4-1 Notes: Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution
Great Britain – The starting point
o Why was it the first place for the IR to start?
1) agriculture – improvements led to an increase in the food supply
2) population – more food= more people
a. enclosure movement – Parliament allowed landowners to fence off land; peasants forced to move to towns.
3) capital – GB had the money to invest in new machines and factories
a. a new group, entrepreneurs, began. The wanted to find new ways to make money.
4) natural resources – water power from rivers, coal & iron ore
5) markets – a colonial empire, GB had many places to sell their goods
a. demand at home increased with the population
o Cotton became a high demand product
 Britain became the #1 manufacturer of cheap cotton goods
 At the beginning of the 18th century, cotton cloth was produced by individuals in their homes
• Known as cottage industry
New inventions made the cottage industry inefficient
1) Flying shuttle – increased weaving speed, so more thread was needed
2) Spinning jenny – increased spinning speed – people could make thread more quickly (invented by Hargreaves)
3) Water-powered loom – people came to the machines; ran on water, made weaving more efficient (invented by Cartwright)
4) Steam engine – could be used to spin and weave, became cotton mill staple
Because of these inventions, it became more practical to make cotton cloth in factories than in individual homes
o Coal & Iron
Steam engines depended on coal to run
• As the steam engine grew more popular, the need for coal increased
• Also contributed to the transformation of the iron industry
Henry Court found a way to make a better quality of iron using a process called puddling
• Puddling changes crude (aka pig iron) into high quality iron
o Railroads
In the 19th century, more efficient transportation was developed: the railroad
• 1st locomotive ran in 1804
• The Rocket was the 1st to run on a public railway line from Liverpool to Manchester
• More railroads = more jobs
• Cheaper transportation = cheaper goods = more money = more factories
o Factories
Created a new labor system
Run 24 hours, workers worked in shifts
Workers were used to a rural farming schedule
• Discipline was needed to make them work regular hours at repetitive tasks
o Adults fired for being late
o Children beaten
The Spread of Industrialization
o Europe
Spread at different times and speeds
After England, the 1st 3 countries to become industrialized : Belgium, France, & German States
Governments active in the spread of industrialization
• Provided money for new transportation
o North America
Hit in the mod 1800’s
Population and cities grew
Because the US is a large country, transportation systems were vital
• Steamboats were invented by Robert Fulton
• Railroads were built, spread across the US
Labor came from farmers
• Most factory workers = female
o Children also a majority
Some factory owners wanted entire families working for them
Social Impact in Europe
o The IR changed the social life of Europe
Seen in: growth of cities and the emergence of new social classes
o Population & City growth
By 1850, population had doubled – why?
• a decline in death rates
• people ate better
• were more resistant to diseases
• no food shortages (except the potato famine)
City growth is directly related to industrialization
• Using the steam engines, factory owners could set up in cities
• People moved to the cities to work in factories
• In England, 50% of the population lived in cities by 1850
Quick city growth = poor living conditions
• Too many people, nowhere to put them
• By 1850 population had doubled – why?
o Industrial middle class
Industrial capitalism – economic system based o industrial production
The Industrial middle class was made up of the people who built factories, bought the machines, and found markets
• They were ambitious and greedy
• Had initiative & vision
o Industrial working class
Workers worked in rotten conditions
Worst conditions – cotton mills
Coal mines are also bad
• People had to dig & haul coal
Dangers: gas fumes, explosions, cave men, got bad lungs, and was deformed
two-thirds of workers were women and kids reduced the age of kids
• Factory act of 1834
o Set 9 as the minimum wage
o Kids 9-13: 9 hours a day
o Kids 13-18: 12 hours a day
o As the number of kids decreasedd, the number of women workers increased
50 % of workforce by 1950
Paid 50% of Men’s Pay
Hours limited in1844
o As laws limited children and women ours, men were required outside the house, doing laundry and sewed for cash
Women moved inside, doing laundry
• Socialism
o System where that government owns and controls the means of production (like factories, etc)
o Idea created by the poor conditions
First created by intellectuals
• Wanted cooperation, not competition
• Known as utopian society
o Robert Owen – turned bad factory towns in prosperous communities