Introduction To The Industrial Revolution History Essay

Someone says the beginning of the first Industrial Revolution is in the year of 1795,but until 1830 it hasnt really vigorously spread all over the world. In most of the view, the industrial revolution originated in midland of England, middle of the eighteenth century. The British Watt improved steam engine later. Through a series of technical revolution , manual labor began to change into machine production . Then the Industrial Revolution spread to the rest of Europe from the UK, in the 19th century it spread to North America. And this is the age of machines.

The histrionic meaning of Industrial Revolution is it was a period from 1750 to 1850 where changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. Almost everyone’s life was influenced by it everyday.

Part Two: The effects of Industrial Revolution on the society

The Agricultural Revolution created the chance of Industrial Revolution. The enclosure movement forced many people moved to city. For they had no land anymore. These people became the labor of the capitalist. Also through colonialist wars England accumulated huge capital fund.

The process of mechanization, make labor productivity can be doubled, industrial production and trade with unprecedented speed growth, various social economic indicators were obviously improved. However, the working condition of workers was very poor at that time. Dangerous machinery ,poor living conditions,working class was not clean,mothers taken away from children to work in the factory, families suffered .Poor workers were at the hands of the wealthy factory owners, who mistreated then with harsh punishments and unrealistic working hours and schedules. Human became parts of machines. There was no human right in factories.

In terms of social structure, the Industrial Revolution witnessed the triumph of a middle class of industrialists and businessmen over a landed class of nobility and gentry. Ordinary working people found increased opportunities for employment in the new mills and factories, but these were often under strict working conditions with long hours of labour dominated by a pace set by machines. As late as the year 1900, most industrial workers in the United States still worked a 10-hour day on average, yet earned from 20 to 40 percent less than the minimum deemed necessary for a decent life.However, harsh working conditions were prevalent long before the Industrial Revolution took place. Pre-industrial society was very static and often cruel-child labour, dirty living conditions, and long working hours were just as prevalent before the Industrial Revolution.

On the other hand, industrial revolution was brought benefit to the country. The industrial revolution changed the European and American countries economic structure and the labor structure . In Britain, for example,the agriculture of England in the proportion of GDP dropped from 45% in 1770 to 22% in 1841, then 6% in 1901, industrial accordingly increased from 24% to 34% and 40%. The agricultural labor population in the proportion of the total labor population in 1801 was 35% ,it decreased to 9% in 1901, industrial labor was increased from 29% to 54%. That means increase of the national finance.And the process of urbanization.

At the same time, big gap between the proletariat and the capitalist class began to bring social problems to those countries which was at the age of machines.Labour movements liked storm across all over the world. So there was a new kind of union—A trade union ,It is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving higher pay, increasing the number of employees an employer hires, and better working condition. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with employers. The most common purpose of these associations or unions is “maintaining or improving the conditions of their employments.

Besides,the transportation system in Great Britain has developed fast. First is Canals. They were the first technology to allow industry materials to be easily transported from one place to another, for example ,coal. A single canal horse could pull a load dozens of times larger than a cart at a faster pace. By the 1820s, a national canal network was in existence. Second is roads. Much of the original British road system was in poor condition before the industrial revolution. Most of these road were managed by thousands of local parishes, but from the 1720s turnpike trusts were set up to charge tolls and maintain some roads. The last is railroad. Construction of major railways connecting the larger cities and towns began in the 1830s. But the fact is such railway network only gained momentum at the very end of the first Industrial Revolution. After many of the workers had completed the railways, they did not return to their rural lifestyles but instead remained in the cities, providing additional workers for the factories.

Industrial Revolution not only changed the lifestyle of people at that time,but also enlarged people’s knowledge range. With the appear of printing machines, most people could have access to books and newspaper .The information revolution began. Also with the help of steam engines, people can move farther and faster than before. So they could bring information back and keep the news fresh. And new inventions or new technology spread all around the world.

Part Three: What can we Chinese draw from this historical event