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Essays on Industrial Revolution

Industrial revolution essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: the industrial revolution: catalyst for economic transformation and social change.

Thesis Statement: This essay explores the Industrial Revolution as a pivotal period in history, analyzing its role as a catalyst for economic transformation, technological innovation, and significant societal changes in labor, urbanization, and living conditions.

• Introduction
• The Emergence of Industrialization: Transition from Agrarian to Industrial Society
• Technological Advancements: Inventions and Their Impact on Production
• Factory System and Labor: The Changing Nature of Work
• Urbanization and Its Consequences: The Growth of Industrial Cities
• Social Reforms and Challenges: Responses to Inequities and Labor Conditions
• Legacy of the Industrial Revolution: Long-Term Effects on Modern Society

Essay Title 2: The Dark Side of Progress: Environmental Consequences and Labor Exploitation during the Industrial Revolution

Thesis Statement: This essay critically examines the Industrial Revolution, shedding light on its environmental consequences, the exploitation of laborers, and the ethical dilemmas that arose as a result of rapid industrialization.

• Environmental Impact: Pollution, Deforestation, and Resource Depletion
• Factory Conditions and Child Labor: The Human Cost of Industrialization
• Ethical Considerations: Debates on Economic Gain vs. Social Welfare
• Worker Movements and Labor Reforms: Struggles for Workers' Rights
• The Industrial Revolution and Globalization: Impact Beyond Borders
• Reevaluating Progress: Lessons for Sustainable Development

Essay Title 3: The Industrial Revolution and Its Influence on Modern Economic Systems and Technological Advancements

Thesis Statement: This essay analyzes the profound influence of the Industrial Revolution on contemporary economic systems, technological innovations, and the enduring legacy of industrialization in shaping our modern world.

• Capitalism and Industrialization: The Birth of Modern Economic Systems
• Technological Breakthroughs: The Impact of the Steam Engine, Textile Industry, and More
• The Role of Industrial Giants: Key Figures and Their Contributions
• Globalization and Trade Networks: Connecting Continents and Markets
• Innovation and the Information Age: Tracing Technological Progress
• Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities: Navigating the Post-Industrial World

Prompt Examples for Industrial Revolution Essays

The impact of industrialization on society.

Examine the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution. How did the shift from agrarian economies to industrialized societies affect the lives of individuals, families, and communities? Discuss changes in work, living conditions, and social structures.

The Role of Technological Advancements

Analyze the technological innovations that drove the Industrial Revolution. Explore the inventions and advancements in industry, transportation, and communication that transformed economies and societies. Discuss their significance and long-term effects.

Economic Transformation and Capitalism

Discuss the economic aspects of the Industrial Revolution. How did the rise of industrial capitalism reshape economic systems and create new opportunities and challenges for businesses and workers? Analyze the growth of factories, trade, and global markets.

Labor Movements and Workers' Rights

Examine the emergence of labor movements and workers' rights during the Industrial Revolution. Discuss the conditions and struggles faced by laborers and the efforts to improve working conditions, wages, and labor laws. Explore the role of unions and collective action.

Urbanization and the Growth of Cities

Explore the process of urbanization and the rapid growth of cities during the Industrial Revolution. Discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by urban life, including issues of overcrowding, sanitation, and social inequality.

Environmental Impacts and Sustainability

Analyze the environmental impacts of industrialization. How did the Industrial Revolution contribute to pollution, resource depletion, and environmental degradation? Discuss the early awareness of these issues and the emergence of sustainability concerns.

Explain The Five Modes of Adaptation

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How Did Industrialization Change American Society

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The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain

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Industrial Revolution & The Industrial Design Industry

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1733 - 1913

The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the mid-18th century. The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. The beginning of industrialization in the United States is started with the opening of a textile mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1793 by Samuel Slater.

There was a few reasons of the beginning of Industrial Revolution: shortage of wood and the abundance of convenient coal deposits; high literacy rates; cheap cotton produced by slaves in North America; system of free enterprise.

Samuel Slater is most associated with starting up the textiles industry in the U.S. An early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" and the "Father of the American Factory System". He opened a textile mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1793.

There were many improvements in technology and manufacturing fundamentals that improved overall production and economic growth in the United States. Several great American inventions affected manufacturing, communications, transportation, and commercial agriculture.

The Industrial Revolution resulted in greater wealth and a larger population in Europe as well as in the United States. From 1700 to 1900, there was huge migration of people living in villages to moving into towns and cities for work. The Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in history. During the Industrial Revolution, environmental pollution increased.

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Descriptive Essay: The Industrial Revolution and its Effects

The Industrial Revolution was a time of great age throughout the world. It represented major change from 1760 to the period 1820-1840. The movement originated in Great Britain and affected everything from industrial manufacturing processes to the daily life of the average citizen. I will discuss the Industrial Revolution and the effects it had on the world as a whole.

The primary industry of the time was the textiles industry. It had the most employees, output value, and invested capital. It was the first to take on new modern production methods. The transition to machine power drastically increased productivity and efficiency. This extended to iron production and chemical production.

It started in Great Britain and soon expanded into Western Europe and to the United States. The actual effects of the revolution on different sections of society differed. They manifested themselves at different times. The ‘trickle down’ effect whereby the benefits of the revolution helped the lower classes didn’t happen until towards the 1830s and 1840s. Initially, machines like the Watt Steam Engine and the Spinning Jenny only benefited the rich industrialists.

The effects on the general population, when they did come, were major. Prior to the revolution, most cotton spinning was done with a wheel in the home. These advances allowed families to increase their productivity and output. It gave them more disposable income and enabled them to facilitate the growth of a larger consumer goods market. The lower classes were able to spend. For the first time in history, the masses had a sustained growth in living standards.

Social historians noted the change in where people lived. Industrialists wanted more workers and the new technology largely confined itself to large factories in the cities. Thousands of people who lived in the countryside migrated to the cities permanently. It led to the growth of cities across the world, including London, Manchester, and Boston. The permanent shift from rural living to city living has endured to the present day.

Trade between nations increased as they often had massive surpluses of consumer goods they couldn’t sell in the domestic market. The rate of trade increased and made nations like Great Britain and the United States richer than ever before. Naturally, this translated to military power and the ability to sustain worldwide trade networks and colonies.

