Industrial Revolution A Brief Introduction

On the Agricultural Side ~ Britain Wealthy landowners bought up much of the farm land, enclosed it with fences & hedges. 1) Tried new agricultural methods 2) Large landowners forced small farmers to become tenant farmers OR move to the cities. Practiced new method of crop-rotation. Livestock – only allowed the best to breed England’s population increased-people had more to eat and better living conditions

Industrializaton Process of developing machine production of goods – drew from natural resources Water power & coal to fuel new machines Iron ore to make the machines, tools and buildings Rivers for inland transport Harbors for merchants to sail

Why Great Britain? Britain had the Factors of Production: -Land -Labor -Capital Urbanization meant that more and more people were moving into the cities

Inventions of the Industrial Revolution Steam Engine – 1 st model used by coal miners to pull water from the shaft. By 1765, James Watts made a steam engine that worked faster and used less fuel. This engine was used in trains and in steam boats.

Transportation Innovations Clermont steamship (1807), used as a ferry up & down the Hudson England created a network of canals to better transport goods inland. By the mid-1800s, there were 4,250 miles of inland channels. This helped to cut the price of goods.

Roads and Rails Large stones on the roads for drainage—wagons no longer sunk into the mud st steam driven locomotive, 1825—1 st rail line from Yorkshire to Stockton opened. Four Major Effects like 1) cheap transportation, 2) New jobs, 3) Boosted agriculture and fishing industries & 4) Made travel easier

A New Middle Class Factory owners, shippers and merchants gained wealth and brought their wealth into Britain. Middle class now had most social and political power. Upper Middle Class—govt. employees, doctors, lawyers and factory managers. Lower Middle Class—toolmakers, drafters, painters, factory overseers.

Living &Working Conditions People flooded the cities looking for work. No standards for development, sanitation or housing. Garbage collected in streets. Workers lived in shelters, whole families in one bedroom. Disease was rampant. Factories not well lit, dirty. Machines injured workers; NO govt. program to provide aid if injured.