A Collection of Readings on the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution Reader:

A Collection of Readings on the Industrial Revolution

Photographs from How the Other Half Lives by Jabob Riis, 1890

The Industrial Revolution

Directions: Read and annotate the following article on the Industrial Revolution. Annotate means - Selectively underline, Main Idea above paragraph, key points in the margin

The term "Industrial Revolution" is thought to have originated among French commentators at the turn of the 19th century. Those authors suggested that many nations were experiencing changes that were resulting in profound economic and social transformations. Indeed, the Industrial Revolution, which had its beginnings in remote times but is generally deemed to have taken place from the late 18th to early 19th centuries, marked the onset of industrial society and defined the key mechanisms of its progress.
Although the pace of industrial development obviously differed between nations, there were many similarities. The Industrial Revolution encompassed a number of components, including technological advances. Economic growth, the subsequent development of new markets, changes in the transportation of goods, improved communications, and changes in the social structure were also important factors.
All of those factors were evident in England, which is often credited with playing a leading role in the Industrial Revolution. Although a predominantly agricultural society, at the beginning of the 18th century, England was already an important industrial producer. Best known for the manufacture of woolen cloth, England also produced great quantities of tin, coal, leather goods, small metal goods, and other domestic items.
Moreover, there were many technological advances in England during the 18th century. Some were of benefit to many different types of industries. These included James Watt's steam engine, which could either replace or supplement power from traditional sources like watermills and windmills. Initially, the steam engine was developed for use in the mining industry to provide greater amounts of coal. It was later adapted to power different types of machinery within factories.
Other inventions aided specific industries, like the production of cloth. They included the flying shuttle, which was patented in 1733 by a Lancashire mechanic named John Kay. Previously, four spinners were needed to keep up with a single cotton loom. Ten additional people were needed to prepare yarn for one woolen weaver. The new shuttle expedited this process by allowing the yarn to be produced more quickly. Richard Arkwright's water frame, patented in 1769, further accelerated the production of yarn. Less then a decade later, Samuel Crompton combined those two machines into what became known as Crompton's mule.