On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution and migration led to the mass exploitation of workers and slums. To counter this, workers formed trade unions. They fought back against employers to win rights for themselves and their families. The formation of trade unions and the collective unity of workers across industries are still existent today. It was the first time workers could make demands of their employers. It enfranchised them and gave them rights to upset the status quo and force employers to view their workers as human beings like them.

Overall, the Industrial Revolution was one of the single biggest events in human history. It launched the modern age and drove industrial technology forward at a faster rate than ever before. Even contemporary economics experts failed to predict the extent of the revolution and its effects on world history. It shows why the Industrial Revolution played such a vital role in the building of the United States of today.

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Industrial Revolution

1 the evolution of technology impact of industrial revolutions and the digital age.

Digital Revolution: From Mass Production to New Challenges In the late 18th century, there was an economic shift in Britain because of the industrial creations and ideas that were incorporated into mechanization. The hardship of working long hours and crafting things by hand was all solved with a single cotton mill and spinning jenny. This […]

2 Women’s Roles in Economic Transformations: Industrial Revolution and World Wars

Evolving Roles: Industrialization, Wars, and Women’s Changing Status The changing jobs of ladies in the family and the work push have revolved around the topic of whether industrialization improved or reduced the situation of ladies. The Industrial Revolution delivered a reasonable depiction of home and work. There were numerous social changes that happened, similar to […]

3 Industrial Revolution’s Impact on American Society: Progress and Challenges

Technological Advancements: Paving the Path for Economic Transformation The Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s was the beginning of a time of change for America. Moving forward in a progressive way could be the best thing that happened for the country. Although some could argue that moving at a pace we, as Americans, could not […]

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4 Coal’s Impact on the Industrial Revolution and the Environment

Coal’s Pivotal Role: Extraction, Utilization, and Challenges During the Industrial Revolution, things started to change again. The world was becoming something a bit more recognizable to us today. Raw materials were being mined, like iron ore and coal, and many different things were happening with them after the mining process. Coal was, and still is, […]

5 The Industrial Revolution’s Health Legacy: Medical Illnesses and Longevity

Industrialization’s Health Paradox: COPD and Asthma Impact Now, let’s observe pre- and post-industrial society from a medical context. Longevity in industrialized society cannot be discussed without its most well-known aspect, which is medical illnesses. We all know that when a medical illness is present, and the environment is not so hygienic, for example, which was […]

Thesis Statements

What is a thesis statement.

Your thesis statement is one of the most important parts of your paper.  It expresses your main argument succinctly and explains why your argument is historically significant.  Think of your thesis as a promise you make to your reader about what your paper will argue.  Then, spend the rest of your paper–each body paragraph–fulfilling that promise.

Your thesis should be between one and three sentences long and is placed at the end of your introduction.  Just because the thesis comes towards the beginning of your paper does not mean you can write it first and then forget about it.  View your thesis as a work in progress while you write your paper.  Once you are satisfied with the overall argument your paper makes, go back to your thesis and see if it captures what you have argued.  If it does not, then revise it.  Crafting a good thesis is one of the most challenging parts of the writing process, so do not expect to perfect it on the first few tries.  Successful writers revise their thesis statements again and again.

A successful thesis statement:

• makes an historical argument
• takes a position that requires defending
• is historically specific
• is focused and precise
• answers the question, “so what?”

How to write a thesis statement:

Suppose you are taking an early American history class and your professor has distributed the following essay prompt:

“Historians have debated the American Revolution’s effect on women.  Some argue that the Revolution had a positive effect because it increased women’s authority in the family.  Others argue that it had a negative effect because it excluded women from politics.  Still others argue that the Revolution changed very little for women, as they remained ensconced in the home.  Write a paper in which you pose your own answer to the question of whether the American Revolution had a positive, negative, or limited effect on women.”

Using this prompt, we will look at both weak and strong thesis statements to see how successful thesis statements work.

While this thesis does take a position, it is problematic because it simply restates the prompt.  It needs to be more specific about how  the Revolution had a limited effect on women and  why it mattered that women remained in the home.

Revised Thesis:  The Revolution wrought little political change in the lives of women because they did not gain the right to vote or run for office.  Instead, women remained firmly in the home, just as they had before the war, making their day-to-day lives look much the same.

This revision is an improvement over the first attempt because it states what standards the writer is using to measure change (the right to vote and run for office) and it shows why women remaining in the home serves as evidence of limited change (because their day-to-day lives looked the same before and after the war).  However, it still relies too heavily on the information given in the prompt, simply saying that women remained in the home.  It needs to make an argument about some element of the war’s limited effect on women.  This thesis requires further revision.

Strong Thesis: While the Revolution presented women unprecedented opportunities to participate in protest movements and manage their family’s farms and businesses, it ultimately did not offer lasting political change, excluding women from the right to vote and serve in office.

Few would argue with the idea that war brings upheaval.  Your thesis needs to be debatable:  it needs to make a claim against which someone could argue.  Your job throughout the paper is to provide evidence in support of your own case.  Here is a revised version:

Strong Thesis: The Revolution caused particular upheaval in the lives of women.  With men away at war, women took on full responsibility for running households, farms, and businesses.  As a result of their increased involvement during the war, many women were reluctant to give up their new-found responsibilities after the fighting ended.

Sexism is a vague word that can mean different things in different times and places.  In order to answer the question and make a compelling argument, this thesis needs to explain exactly what  attitudes toward women were in early America, and  how those attitudes negatively affected women in the Revolutionary period.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a negative impact on women because of the belief that women lacked the rational faculties of men. In a nation that was to be guided by reasonable republican citizens, women were imagined to have no place in politics and were thus firmly relegated to the home.

This thesis addresses too large of a topic for an undergraduate paper.  The terms “social,” “political,” and “economic” are too broad and vague for the writer to analyze them thoroughly in a limited number of pages.  The thesis might focus on one of those concepts, or it might narrow the emphasis to some specific features of social, political, and economic change.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution paved the way for important political changes for women.  As “Republican Mothers,” women contributed to the polity by raising future citizens and nurturing virtuous husbands.  Consequently, women played a far more important role in the new nation’s politics than they had under British rule.

