Industrial Revolution

Industrialization Unit 6 Lecture 1

Industrialism: Britain's Leadership:

* Began in 1700's GB with advance in textile production

* New inventions- more goods at cheaper prices

Why Britain?:

* Agricultural Revolution

* Surplus of labor

* Central bank

* Investors

* Mineral resources

* No internal tariffs

* Roads, canals, and river transportation

* Stable Government

* Supply of markets

* Merchant marine

* Money Britain Gained from textiles, iron making, china, and other goods, reinvested throughout the world

* Position in the global economy pronounced, laid foundation for Europe

* Continental Europe-by 1830s Belgium, France, and Germany were using the steam engine(East Europe still rural)

Population Growth:

* Began with the Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century

* Industrialization meant more people living in cities

* Cities were not prepared

* Inadequate housing, water, sewage, food supplies, and lighting

o Result: Slums emerged that spread disease-cholera; some turned to crime

Railroads:

* 1830's and 1840's-great age of railway construction

* Made travel easy and affordable, go much faster and farther

* Goods, raw materials move too. Shipping people and products

* Visually- the railroads were the epitome of industrialization

* Represented the importance of capital industries, rather than consumer ones

The Labor Force-Who Are These Workers?

* New social Class!!

* various groups of people: men, women, and children

* Textile industry was the first industry to fully mechanize

* Factory workers had no security as they left their homes and entered the workforce

Proletarianization:

* You MUST understand this to understand Marx

* As workers enter wage economy, they lose control over the means of production(tools and equipment)and of their trade

* Factory owners provide starter money, machinery, and raw materials, all the worker gives is the labor

* For their labor, they are paid, at the end of the day they have money, and with that, they must provide(purchase, not make) everything they need.

Chartism:

* Late 1830's artisan politically organize to protect interests

* Called for universal male suffrage

* Annual elections of house of commons

Industrial Revolution and the Family Structure:

* Early factory system- family worked an economic unit

* Old systemfamily= ec. Unit(home life and ec. Life were the same)

* As men entered factories, they often allowed to keep families as assistants

o Women factories work was more unskilled than the work they had been doing in their homes

1820's Shift in Labor:

* New machines require fewer skilled workers and more unskilled attendants

* Women good candidates for work, not as likely to organize into unions

* Men's wages were at times high enough to send their kids to school, kids left in factories belong to poorer families

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