Women And The Effects Of The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period of industrial and urban growth in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. This period marked a transition from an agrarian based system, to one focused exclusively on economics and commodity production. Industrialization introduced innovative technology and the formation of factories would ultimately change how goods and materials were made. During the American Revolution, women were responsible for in-home production that aided the war effort, using their production as a means to contribute publically. As America transitioned from this period into the period of the Industrial Revolution, these widened roles became more restrictive, women were no longer producers, they were consumers, and it was not a common practice for women to work outside of the home. This generated an opportunity for women to challenge newly forming gender ideals in which women’s societal expectations were constructed according to the masculine majority and falling outside of these expectations was deemed inappropriate. The Industrial Revolution prompted an enlightenment period in which gender ideals suggested that men were intellectually superior to women and this perceived superiority helped to influence distinct public and private spheres of influence for both men and women and presented the idea that women had a specific set of virtues to uphold according to the “cult of true womanhood.”

Industrialization took place earlier in the western countries than the other parts of the world. Through the introduction of machines that made work easier in the industries, employment was no longer a man’s thing and women found an opportunity to work (Carlin 318). The revolution created a shortage in labor and textile factories absorbed young single ladies from the rural areas. The

Edmund Burke once said," Make revolution a parent of settlement, and not a nursery of future revolutions." This comical yet straightforward quote can be related to a time in history called the Industrial Revolution. Throughout history there has been a political, economical, social and cultural revolution. These revolutions has had complex and long lasting impacts on people’s lives, one revolution that has forever changed history is the Industrial Revolution. The term revolution is defined as a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving. The Industrial revolution was a cultural revolution that impacted people’s lives forever.

When manufacturing plants started booming, they found business. Women became valuable factory workers because of their ability to complete complex tasks in the work place. Also, having willingness to labor for an inexpensive pay rate because they were in need boosted their chances of employment. In fact, employers needed them and were happy at the fact that they weren 't too costly to hire. In the document, Morals of Manufactures (1837), it states, “Many of the girls are in the factories because they have too much pride for domestic service.”(Chapter 9 Page 223) As stated before, women were looked over as far being capable of anything else other than a house wife and or mother. Some women worked for pay, as well as to prove that they were more than what society labeled them. This allowed women to make their own money and not be forced to completely live off their husbands. Also, this gave women a freedom and sensibility to become more independent.

The Second Industrial Revolution had a major impact on women's lives. After being controlled fro so long women were experiencing what it was like to live an independent life. In the late nineteenth century women were participating in a variety of experiences, such as social disabilities confronted by all women, new employment patterns, and working class poverty and prostitution. These experiences will show how women were perceived in the Second Industrial Revolution.

The Women's Rights Movement was a significant crusade for women that began in the late nineteenth century and flourished throughout Europe and the United States for the rest of the twentieth century. Advocates for women's rights initiated this movement as they yearned for equality and equal participation and representation in society. Throughout all of history, the jobs of women ranged from housewives to factory workers, yet oppression by society, particularly men, accompanied them in their everyday lives. Not until the end of the nineteenth century did women begin to voice their frustrations about the inequalities among men and women, and these new proclamations would be the basis for a society with opportunities starting to open for

The Women’s Rights Movement is very popular, and tracing back through the extensive history of all the powerful women the world has had, we learn that one important starting point was during the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution is was “the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840 (Powell 2017).” The revolution introduced new ways of manufacturing and selling goods. New machinery, ways of thinking, and factories were prevalent during this time period- as well as the introduction of women working in large-scale locations. Before

In my thesis, I contend that the Industrial Revolution impacted women because women in the working and poor classes were a key labor force in mills and factories, they supported their role as the backbone of the household economy by completing housework in the middle class, and finally the Industrial Revolution made an impact on the contributions of ideas made by women.

With the help of the Industrial Revolution, women made significant strives in changing the traditional economic roles given to females. Before the industrial revolution the only opportunity for a woman to be financially secure was for that woman to marry a financially secure husband. This created women’s dependence on men because if the man died they would have no source of income. The Industrial Revolution provided many women with jobs of their own helping women to become self-dependant. This self-dependence allowed for women to pursue interests not involving men, such as

Gender Roles Throughout the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the period between about 1760 to the mid-1800s of transition to new manufacturing processes, shift of life in different countries, and changes in the structure of families. As life was changing and cities were growing, the roles of genders were greatly impacted and became defined in new ways, while many factors remained similar before, during, and even after the revolution. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, caused by changes in economic and domestic factors, life in cities, and seek for stability, the roles of women and children interestingly became distinctly different , while men had a consistent role and duty. The role of women had the most drastic change

Throughout the nineteenth century, the role of women began to change. Slowly the role of women went from strict domestic work, to having their own say in their own reform groups. After the American Revolution, women began to have a say in what went on during their everyday lives or the lives of their children and husbands. A woman having her own say was something new for men to have to deal with, but they were willing to listen. Women do not get the right to vote nationally until the 1920s, but the start of their suffrage and political movement begins in the nineteenth century with the changing times of the Industrial Revolution and life after the American Revolution.

Women during the Industrial Revolution were not given the greatest education and were often kept at home to help with households. However, some women still felt that education was something that will be very helpful for them later in life. Women were seen lower than men so they did not receive the same education as the men. Many men believed that women were wasting their time taking an education because their job was staying at home, which for them required no learning. However, women still felt motivated to go to school because they knew that everyone should receive an education. Women’s education suffered because of the demands for work. Many skipped a lot of school because their work did not let them take a day off to go to school because they did not care.

Industrialization brought radical changes to the lives of middle and working class women. Mothers were often seen as the Christian foot soldiers during the religious revivals of the 1820s and 1830s. Middle class women joined organizations such as the Female Moral Society, participated in female reform, protecting young women from seduction and prostitution, and became active in the temperance movement. Women joining these moral reform movements allowed them to participate in the public sphere while still keeping their place in the home. Young women, however, were becoming active members of the market economy by working in factories and spending their wages on luxury goods. These new positions for women allowed them to organize their own reform

During Britain’s Industrial Revolution, a multitude of different jobs were opened to the working class of men, women, and children. While this era offered a wide variety of new opportunities for everyone, women were somewhat excluded in areas such as occupation availability and wage due to the cultural norms of the time period.

Equality of the sexes will be beneficial for women because it will offer them new opportunity. This will contribute to a growing economy. Mill wrote during the industrial era, where innovation was at the forefront of society. Mill makes the same that if women had the same opportunity as men; the innovation that accrued would have been surpassed. Equality of the sexes will be beneficial for men because it creates more equal relationships. In the Victorian era, women were subordinate to men thus they weren’t on the same playing field. Mill viewed marriage as more of a partnership where the two parties would be able to bring something to the table. It creates a scene of comradery in the marriage which ultimately beneficial for the men. In the