This thesis is off to a strong start, but it needs to go one step further by telling the reader why changes in these three areas mattered.  How did the lives of women improve because of developments in education, law, and economics?  What were women able to do with these advantages?  Obviously the rest of the paper will answer these questions, but the thesis statement needs to give some indication of why these particular changes mattered.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a positive impact on women because it ushered in improvements in female education, legal standing, and economic opportunity.  Progress in these three areas gave women the tools they needed to carve out lives beyond the home, laying the foundation for the cohesive feminist movement that would emerge in the mid-nineteenth century.

Thesis Checklist

When revising your thesis, check it against the following guidelines:

• Does my thesis make an historical argument?
• Does my thesis take a position that requires defending?
• Is my thesis historically specific?
• Is my thesis focused and precise?
• Does my thesis answer the question, “so what?”

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The Industrial Revolution Essay

Crafting an essay on the Industrial Revolution is a challenging task that requires a comprehensive understanding of historical events, economic transformations, and societal impacts. The Industrial Revolution was a complex period marked by significant advancements in technology, changes in labor practices, and shifts in economic structures. As a writer, you need to delve into extensive research to grasp the intricacies of this era and its profound effects on various aspects of society.

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6.3 Capitalism and the First Industrial Revolution

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Explain the evolution of economic theories from mercantilism to capitalism
• Analyze the ways in which mechanization challenged existing social, economic, and political structures
• Discuss the ideological responses to capitalism, including Marxism

Just as colonial empires were the crucible of new political ideas and gave rise to new forms of resistance to exploitation, they also inspired new economic ideas. Mercantilism, which advocated building a nation’s power by increasing trade through exports, had originally propelled colonization . But as people around the world gained their political freedom, they also became interested in economic freedom, and mercantilism fell out of favor. Capitalism, a system in which prices and costs, not government intervention, serve to regulate the supply and demand of goods traded for individual profit, became popular. However, not everyone agreed with this new economic order; Marxists critiqued it and proposed systems focused on equality rather than profit.

From Mercantilism to Capitalism

In 1681, the French finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert asked a group of French business owners led by a man named Thomas Le Gendre how the government could help them. Le Gendre reportedly told Colbert, “ Laissez nous faire ,” meaning “let us do it.” This gave rise to the concept of laissez-faire economics , which argues that market forces alone should drive the economy and that governments should refrain from direct intervention in or moderation of the economic system. The idea of laissez-faire economics was consistent with the logistical realities of global empires. It was effectively impossible for leaders in Europe to micromanage economic operations that were on the other side of an ocean. Therefore the evolution to a laissez-faire economic model might have been as much a practical necessity as an ideological shift.

Adam Smith was a Scottish political economist and philosopher best known for writing the book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), often referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations ( Figure 6.18 ). Earlier scholars had written about various aspects of economics, but with this book Smith became the first person to produce a comprehensive philosophical examination of the way nations should manage their economies.

In The Wealth of Nations , Smith argued that the “ invisible hand ” of the marketplace guided people when they made their own economic decisions. By doing the work that would bring them the greatest profit, he explained, people inadvertently tended to produce the goods and services most needed by society. To allow the invisible hand to work, Smith advocated the reduction of tariffs and most forms of governmental regulation. His work was based on rational choice theory , the idea that people understand their options and make rational choices that will help them achieve reasonable objectives. In Smith’s view, this form of selfishness is often good for the individual and for society.

Although Smith did not use the term, preferring to call his system commercial society , he and his supporters promoted the idea later known as capitalism , an economic system in which private individuals and companies typically own the means of production such as factories and farms, and free (unregulated) markets set the value of most goods and services based on supply and demand.

Smith was a critic of slavery . He believed slavery was inefficient and suggested it was doomed to fail if markets were truly free. Because the cost of feeding, clothing, and housing enslaved people, however poorly, was passed on to consumers, Smith also noted that goods made using enslaved labor were more expensive. Free labor could produce goods more inexpensively because the employer did not have to pay for his laborers’ upkeep. However, Smith also used rational choice theory to minimize slavery’s horrors. In The Wealth of Nations , he acknowledged that the enslaved people living in the British Caribbean were “in a worse condition than the poorest people either in Scotland or Ireland,” but he justified their suffering on the basis that “it is the interest of their master that they should be fed well and kept in good heart in the same manner as it is his interest that his working cattle should be so.”

Whether sugar plantations on which enslaved people labored were themselves capitalist enterprises has been a matter of debate among historians. One the one hand, capitalism presupposes freedom on the part of all actors engaged in an economic transaction. Merchants are free to sell what they wish at the prices they wish to charge, and consumers are free to pay the price that is set or to refuse to buy the product. Employers are free to set hours and wages for employees, and employees are supposedly free to accept the employer’s terms or hold out for better ones.

The workforce on sugar plantations, however, consisted of enslaved people who could legally be coerced to do whatever labor their owners decided for whatever compensation they chose to give (usually the minimum of food, clothing, and shelter required to keep the laborers alive). On the other hand, plantation owners behaved in much the same way as owners of other industrial enterprises, by setting production goals, for example. Many have pointed out that the highly regimented system of labor on sugar plantations was much like that in capitalist enterprises like textile factories. The debate is ongoing. What no one disputes is that the profits earned from the sale of sugar and other plantation products grown by enslaved people were often invested in capitalist enterprises, including the factories that were coming into existence in the eighteenth century.

Adam Smith’s ideas challenged the established mercantilist economic order and attracted critics. Some governmental leaders were understandably hesitant to surrender their power to the free market. They questioned the wisdom of reformers like Smith who disagreed with the favorable-balance emphasis of mercantilism . Conservative critics pointed out that while mercantilism might not have been perfect, it had delivered tremendous wealth to Europe, or at least to Europe’s ruling classes.

