Modern World History

The Industrial Revolution is the name given the movement in which machines changed people’s way of life as well as their methods of manufacture. The most important of the changes that brought about the Industrial Revolution were the adoption of the factory system, the invention of machines to do the work of hand tools, the use of steam, and of other kinds of power, in place of human beings and of animals. By 1800 a lot of new and faster processes were in use of both manufacture and transportation. The Industrial Revolution grew more powerful each year as new inventions and manufacturing processes added to the efficiency of machines and increased productivity.

The cotton gin was an early invention of the industrial revolution. In the 19th century, cotton fiber became the USA’s greatest export to England where it was turned into finished cloth. America became a major source of world cotton but the only problem was that growing and picking cotton is a labor intense process. America had a real shortage of people to work the cotton fields. During this time, the demand for slave labor boomed. Removing the seeds from the cotton once it was harvested was a tedious task, it was difficult to produce cotton rapidly and the crop hardly ever made money. With Eli Whitney’s invention, cotton lint could be produced quickly and efficiently at up to 50 pounds per day. Plantation owners found they needed more slaves in the field to meet the increased ability of the gin. While the task of operating the gin was far less painful, the increased demand for slaves resulted in slavery raising from around 700,000 slaves in the years before its invention to nearly double that in twenty years.

During the Industrial Revolution, new technology brought many changes. The spinning Jenny and power loom made it easy to mass-produce clothes and fabrics. Cheap iron and steel became mass-produced. Steel replaced wood as material for building many things. The steam engine became the main source of power. It replaced horses and human labor. Railways were built to carry freight and passengers much more quickly and cheaply than before just to name a few. There were some downsides to the Industrial Revolution, such as child labor. During the Industrial Revolution, poor children often worked fulltime jobs in order to help support their families. Children as young as four years old worked long hours in factories under dangerous conditions. Some kids would work in dangerous places like coal mines and factories. Beyond the topic of safety, children working long hours had limited access to education. Many families relied om incomes earned by each family member and did not allow children to attend school at all. It took several years and many attempts by Congress to pass national laws designed to improve working conditions and regulations relative to children in the workforce.

It is almost impossible to imagine what the world would be like if the effects of the Industrial Revolution were to vanish. The Industrial revolution led to everything that we have today. There are some positive and negatives that came out of the Industrial Revolution. The positives are that the production rate is multiplied because of the innovation in machinery. As a result of the mass production of goods, the price of products decreased resulting to enhanced quality living. The means of transportation changed enormously. It became cheaper, faster, and very comfortable. Comfortable and cheaper homes are built every day. Cities have grown and offer a lot of job opportunities. Some of the negatives were the working conditions. The working conditions were extremely poor which lead to stress related illnesses, the spread of disease, and death. The beginning of pollution. Before all of the factories there was no major sources of pollution to the water and air in the world. At this time pollution continues to contaminate our air, land, and water. Lastly, is unemployment. Although the Industrial Revolution offered opportunities, it also brought about unemployment. More machines were used to take the place of manual labor, resulting in high unemployment rate for people who did not have the right skills and competencies.

In conclusion without the Industrial Revolution, the world would be extremely different to how it is today. Just as technology within factories advanced, the technology of goods being produced advanced as well. New inventions using electricity were being discovered rapidly, and many had a profound effect on America as a whole. Electric appliances emerged, many of which helped reduce the time it took to do everyday housework. Products such as electric sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, mixers, washing machines stoves, mixers, irons, hot-water heaters, and refrigerators helped the American housewife by mechanically preforming tasks that were otherwise done by hand. The American kitchen became modernized. Before the washing machine, doing laundry took as long as one full day a week. The dishwasher and the modern stove cut food preparation time by roughly two thirds over the past hundred years. Other new products such as ready-made clothes also made the life of the American housewife much easier. Because household chores no longer required the full-time attention of an adult Americans had significantly more time to spend on leisure activities, and interest in sports, fashion, dancing, and music increased. Life began to look increasingly more alike to life today. Increased incomes allowed Americans to move into suburban homes with yards, allowing them more privacy than the city apartments and cramped quarters that were typical of life in the early 1900's. The effects of Mass Consumption allowed America to develop into the predominantly middle-class society it is today. The Industrial Revolution not only revolutionized the world, it made it a whole lot more efficient. It was a major turning point in history and it has changed both people living now and people who will live in the future.

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