Industrial Revolution By Trudy Proctor

Prior to the Industrial Revolution  Most people lived in rural areas and farmed for a living.  There was an Agricultural Revolution  enclosure movement – Land owners could fence off common lands.  crop rotation – Changing what crops are grown on a field kept the land fertile.  seed drill – This invention allowed farmers to plant in rows, rather than scatter seed.  breeding of livestock – Enabled farmers to have stronger horses, and more meat from cattle and sheep. For instance…

Improved Livestock  Robert Bakewell began selective breeding of animals. By allowing only the best animals to breed, farmers could increase the size of animals and improve the taste of the meat.  In 1700 the average weight of a steer was 370 pounds. By 1786, it was 840 pounds.  The average weight of a sheep rose from 28 pounds to 100 pounds.  What effect did this have on the population?

Factors of Production  Land – The land and also the natural resources found in the land.  Labor – The workforce or people willing to work.  Capital – The money required to start an industry.  Enterprise – The ability to combine the other three factors and create a business or service.

Great Britain Had It All  Land – Great Britain had rich deposits of coal and iron and lots of rivers.  Labor – The enclosure movement forced many off the land and into cities. Food production was improved which helped people live longer, healthier lives.  Capital – Landowners had more capital, or money, to invest.  Enterprise – Great Britain had markets all over the world where products could be sold and raw materials bought.

Domestic System  Also known as “cottage industry”  Merchants purchased large supplies of wool.  The merchants went from cottage to cottage, dropping off wool to be spun and woven into cloth.  Using hand powered spinning wheels and looms, the workers would make cloth in their homes.  The merchant would return for the cloth and drop off more wool.  The merchants would sell their cloth at market and buy more wool to distribute to the homes.

Birth of the Factory System  Factory system brought workers and machines together.  Inventors created machines that used water power.  The force of the water moved a paddle wheel that powered the machine.  Fast moving streams were needed.  Factories were built beside the streams.  Coal-powered machines made it possible to build factories anywhere.  Whole towns grew up around the factories.  Great Britain was the first country to become urbanized.

Spread of Industrialism  In the mid-1800s Great Britain was known as “the workshop of the world” because it produced one-half of the world’s supply of coal and manufactured goods.  In spite of Great Britain’s efforts to keep their industrial secrets and enjoy a monopoly, industrialism spread.  Factories and railroads were built in other parts of the world.

United States  Samuel Slater created a spinning factory in Rhode Island. Francis Cabot Lowell opens a textile mill in Massachusetts.  Factory system spreads through the New England states.  As the North industrializes, the South relies on the sale of cotton to mills in New England and Great Britain.

Germany  In the early 1800s, Germany builds its first railroad.  Coal, iron, and textile industries emerge in the mid- 1800s.  By 1870, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States are the three most industrialized nations in the world.

Japan  Commodore Matthew Perry introduces Japan to the power of industry.  In the late 1800s, leaders push Japan to industrialize.  Japan builds its first railroad in  Agricultural production increases 228 percent in just 27 years!  By 1914, Japan is an industrial power.

Impact of Industrialism  Growth of cities  Factories polluted the cities.  Living conditions were bad.  Rise of Industrial Capitalism  New middle class was created.  Based on free enterprise.  Business organization  Partnerships and corporations were formed.  Stock market is formed.

Impact, Continued  Rise of an Industrial Working Class  People worked for wages.  People worked even 16 hours a day, 6 days a week.  Conditions were dirty and dangerous.  Rise of Trade Unions  Workers banded together to improve wages, benefits, working conditions, and worker rights.  Unions would use strikes to get what they wanted.  Some worker-protection laws were passed.

Impact, Continued  Development of Socialism  There was a big difference between how the workers lived and how the factory owners lived.  This gave rise to the idea of socialism.  Socialists believe that the government should own all means of production.  This philosophy is in direct opposition to capitalism and free enterprise.