Other world leaders, most notably in Great Britain , rejected conservative critics and embraced Smith’s ideas, which promised greater potential freedoms and profits for the nation’s wealthiest citizens, and they became the dominant force in British economic reforms. The wealthy House of Commons leader Charles James Fox praised Smith’s ideas in Parliament, although he later admitted he had not read The Wealth of Nations and thought it far too long. In 1777, Prime Minister Fredrick North proposed a revised tax code based on Smith’s work. In 1792, Prime Minister William Pitt praised Smith’s work as “the best solution to every question connected with the history of commerce, or with the systems of political economy.”

Smith’s ideas spread across the Atlantic, and in 1807 President Thomas Jefferson wrote “Smith’s Wealth of Nations is the best book to be read.” As Smith’s ideas took root, governments reduced tariffs, cut back on economic regulations, and led their nations’ transition from the quest for favorable balances of trade to the search for personal profit.

Smith’s ideas remain influential, but modern scholars often criticize them. In contrast to his reliance on rational choice theory, they argue that people do not always behave rationally or make the best decisions. Others condemn the moral failings of the invisible hand, which sacrificed the lives and wellbeing of enslaved people, poor workers, and colonial subjects to provide elites with profit.

In Their Own Words

The wealth of nations.

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is better known by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations . Published by the Scottish scholar Adam Smith in 1776, it was probably the first comprehensive study of economic philosophy. Always controversial, it remains an influential work today. As you read this excerpt from it, look for Smith’s definition of the “invisible hand.”

As every individual, therefore, endeavors as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. He intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. —Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations

• How would you explain the idea of the invisible hand in your own words?
• What are some potential benefits and drawbacks to a society’s reliance on the invisible hand?
• Do you always act in your own economic best interests? Do others? Does the invisible hand work better for some people than others? Why or why not?

Mechanization

In the late 1700s, western European nations began to adopt mechanization , the use of machines to replace the labor of animals and humans. Mechanization set the stage for the Industrial Revolution , a transition away from societies focused on agriculture and handicraft production to socioeconomic systems dominated by the manufacture of goods, primarily with machines.

People in many places, including China, Egypt, India, Greece, and Rome, had made limited use of machinery in the ancient past; however, most goods were produced by skilled artisans for local consumption. Beginning in the mid-1600s, the British enjoyed an agricultural revolution that allowed smaller numbers of farmers employing fewer farm laborers to produce a surplus of food, and that in turn led to a population increase.

In the 1700s, entrepreneur s in England found a way to make use of unemployed or underemployed farm laborers and their families. These entrepreneurs provided farm families with raw materials and asked them to produce finished goods in their cottages, a system that became known as cottage labor . Rural women spun wool or flax into thread, and men then wove it into woolen cloth or linen. Some farm families made bonnets from straw. Other people made nails, knit hosiery, or made lace. The entrepreneur collected their finished products, paid them for their labor, and sold the finished goods in towns and cities. Because the farm laborers were not skilled artisans, they could not command high wages, and the entrepreneurs reaped great profits.

In time, entrepreneurs began to gather laborers together in one location, a factory . This decision gave them greater control over production because they could hire managers to supervise the workers’ labor. It was also easier to install machines in factories than in laborers’ cottages (although laborers might be provided with or rent relatively small machines, such as knitting frames, for their cottages). Factories came to be concentrated in towns and cities. As work moved to urban areas, so too did men and women who could not find work on farms. By the late 1700s, British business owners, supported by government policies inspired by Adam Smith, were setting up factories and hiring many of these migrant workers.

During the Industrial Revolution, factories increasingly relied on machine power, most importantly the steam engine . A steam engine uses heat to transform water into steam, which expands and drives a piston to perform work. Hero of Alexandria, in Egypt, produced the first steam engine when he created the aeolipile, a simple turbine that powered toys, around the year 70 CE. Steam engines remained little more than curiosities until 1698 when the English inventor Thomas Savery used the world’s first commercial steam engine to pump water out of mines and to supply water for industrial water wheels. By 1776, British factories were powering some of their operations with improved steam engines designed by the Scottish engineer James Watt .

Locomotives and boats powered by steam engines soon delivered raw materials to the factories and transported finished goods to consumers. In 1807, American inventor Robert Fulton began operation of the first successful commercial steamboats. In 1812, Matthew Murray , an English industrialist, opened the world’s first successful steam locomotive line. Several inventors produced steam-powered vehicles that could travel on roads, but the heavy weight of steam engines and the poor conditions of most roads doomed them to failure and kept steam engines in the factories, waterways, and railroads.

Industrialization, motivated and enabled by capitalism , created tremendous wealth for business owners and middle-class professionals, but their profits often came at a high cost to workers. The production of goods shifted from the handiwork of highly skilled middle-class artisans to mechanized production done by low-paid unskilled laborers. Workers did enjoy access to new consumer goods made cheaper by industrialization, but to afford those goods they had to work long hours, in difficult and often dangerous conditions. Perhaps most importantly, workers lost control over their working conditions. Farmers and artisans, particularly those who owned their land or shops, were free to decide how and when they worked, whereas factory owners carefully regulated every aspect of their workers’ professional and even personal lives. For example, the 1848 employee handbook for the Hamilton Manufacturing Company stated that “the company will not employ any one who is habitually absent from public worship on the Sabbath, or known to be guilty of immorality.”

Some workers rebelled against industrialization, which threatened their status as skilled laborers. Beginning in 1811, a secretive group of British textile workers calling themselves Luddites began destroying textile machinery, rioting, and setting fires in response to the industrialization of their workplaces ( Figure 6.19 ). They took their name from the mythical Ned Ludd , a worker who supposedly destroyed a mechanized loom rather than submit to industrialization. As the Luddite movement grew, so did the legend of Ned Ludd, until some workers claimed that King Ludd lived in Sherwood Forest and fought corrupt industrialists, much as Robin Hood had opposed corrupt authorities during the Middle Ages. The Luddites did not argue in favor of a specific ideology or a grander purpose. They were simply angry that industrialization was destroying their traditional way of life, and they fought back with every tool at their disposal.

