The Industrial Revolution

1. The Industrial Revolution Mechanization, Urban Growth, Consumption, “Proletarianization”

2. How did the world go from this?

3. To this?

4. A New Agricultural Revolution

5. Mechanization • During the first half of the 19th century, the European manufacturing process shifted from small-scale production by hand at home to large-scale production by machine in a factory setting.

6. At the Expense of Workers • The shift meant high quality products at competitive prices, but often at the expense of workers. For example, the raw wool and cotton that fed the British textile mills came from: • Lands converted from farming to sheep raising, leaving farm workers without jobs • The southern plantations of the United States, which were dependent upon slave labor

7. James Watt’s Steam Engine: World Changing Invention James Watt's improvements in 1769 and 1784 to the steam engine converted a machine of limited use, to one of efficiency and many applications.

8. James Watt’s Steam Engine: World Changing Invention • Watt’s improved steam engine was the foremost energy source in the emerging Industrial Revolution, and greatly multiplied its productive capacity.

9. James Watt’s Steam Engine: World Changing Invention Watt was a creative genius who radically transformed the world from an agricultural society into an industrial one. Through Watt’s invention of the first practical steam engine, our modern world eventually moved from a 90% rural basis to a 90% urban basis.

10. James Watt’s Steam Engine: World Changing Invention Improved steam engines led to improved systems for transporting people and factory goods.

11. Urbanization • In the mid 1700s, more than half the population of Britain lived and worked on farms. • Between 1750 and 1851, displaced farming families moved to the cities to work in the new factories.

12. 1850: Population Living in Cities Urban Growth • Those who could no longer make a living on the land migrated from the countryside to the cities to seek work in the factories.

13. Population Growth • At the same time, the population of Europe continued to grow.

14. The Plight of the Cities • The sheer number of human beings put pressure on city resources: • Housing, water, sewers, food supplies, and lighting were completely inadequate. • Slums grew and disease, especially cholera, ravaged the population. • Crime increased and became a way of life for those who could make a living in no other way.

15. Urban Living Conditions • Factory owners rushed to build housing • Back to back row houses • Several people in very small spaces • Poor sanitation • High disease rates • Crime • Massive pollution

16. Conditions in the Countryside • The only successful farmers were those with large landholdings who could afford agricultural innovations. • Most peasants: • Didn’t have enough land to support themselves • Were devastated by poor harvests (e.g., the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-47) • Were forced to move to the cities to find work in the factories.

17. Urban Living Conditions Average Age at Death for Different Classes Rutland – agricultural area in central England Other locations – major industrial centers Truro – tin mining center

18. The Labor Force • No single description could include all of these 19th century workers: • Factory workers • Urban artisans • Domestic system craftsmen • Household servants • Miners • Countryside peddlers • Farm workers • Railroad workers • Variations in duties, income, and working conditions made it difficult for them to unite.

19. The Condition of Labor • All working people, however, faced possible unemployment, with little or no provision for security. • In addition, they were subject to various kinds of discipline: • The closing of factory gates to late workers • Fines for tardiness • Dismissal for drunkenness • Public censure for poor quality workmanship • Beatings for non-submissiveness

20. Working Conditions and Wages • Common working day: 12 – 14 hours • One short break for lunch • Work week: 6 days per week • 80 degree heat • Workers were beaten if they did not perform well. • Hot, polluted factory air. • Workers risked losing limbs from the machines. • Low wages.

21. Child Labor • Children shifted from farm work to factory work. • 12 – 14 hour days • 6 day weeks • Lower wages than adults. • Began at age 5. • Mining work deformed bodies.

22. Child Labor • As concerns about the welfare of children rose in mid 1800s, Parliament held investigations into working conditions. • New laws and new labor unions improved conditions.

23. The Role of the Railroads • The railroads, built during the 1830s and 1840s: • Enabled people to leave the place of their birth and migrate easily to the cities. • Allowed cheaper and more rapid transport of raw materials and finished products. • Created an increased demand for iron and steel and a skilled labor force.

24. Family Structures Changed • With the decline of the domestic system and the rise of the factory system, family life changed. • At first, the entire family, including the children, worked in the factory, just as they had at home. • Later, family life became fragmented (the father worked in the factory, the mother handled domestic chores, the children went to school).

25. Family as a Unit of Consumption • In short, the European family changed from being a unit of production and consumption to being a unit of consumption alone.

26. Gender-Determined Roles • That transformation prepared the way for gender-determined roles. • Women came to be associated with domestic duties, such as housekeeping, food preparation, child rearing and nurturing, and household management. • The man came to be associated almost exclusively with breadwinning.

27. The Industrial Revolution Economic Effects Social Effects • New inventions and development of factories • Rapidly growing industry in the 1800s • Increased production and higher demand for raw materials • Growth of worldwide trade • Population explosion and a large labor force • Exploitation of mineral resources • Highly developed banking and investment system • Advances in transportation, agriculture, and communication • Long hours worked by children in factories • Increase in population of cities • Poor city planning • Loss of family stability • Expansion of middle class • Harsh conditions for laborers • Workers’ progress vs. laissez-faire economic attitudes • Improved standard of living • Creation of new jobs • Encouragement of technological progress Political Effects • Child labor laws to end abuses • Reformers urging equal distribution of wealth (i.e. Karl Marx) • Trade unions • Social reform movements, such as utilitarianism, utopianism, socialism, and Marxism • Reform bills in Parliament

28. Economists of the Industrial Revolution • Adam Smith: advocated laissez- faire economics. No government regulation of business. A free market will produce more goods at lower prices, making them affordable by everyone. The basis of Capitalism. • Thomas Malthus: Population will outpace the food supply • David Ricardo: Poor having too many children, thus leading to a high labor supply and lower wages.

29. Reformers • Jeremy Bentham: utilitarianism – “greatest happiness for the greatest number.” • John Stuart Mill: advocated government help for the poor and giving the vote to workers and women. • Robert Owen: actually built a factory based on the idea that an employer could offer decent living and working conditions and still make a profit.

30. Karl Marx • Scientific socialism • Economics really a struggle between the “haves” (upper class and merchants) and the “have nots” (proletariat working class.) • Advocated a workers’ revolution to replace private ownership of property with cooperative ownership. • Led to system of Communism.

31. “Proletarianization” • During the century, factory workers underwent a process of proletarianization (i.e., they lost control of the means of production). • Factory owners provided the financial capital to construct the factory, to purchase the machinery, and to secure the raw materials. • The factory workers merely exchanged their labor for wages.