The people were down sick and they could not work which caused the farm lands to be abandoned and

peasants left for the towns, the towns grew larger. This brought a new social class to

The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was arguably the most important turning point in history. It transformed the manufacture of goods from craftsmanship to commercialism, exponentially increasing output and decreasing production cost leading to prosperity and an unprecedented supply of goods for the markets of the world. Industrialization and mass production was the fuel which ignited the flame of capitalism which was already established creating bringing sweeping changes in wealth and its distribution. Within a few generations the very fabric of society was virtually remade as millions left the farms and villages of the countryside for jobs in the cities. This monumental change did not immediately sweep

As a consequence of the industrialisation in Britain, the mobilisation of masses started. Working class families migrated from other cities seeking for job opportunities and a better life. However, industrialised cities became affected by this and soon became overcrowded. Working class families used to dwell in tenements in rather poor sanitary conditions due to the lack of hygiene and artificial feeding in children. Children and their parents struggled to cope with freezing temperatures during the winter since they could not afford to pay

The Industrial Revolution started in the late 1700s and early 1800s which helped the transition from agrarian to one of industrial. Before the factories were made, the common folk would work on the farms that would make the food that they would need to survive, and they would also make their own clothes. All the clothes and materials that the people had before the industrial revolution they would make themselves because there was no mass production of items being made and the people who would sell the items never had enough in their inventory for everyone to buy. Factories started to arise making it easier to mass produce items that the people wanted, like cloths and eventually everyday materials. Those factories and opportunities for work is why people moved into cities.( History.com)

Living standards as described by Blainey (2000) were bleak. Most people lived in one roomed, small stone houses, often with four or more sharing one bed. Homes often remained unheated due to scarcity of wood (Blainey 2000, p. 423). People were largely uneducated and knew little about healthcare. Sewerage was disposed of in the same rivers that were used to drink and wash from. These contaminated rivers were used to supply water to the growing crops. This had a huge impact on health, causing infection in around two out of every three people in rural areas (Blainey 2000, p. 415). Lack of hygiene and knowledge of healthcare led to shorter lifespans.

Women who did not have a husband to support themselves and a family had a hard time getting money without a

an independent lifestyle. It was very uncommon and shamed for women to fend for themselves,

women to work but many had to support their family some way so they worked despite the low wages and horrible conditions (Women, 2010). The Ziegfield Image source:silverscreenmodiste.comsilverscreenmodiste.comsilverscreenmodiste.com

Before the Industrial Revolution, there were many hard times for families. All of this changed when the Industrial Revolution happened. Women

The lowborn workers toiled away for hours in physically exhausting jobs only to afford apartments that were sterile and cold. “There were some nine cots in the place . . . he was sick of the bareness and privation connected with his venture” (Dreiser, 304). The pay affected the men and woman’s own mode of life. They were forced to share living spaces with other families and more often than naught, had to bunk with complete strangers. The very comforts associated with a home, such as wood and furniture, were often too large of an expense. Even with Governmental/ Charity handouts the citizens had no money in which they could afford better living conditions. The rooms they were given to stay in were cold and sterile, and they were not guaranteed a place to stay every night.

People often lived and worked in family unit, presenting everything by their own hand. Porter (1999) points out that around 75% British lived in the village, and most people ensure their life by farming. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, this situation no longer continued. The new law required that all owner’s of gazing grounds must afford the expense for fence, which lead to many farmers go bankrupt, at the meantime, many hand weavers unemployed because the new machines capability of produce big amount outputs (Stearns, 1998). Consequently, it forced many people find jobs in new factories, and moved to cities where the factory located (Porter, 1999). It is also important to state that although they worked for long hours, they only get paid little money. As they could not afford the higher living expenses in big cities, they had to move into the slum house. It is necessary to point out that over 12,000 people lived in 1,400 houses, nearly one family shared per room (included about nine people at average) (Engles, 1968: 62). This lead to several distress like air pollution, typhoid and cholera to threaten people’s lives (Stearns, 1998). Dean (1983: 104) also describes that the living conditions were fearful, in the course of early year of Industrial Revolution, over half of children aged under five years old dead because of the infectious

The most important changes were brought in the economy and the way of earning income. Industrialization turned everything upside-down in this sector of human activity. In pre-industrial societies income and the economy as a whole, were based on agriculture and manufacturing in home. Wealth was not something to be pursued, the character and personality of the individual had greater value than his wealth: “the hard-working poor man is superior to the lazy rich man” (Vidich: 230). In modern economies everything is based on industrial mass production and white-collar jobs have increased. The pursuit for wealth is so high that if we compare it with traditional societies, modern ones would look corrupted (Macionis: 408).