British leaders reacted quickly to the Luddites, with some calling them a mob worthy of execution. In 1812, the poet and peer Lord Byron responded by pointing out that these same people worked the fields, produced the goods, and served in the armed forces of the British Empire. Byron argued that the mob “often speaks the sentiments of the people” and warned “it is the mob” that “enabled you to defy all the world and can also defy you when neglect and calamity have driven them to despair.” He urged the British government to respond to the protesting workers with “conciliation and firmness” rather than violence. Most British business and political leaders disagreed with Byron and worked to suppress the rebellion. Parliament made industrial sabotage a capital offense. British authorities hanged many Luddites and exiled more to prison colonies. By 1816, the industrialists had defeated the Luddites. Today, “Luddite” is often used as a generic description of anyone opposed to technological change.

Dueling Voices

The luddites.

The Luddites were British factory workers who engaged in the destruction of machines, rioting, and vandalism to resist industrialization. Following are excerpts from two primary sources on the Luddites, describing separate incidents and written from different perspectives.

West Riding of Yorkshire The complaint of John Sykes of Linthwaite . . . taken upon oath this 6th day of March 1812 before me Joseph Radcliffe Esquire one of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace in and for the said Riding - Who saith that between one and two o clock this Morning a number of people came to the door of his said Master’s dwelling house and knocked violently at it, and demanded admittance or otherwise they would break the door open—to prevent which this Examinnant opened the door and 30 or more people with their faces blacked or disguised came in and asked if there were any amunition guns or pistols in the house and where the Master was, on being told he was not at home they secured or guarded every person of the family and then a number of them took a pound of candles and began to break the tools and did break 10 pairs of shears and one brushing machine the property of his said Master, that one of them who seemed to have the command said that if they came again and found any machinery set up, they would blow up the premises, soon after which they all went away— Sworn before me — Joseph Radcliffe [The mark of John Sykes] —An account of machine-breaking at Linthwaite, Yorkshire, March 1812

Sir We mentioned some frames to be removed today from 10 miles off. They came totally unmolested. The soldiers did not go near the village, and the constables had no interruption whatever. We have been concerned to see these instances of removing frames because it must leave some of the country people without the means of work, but it will at the same time open their eyes to the consequence of their own proceedings. For some time before these troubles broke out, in many places a fifth of the frame workers were out of employ, and this naturally induced some hosiers (not perhaps of the first reputation) to give them particular kinds of work at reduced prices; and the hosiers who were giving the higher prices found themselves undersold in certain articles at the London Market. This again brought about new arrangements, which soured the whole body of workmen . . . resentment against those hosiers who paid the under price has been the leading feature up to the present day. They have seldom made free with other property altho’ opportunities at all times have presented themselves, and in one instance lately at Clifton, some cloths that one of the frame breakers brought away, were carefully sent back again the following day. —A letter sent to London from a magistrate describing the situation in Nottingham, February 1812

• What are the key similarities and differences between the two accounts?
• Why do you think they provide such different views of the Luddites?
• Was the Luddite rebellion a reasonable response to the challenges posed by industrialization? Why or why not?

Karl Marx was a highly controversial intellectual and revolutionary. Born in 1818 in Trier, in what is now Germany, he grew up as the son of a successful lawyer and was baptized into the Evangelical Church when he was six years old. As a young man, he studied law at the University of Berlin, where a professor introduced him to the philosophy of Georg Hegel . Marx quickly embraced Hegel’s idealistic universal history, which suggested the world is progressing through conflicts toward greater freedom. After completing his education, he worked as a journalist and writer.

In 1848, Marx published The Communist Manifesto with his co-author Friedrich Engels . In the book, the two argued that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” Their idea, that recognizing the class struggle between workers and the ruling class is central to understanding societies, is also known as Marxism ( Figure 6.20 ). In addition to laying out their vision of history, Marx and Engels predicted that society would eventually replace current economic systems with socialism , a system in which the public, not private companies or individuals, owns the means of production. In their view, socialism was one phase of the transition from the private ownership characteristic of capitalism to the completely classless society of communism . They called for the forcible overthrow of current societies, a statement many communists around the world embraced as a declaration of war on capitalism . The ideals of communism were inspired by the abuses of capitalism that often exploited workers.

Link to Learning

Karl Marx published The Communist Manifesto with his co-author Friedrich Engels in 1848. Many writers from across the political and ideological spectrum inaccurately portray the ideas in The Communist Manifesto to support their own ideas or to paint their opponents in a negative light. Consider reading The Communist Manifesto for yourself and drawing your own conclusions about what the work says and what it might mean to you.

Marx’s book Das Kapital , published in 1867, is one of history’s most often cited sources on economics and politics. In Das Kapital , Marx argued that the bourgeoisie , members of a social class that owned the means of production, were primarily motivated by the desire to exploit labor. In his view, employers paid wages to their workers, also known as the proletariat , that were far less than their labor was worth. They then kept the excess value produced by wage earners, in a process Marx argued was unfair to the workers. Employers used their profits to purchase additional resources and to buy political influence to ensure that the law would support the wealthy instead of the workers. The wealthy became unfit to rule as they increasingly leveraged their growing economic and political power until workers were left powerless and in poverty. Eventually the capitalist system would collapse, and the workers would reclaim control of society.

The Past Meets the Present

Marx on capitalism and communism.

Karl Marx died almost 150 years ago, but his ideas remain widely debated. In 1867, Marx published the first volume of Das Kapital , and it quickly reached a wide audience among those interested in history, economics, and politics. After his death in 1883, Fredrich Engels, his co-author on The Communist Manifesto , published the second and third volumes of Das Kapital based on Marx’s notes. In this quote from Das Kapital , Marx explained his view of the origins of capitalism.

The economic structure of capitalist society has grown out of the economic structure of feudal society. The dissolution of the latter set free the elements of the former . . . [T]he historical movement which changes the producers into wage-workers, appears, on the one hand, as their emancipation from serfdom and from the fetters of the guilds, and this side alone exists for our bourgeois historians. But, on the other hand, these new freedmen became sellers of themselves only after they had been robbed of all their own means of production, and of all the guarantees of existence afforded by the old feudal arrangements. And the history of this, their expropriation, is written in the annals of mankind in letters of blood and fire. —Karl Marx , Das Kapital

Long after Marx’s death, his ideas continued to provide inspiration for people dissatisfied with inequality between social classes and angered by injustices. In 1917, revolutionaries in Russia, inspired by Marx’s ideas, overthrew the government and established a new communist society that became the Soviet Union and existed until 1991. Subsequent communist revolutions gave rise to governments that still exist in China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, and Laos. Even in capitalist countries, communist and socialist political parties exist and are often quite popular with voters. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont proudly calls himself a socialist, although as many have pointed out, he does not seek to overthrow capitalism or advocate public ownership of the means of production.