Economic growth was also readily apparent in 18th-century England. The country already enjoyed a vigorous export trade to Europe, the American colonies, India, and Africa. Further growth in international trade was fueled by political developments across Europe. After 1713, the British were allowed to trade with the Spanish Empire in South and Central America. New markets were created by the growth of English colonies in the West Indies and India. As the pace of industrialization increased, a growing number of cheap manufactured goods were sent to the colonies. Those goods included articles ranging from hammers, shovels, and anchors to firearms and gunpowder.
Although ships were used for long-distance trade, other forms of transportation developed to deal with internal European trade. Navigable rivers had long played a role in the distribution of both raw and manufactured goods. Those natural channels were supplemented in the second half of the 18th century by the construction of a canal system. Roads also continued to improve thanks in part to the growth of turnpike roads, which charged a toll for their use and subsequent upkeep. During the 19th century, the development of railroads changed the face of transportation forever. By 1850, trains were able to travel between 30 and 50 miles an hour to speed both raw materials and consumer goods across Europe.
Improved methods of communication were another factor in the acceleration of industrialization. Sir Samuel Cunard pioneered the concept of transatlantic mail in 1839. After gaining permission from the British government, he began a postal system between Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston. In 1840, a new method of sending mail was implemented in England. The new penny post was based on the concept that it was the handling, rather than the distance sent, that was the critical cost in delivering mail. By the third quarter of the 19th century, telegraph cables enabled businesses to communicate to far-away lands. This period also saw the development of the Universal Postal Union, whose purpose was to facilitate the movement of post overseas.
A final major factor in the European Industrial Revolution was that of changes in the social structure. Those changes included a dramatic increase in population and urbanization that was most apparent in England and Germany. By the mid-19th century, only half of the English population still dwelled in rural areas. Over the following 50 years, the same became true for many European countries.
Growing urbanization was caused by three main requirements of industrial growth. First of all, most factories were located in centers where coal or other raw materials were available, like the Ruhr Valley in Germany. Second, cities were normally located in centers of transportation, like Liverpool and Marseille. Finally, banks and other forms of commerce were generally established in political centers like London, Paris, and Berlin.
Many of the immigrants to urban areas were part of what became a new working class. Factories called for a large number of workers to run machinery. In many cases, the factory owners tended to consider their employees as little more than commodities. The men, women, and children who filled those roles were generally subjected to long hours, low wages, and poor working conditions. Artisans, who had previously been considered to be skilled workers, also found themselves degraded to routine laborers. The Industrial Revolution also helped in the creation of a middle class. New occupations were developed in order to cope with the running of factories. Those occupations included managers, engineers, and skilled workers like mechanics and toolmakers.
Industrialization in England also affected the growth of its colonies. During the early 18th century, the British colonies were concerned with the need to make a living rather than industrial advancement. The Industrial Revolution changed that attitude by increasing the demand for colonial goods, which enjoyed a protected market. In addition, industrialization supplied capital to the colonists.
However, the Industrial Revolution in the United States followed a different, somewhat later course. Although agriculture was the main source of income, there were major differences in the way business developed in the South and North. Tobacco, which was grown in the former areas, was probably the most important export. Tobacco was a very successful product and was supplied in increasing quantities to England and France. There was also a growing timber industry, developed through the use of traditional water-powered sawmills.
While the southern part of the country concentrated on cash crops, the North had a growing commercial sector and showed the beginnings of manufacturing. The successful export of a range of foodstuffs and timber resulted in the demand for new ships. In addition to shipbuilding, the northern colonies also became known for the smelting of iron and production of metal wares. By the second half of the 18th century, colonial iron output was sufficiently high for the British Parliament to pass an act controlling the industry. By 1760, a number of factories had also opened to produce pottery, glass, cloth, and paper.
Industrialization accelerated in the early 19th century with the growth of the young American nation. Consumer and industrial demand led to a rising number of factories. In 1814, Francis Cabot Lowell began the first large-scale mechanized American mill for the production of textiles. Other successful new businesses included the manufacture in the mid-19th century of armaments. Samuel Colt's range of pistols was made with the best precision machine tools available at that time.
The growing industrialization of the United States also had an impact on agriculture. Cyrus McCormick was responsible for one of the most important tools for the nation's farmers. He invented the reaper, a piece of machinery that replaced the labor-intensive hand sickles that had traditionally been used for cutting grain. By using a horse-drawn reaper, the time needed to harvest a field that previously took 20 hours was reduced to one hour. Although initially produced on a small scale, the demand for the machines quickly grew. In response, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company was founded in 1847 to supply enough reapers for the entire country.
The last half of the 19th century experienced another set of technological innovations. Those included the development of cheap steel, which allowed factory machinery to be produced more quickly. As companies continued to expand, many merged with each other to create large and powerful corporations. By the end of the century, those mergers resulted in a large number of highly integrated, conglomerate corporations both in the United States and in Europe.
However, while the Industrial Revolution had been portrayed in the middle of the 19th century as one of humankind's greatest achievements, to many 20th-century critics, that was no longer the case. Social reformers noted the moral and spiritual deficiencies of an industrialized society, including the disparity between the wealthy industrialists and the urban working class. Nevertheless, the so-called revolution continued during the 20th century, and industrialization spread throughout the world.

Questions to answer:

1)What is the Industrial Revolution? What different types of things were happening in societies which caused people to term the time period the Industrial Revolution?

2)When did it take place?

3)Which country led the Industrial Revolution? Explain what took place in this country to cause people to call it the leader of the Industrial Revolution.

4)How did this spread to the rest of Europe through trade and communication?

5)How did a change in social structure also lead the European Industrial Revolution?

6)How did industrial growth cause urbanization (people moving to cities)?

7)How were factory workers treated?

8)How was the United States impacted by the European Industrial Revolution? What did the Industrial Revolution look like in the United States?

9)Why did social reformers of the 20th century begin to critique the Industrial Revolution?

2/16/17

Students,
The firm grip of the flu has not released me just yet. Nausea, the sweats and severe bone aches have caused me not to be with you today. Tomorrow, we will grade tests and those who need to take or make up a test may do so then.

Today. Read and annotate the article on the Industrial Revolution. Be sure to selectively underline, main idea above the paragraph, and key points in the margin.

Turn in your work at the end of the period. You should be able to do this in one period.

Be wonderful today knowing my thoughts are with you though my body is crumbling!!!!

2/16/17

Thank you for taking my class today.

Today Students are Reading and annotating an article on the Industrial Revolution.
Student directions are on the doc cam.
Hand out the reading
Collect work at the end of the period.

These are very good kids, but as always if any should go too far, please give me their name.

Thanks and have a great day.

Jeff Gronich