• What is capitalism, as described in this excerpt from Das Kapital ? According to Karl Marx, what are its origins?
• How does Marx’s view of history agree or disagree with what you know about history?
• Are Marx’s ideas still relevant today? Why or why not?
• What would Marx say about the history of the world since his death? Have events since 1883 supported or undermined his arguments?

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Industrial Revolution’s Effects in American Family Life Essay

During the nineteenth century industrial revolution in the United States, the medieval family had to be modified to other formations. The American society had to assist in the readjustments which, inevitably had to be done on the traditional family setup. The responsibilities awarded to women and children transformed drastically. The Revolution led to economic developments which affected the family institution by reducing its size and structure.

Women were a great source of workforce for the thriving industries where they earned their wages. The young women where enticed by the urban areas that were cropping up which allowed them to become less dependent to their families. This shifted the American families which became fragmented as each member sought jobs in the industries. The working patterns for women changed in that they were no longer home makers but breadwinners from the factories.

Women gained knowledge that was essential in improving their social status which helped them oppose gender disparity and claim their rights in the American society. The families no longer operated as independent units but they were incorporated in the vast growing economic sector. Family ties were neglected especially in the cities and many children were continually abandoned (Williamson, 2008).

Industrial revolution led to capitalism which segregated the society into classes. Some of the rich people had long-term investments and opted for wasteful living standards. As a result, it was extremely difficult to maintain their families. Moreover, there was a likelihood of specific people to copy the rich which resulted to a corrupt moral sense.

The industrial revolution created a need for professional workers who needed specialized training.Consequently marriages were postponed to latter ages when a person could establish a family. This proved hard for these individuals to become accustomed to family life. Low income earners found it difficult to establish a family and even when they did, financial constrains overburdened them in such a way that they could not maintain their families properly.

The income earners who looked upon daily wages to sustain the families were faced with problems. There was no consistence because of factors such as work misfortunes, work-related ailments, strikes and job losses. As a result of these mishaps, poverty augmented which triggered the increase of child labor, poor nutrition, inadequate education which facilitated strain in the families. Eventually, the society saw a need to safeguard children and their rights.

Education was the main aim and child labor was reduced due to passage of labor laws. Industrial Revolution accelerated disregard to the traditional families since it developed items that could be made at home. Home activities declined while those done outside increased and this drew the parents further from their children thus, destroying the family interdependency and enhancing fragmentation. Social bonding among family members declined and family values were scattered (Williamson, 2008).

The Industrial Revolution became the foundation for women to acquire their rights. This has improved their social status since women have rights to politics and enjoy economic and social freedom. They are able to legally claim their rights notably, in securing divorce. Unfortunately, this has facilitated their neglecting the families to pursue other goals thus, creating individualism in the American society due to their financial independence.

This is also a major contributor to their choice of becoming single mothers. Furthermore, divorce cases have increased in the United States due to domestic instability. The only remedy that is seemingly applicable to the family institution in U.S is reversing the adverse effects of industrial revolution such as poverty, congestion, individualism among others.

Williamson, T. R. (2008). Problems in American Democracy . United States of America: Forgotten Books.

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The Industrial Revolution Analysis

How it works

The Industrial Revolution was one of the most important turning points in all of human history, and to many, the Revolution along with its problems, is a thing of the distant past. However, this could not be further from the truth. While developed countries such as United States and England have passed the Industrial Age for the most part, developing areas such as China still have citizens who see similar issues as those during the Industrial Revolution, and little to nothing is done to assist these people.

If civilization has been able to fix the problem before, then it can and should be fixed again.

First, an important thing to think about is the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the citizens of countries undergoing it. There was a massive movement towards cities, packing large amounts of people into a very small urban area. These people began to do factory work, which replaced the old rural tradition, and they did it for dirt cheap. In Britain and in many industrializing countries, people had little to no bargaining power against their employers due to a massive population of people needing work, and if they conducted any form of strike, they would just be fired and replaced by another working person desperate for any money that they could get. Also, most factories went nearly entirely unregulated, meaning that an employer could get away with forcing long hours of work, giving extremely little pay, and even worse, child labor. For instance, in Britain, most laborers worked 10 to 14 hours per day, for six days per week, and had absolutely no vacation days. They also had no access to the proper safety equipment for their job, which was something that was very unsafe.

Now, compare this to the current state of labor and industrial work in modern-day China. Now being the holder of the world’s second largest GDP, a person would usually assume it is rather under control, but unfortunately, this is not true. The likeness between industrial Britain and modern-day China is insane and quite appalling. With a population of roughly 1.4 billion people, a similar situation is occurring with overpopulation in urban areas. This is accompanied by a still growing system of factories used to create objects such as cell phones, computers, and any other electronics that the tech boom has created a demand for. These factories, however, are not pleasant, and have worker conditions similar to that of industrial Britain. Looking into Catcher Technology Co., a manufacturing complex in Suqian, China, which produces iPhone casings for Apple, has shown workers standing for up to 10 hours in one day in hot workshops handling noxious chemicals, sometimes without protective gloves or masks. On top of that, although the government has said it is combating child labor, it is still pretty common in many parts of China. It is a huge country, and a lot of this child labor slips under the radar as just as in the early Industrial Revolution, kids need to take the work to survive and help their families economically. Besides from the terrible conditions and child labor, laborers also have no abilities to form a union. When hundreds of workers and students tried to form a labor union legally under the set laws of the Chinese government, the government and their employers cracked down on them with firings, detentions, surveillance, and the threat of jail. This is comparable to the misuse of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (An act created to regulate competition between businesses) in the industrial United States in the 1890s against labor unions by both the government and employers.

Therefore, there can be little to no denial in the fact that the social effects of development during the time of Industrial America and Britain shows a very strong correlation to the current social effects of development in China. In addition to that, with the situation growing worse with a growing demand for cheap and efficient labor, the whole issue seems very hard to stop. However, upon looking at the past, perhaps there is some hope for China and its people. Although the industrial revolution had caused a terrible situation, very similar to that of which China’s workforce has now, it also lead to the rise of unions, business regulation, and worker rights. Even though the Chinese attempts now at unions seem small, they were similar to the early attempts in America, which eventually proved successful. The path to change may be hard, but as seen in American history, even in the worst situations, it is possible. Similarly, in these troubling times, the Chinese people do not show a sign of giving up on their hopes of proper worker rights. As long as the Chinese people continue their method of protest and attempting for the creation of unions, then eventually, just as history in America shows, change can and will occur.

Besides just the people’s determination, however, the government’s support is needed. China is run as a one-party state, with some serious federal control over nearly every part of life, making resistance or change difficult. This is where already developed countries can come into play. After all, it is partially due to these countries, which have long used China as a place to abuse for its cheap labor force, that the Chinese population is forced to work in these conditions at all. Just as seen in all industrializing countries during the Industrial Revolution, the only reason so many people were forced into factories was due to the new demand for cheap labor and cheap products. The developed countries are the ones that produce the demand for these goods and this labor, so if a good portion of them were to agree to create either trade restrictions or even the threat of it, if the government of China does not supply the workers with proper rights and suitable conditions, then perhaps China would be forced into finally fixing the problem. Even though that comes with the chance of increased prices of electronics, but what matters more, the extra $100 that a phone may cost, or the hundreds of millions of lives that can be improved or even saved by creating fair labor practices?

China is now experiencing the social issues that come with industrialization that nations have seen in the Industrial Revolution. The people are struggling for worker rights and fair labor laws, as they are working in despicable conditions comparable to the sweatshops and steel factories of Industrial America. People are exposed to dangerous chemicals, dangerous machinery, and dangerous working hours that is almost a replay of that from the Revolution. However, as the history of America and Britain shows, positive change for the workers did not come freely and did not come out of obedience to the oppressors. It was through constant determination and protest that the people gained their rights. With the combined efforts of modern developed countries and persistent Chinese workers, China can change, just like both the United States and Britain did. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

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The Positive Effects Of Britain's Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a time of immense changes that occurred in the manufacturing process, transportation means, and economy of the agriculture, textile, and metal industries in England, turning it into “the workshop of the world”

A major cause for the Industrial Revolution was the enormous spurt of population growth in England. The increase in population meant that there were more people in surplus from agricultural jobs, and they had to find work in industrial factories. Enclosure brought forth a great increase in farming production and profits. Farming was improved through the use of crop rotation, enclosures, and the division on farms across England. Crops that were grown consisted of turnips, barley, clover, wheat. This improvement in farming caused a population explosion, which soon led to a higher demand for goods. The new means of production demanded new kinds of skills, new regulation in work, and a large labor force. The goods produced met immediate consumer demand and also created new demands. In the long run, industrialization raised the standard of living and overcame the poverty that most Europeans, who lived d...

Comparisons of the Industrial Revolutions

This revolution brought an enormous wave of success in both economic and technical advancement. The first revolution largely focused on the production of new textiles machinery, improved methods of coal production, iron manufacturing and agricultural techniques. However, by the second industrial revolution, a clustering of industrial inventions centering on steel, railroad and agricultural machinery, thus, a big boom on the industry and economy. (Heilbroner and Milberg 2009,54)

The Industrial Revolution: The Impact Of The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution was a shifted system to the factories workforce. It was affected by many things, such as the growing population, which resulted in the factories being able to employ more works, the increase in import of raw material, and certain individuals including inventers like Richard Arkwright, who built the water wheel to speed up product lines and factories such as Samuel Greg, who was a highly successful business man. Over the course of the 18th century many factories were built to produce the textiles and cotton that Britain demanded and utilised their resources well. A good example of one of these factories would be Quarry Bank Mill.

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Industrialization After the Civil War Thesis and Outline Essay

Assignment 1.1: Industrialization after the Civil War Thesis and Outline Amiah-Mone Parker The Industrial Revolution was of great importance to the economic development of the United States. The new era of mass production kindled in the United States because of technological innovations, a patent system, new forms of factory corporations, a huge supply of natural resources, and foreign investment. The growth of large-scale industry in America had countless positive results, but also negative results as well. Industrialization after the Civil War affected the United States in several ways including poverty, poor labor laws, and the condition of the people. Between 1865 and 1920, Industrialization had many …show more content…

Second, the development of new public transit systems, was important in shaping the design of our cities and the growth of our cities by enabling people to move further away from the inner city. Early on, large cities didn’t really have public transportation. Their main source of transportation were horse drawn wagons and walking. In conclusion, most people lived near on in the downtown area, where most of the working establishments were located. Because of this, it made big cites crowed and congested. With the breakthrough of the “el”, electric streetcars, and subways, around 1867, cities began expand more. Those who were fortunate enough to move out of the dirty cities and into better neighborhoods surrounded outside the city, did so. The new transit systems in most cities allowed people to escape the chaos of urban life and provided potential for growth of our cities. The second major innovation is the telephone because it opened up doors for everybody. The telephone allowed them to be connected to other parts of the world, or their loved ones did not live in the same city. It permitted them to stay connected to relatives and have audio conversations without the inconvenience of letters which took a while to arrive by post. It produced better business for the small to larger corporate businesses as well as in the event of an emergency. The last major innovation was

Essay about The Industrial Revolution in America

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America has been expanding and growing since its birth out of Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution has been an influence in the American life since it first began in the 1700s. Many of the effects resulting from the revolution still affect America to this day. The entrepreneurs of this time and their industry still are around, although they have molded and shaped themselves into better products their still known from the originality of it all. Although the Industrial Revolution began hundreds of years ago it has affected everything on a global scale with other nations adapting from the innovations of this era. Economically speaking its increased money for the nation tremendously although the nation in debt to other nations to this day;

American Industrialization Essay

Second, the development of new public transit systems, was important in shaping the design of our cities and the growth of our cities by enabling people to move further away from the inner city. Early on, large cities had very little and inadequate transportation. Their main source of transportation were horse drawn wagons and walking. As a result, most people lived or took housing near downtown, which was where most of the working establishments were located. This made the big cities very congested. However with the breakthrough of the “el”, electric streetcars, and subways, around 1867, cities began to open up more. Those who were fortunate enough to move out of the slums and into better surrounding neighborhoods, did so. The more affluent of the white-collar classes moved into the suburban areas. In contrast, many of the very wealthy continued to live in city mansions. The new transit systems in most cities allowed people to escape the chaos of urban life and provided potential for growth of our cities.

The Impact of the Napoleonic Wars on Industrialization

The Industrial Revolution created an enormous increase in the production of many kinds of goods. Some of this increase in production resulted from the introduction of power-driven machinery and the development of factory organization. This then led to a large influx of people into the cities. Also, as a result of the demands that the British were making the Americans demanded more in their own country.

Impact Of Catherine Beecher's A Treatise On Domestic Economy

The Industrial Revolution took place in the 19th century. The revolution significantly impacted American culture and marked its growth. The industrial revolution changed all aspects of American life such as the political, economical, and societal life. It was an era when America changed from agricultural to industrial, and when society became urbanized. When the revolution started factories, and mass production was in place. Mass production created a need for an unskilled labor force. People began to transition from the suburbs into the cities to get jobs. The Industrial Revolution saw an increase of women and immigrants in the workforce. The revolution also established the United States as the foremost industrial power, because of the sentiment

How Did The Industrial Revolution Affect The Economy

The Industrial Revolution in the United States took place during the 18th and 19th centuries. This revolution was one of the most prominent turning points of American history as it modernized the workforce, developed American economics, and impacted the way people lived their lives. Before it began, America was mostly a rural society, people farmer to make a living and all work was done at home (“Industrial Revolution”). Afterwards, individuals began to become depend on factories to produce the products they once hand-made.

Industrialization From 1865 To 1914

Industrialization and urbanization that happened in America after the civil war, is a good manifestation that the country was moving along the right path. After the war, progress in terms of investments, industrialization and urbanization was inevitable. After the civil war in America, people from the south who had been displaced and the people who were free could now move to the west to work in the cattle drives, fight the Indians and also begin a new life as farmers. Social Darwinism philosophy was adopted, and everyone believed that the poor had the right to be rich. The paper will focus on the right path that the country followed in the feudalism period between 1865 and 1914 when the country became a feudal society based on the capital and not on the land.

Monopolies Dbq

Prior to the American Era of Industrialization, the American Civil War had just taken place that gave the Northern Economy war profits that were eventually invested into industrialization. However, the Age of Industry, in the United States, was extremely harmful to the nation, due to the fact that the idea of Social Darwinism arose, there was corruption within the government, and monopolies began arising which had a negative effect on the the economy and the working class. Monopolies, in the industrial period, had a negative impact across the nation due to the fact that monopolies made life difficult for the arising middle class, economically speaking. Document 1 illustrates perfectly how monopolies made life difficult for the working class

Industrialization During The Gilded Age Essay

During the rise of industrialization, the United States had just ended the Civil War and was starting to move on. People had an aspiration at this time to make a more than decent living for themselves, and the economy was at the right spot for this to be possible. This time period in American History is referred to as the Gilded Age, termed by the famous author Mark Twain, which simply means covered in gold; however, Twain did not necessarily mean this in a good way. He believed right under the surface of this gold plating was still problems with the American society that didn’t look so appealing. This essay will discuss how practices during the rise of industrialization during the Gilded Age shaped the American work and labor force.

Industrialization Dbq Essay

Shrey Saretha 2/8/15 P.4 Industrialization Document Based Question From 1865 to 1900, the United States of America was going through a period of industrialization. This transformation of the U.S. society to a society primarily based on the manufacturing of various goods and services produced a wide range of effects and reactions from the American society at that time. Although some historians may argue that industrialization had a mainly negative effect on U.S. society due to the unfair and now illegal practices taking place at that time, the reforms that took place because of these practices helped create many positive changes for society that still exist today. The initial positive outcomes of industrialization, the negative outcomes, and

Civil War Unit 7 Study Guide

Unit 7 Study Guide All test questions are derived from the key terms list and the questions on this study guide. QUESTIONS FROM PAST UNITS WILL ALSO BE ON THIS TEST. 1. What was the purpose of the Civil War for: The North/Union?

Essay on Reconstruction and Industrialization

After the Civil War, the nation witnessed two major social-economic movements: Reconstruction and Industrialization, which changed the country completely and made it one of the greatest industrialized countries in the world. However, it changed not only the country, but also, the society, its way of life and traditions.

Industrialization During 1865 and 1920 That Influenced U.S. Society, Economy, and Politics

The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in human history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. After the Civil War, industrialization took on an unpredictable change of events that had a major affect on improving American life.

Essay on Industrialization After the Civil War

After the Civil War, the United States went through a period of rapid industrialization which affected the nation dramatically. Industrial growth, the spread of railroads, the rise of big businesses, and the appearance of labor unions during these decades created a modern industrial economy, and American workers and farmers faced new challenges in adapting to these changes.

The American Civil War: The Industrial Revolution

Throughout the history of the United States, there has never been a long period without any sort of confrontation. Whether the confrontation is a problem with in this country or one involving other countries. Warfare as we know it today came from one major war in our country’s history, The American Civil War. The Civil War was the major turning point in our nation’s warfare history, from weapons to battle tactics this war changed our country, and pushed America to achieve what war problems came in the way of the young growing nation. The Civil War was a war that gave this country a new look on how wars were fought, and won with the help of new technology from transportation, communication with new and improved weapons.

Impact Of The Industrial Revolution On The United States

Transportation was improved. New forms of transportation included steam power, improved roads, railroads, bridges, canals and ships. These new improved mean of transportation allowed people to travel cross country and to ship goods to new markets in a matter of days as opposed to months. The railroads eventually became the nation’s number one transportation system, and remained so until the construction of the interstate highway halfway during the Twentieth century. The late 19th century belonged to the railroads. They were of crucial importance in stimulating economic expansion (American History).

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