Civilization.docx

Jiatong ChangMURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCESThe Industrial Revolution started in England and changed a lot to the western world. The Industrial Revolutions time period is from 1760s to 1840s. It started in England and soon spread through Europe, and changed peoples lifestyles a lot by the technology improvements. The Industrial Revolution from 1760 to 1840 had two main causes, improved agriculture and population increase; and the consequences were improved quality of life, new sources of power, better transportation, with the most significant consequence being mechanization. The Industrial Revolutions one main cause was the development in agriculture. More advanced agricultural tools and technology made people able to produce food more efficiently. Agricultural machines appeared in 18th century, but mechanization took hold in the second half of 19th century. Pier Paolo Poggio, Carlo Simoni. The Industrial Revolution: 1800 - 1850. (Broomall, PA: Chelsea House publishers, 2003) 8. These developments only appeared in countries in which land could easily be bought and sold, but for those countries in which feudal culture remained, the new technology did not appear for a long time. Ibid., 8. So, if people do not use new tools in agriculture, the production of food would be very low, and the population would not be increased either. In the 17th century, “the high number of births had been compensated for by an equally high number of deaths.” Ibid., 10. That was because of the limited use of new agricultural tools by feudal lords Ibid., 10. That also made people very weak from plague because they were hungry. The new ways of transportation and in the international agricultural market begins in the 1850s resulting in agricultural crises. As we can see, the agricultural machines helped the food production increase and the population to grow, and the increased population also guaranteed that the Industrial revolution would occur. Population increase directly led to the Industrial Revolution. “The outstanding fact about the Industrial Revolution is that it opened an age of mass production for the needs of the masses.” Brenda Stalcup. (eds.). The Industrial Revolution. (San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press publishers, 2001.) 147. More population produced more labourer, men support production and business, and women took care of children. Poggio & Simoni, The Industrial Revolution: 1800 - 1850, 13. The labourer themselves needed to buy goods, when population increased, the more demand for the goods, the more goods that factories needed produced, and therefore the factories had to employ more workers. That led to the market economy, “supplying the masses in the best and cheapest way with all the goods they ask for.” Stalcup, The Industrial Revolution, 147. When more population appeared, the more production per head is needed, that forced the manufacturing of more advanced tools to bring under-used resources into production. So, population increase boosted the speed of the Industrial Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution changed the world a lot. The Industrial Revolution had various consequences including improved quality of life, new sources of power, and better transportation. The quality of life changed a lot during the Industrial Revolution. In the beginning labourers were treated horribly, but the people in the higher class had more goods and have a better standard of living. However the conditions for the labourers became better by the later part of the 19th century. “Industrial Revolution.” History. /topics/industrial-revolution.The invention of the telegraph in 1837 made it easier for people to communicate. As industry developed, new kinds of energy resources were needed. The increasing demand for fossil fuels in the 17th century was because of the increasing production of iron manufacturing. England had plenty of coal. Poggio & Simoni, The Industrial Revolution: 1800 - 1850, 16. The need for coal-powered manufacturing caused the invention of the steam engine. Coal gas was used to light homes after complete combustion could be assured. It was used to heat house starting in 1850, after 1870 it was used to cook. Poggio & Simoni, The Industrial Revolution: 1800 - 1850, 16.The steam engine was invented by James Watt in 1776, and many transportation tools were based on using steam engine. Before the steam engine was invented, the raw material and goods were transported by the horse-drawn wagons and boats. “Industrial Revolution.” History. /topics/industrial-revolution. The steam engine was used in locomotives which were invented by Richard Trevithick in 1804 and further developed by George Stephenson in 1814. Poggio & Simoni, The Industrial Revolution: 1800 - 1850, 20. That sped up the speed of material transportation and it was the origin of many means of transportations. The Industrial Revolution is a big change in history, which effected todays world a lot. Most significant consequence of the Industrial Revolution was mechanization because it highly simplified production. “The primary characteristic of agricultural progress then, at least as far as technology was concerned, was the coming of machines.” Stalcup, The Industrial Revolution, 206. Before mechanization and factories, textiles production was mostly done by hand in home. “Industrial Revolution.” History. /topics/industrial-revolution. The Spinning Jenny which was invented by James Hargreaves in 1764 sped up the production considerably. When an improved steam engine was invented by James Watt in 1776, it sped up the production of cloth seven times more than a hand loom. Laura L. Frader. The Industrial Revolution A History In Documents. (New York: OXFORD University Press publishers, 2006) 41 - 42. Because the machines were too large for manufacturing in homes, large factories were needed. The factories also provided jobs for men who had been forced to abandon the fields. Ibid., 42 The factories and their machines enlarged the supply of clothes and also helped the market economy. The mechanization made most results in the Industrial Revolution. Like a coin has two sides, the Industrial Revolution is no exception. During that time, social contradictions became more intensified. Proletariat was oppressed and exploited severely, which led to social turmoil. The gap between rich and poor has widened. “the houses dirty, old, and tumble-down, and the construction of the side streets utterly horrible,” Friedrich Rngels, The Condition of the Working Class in England(1844), 198 Accelerate the development of productivity caused serious environmental pollution. Moreover, colonization in Asia, Africa and other countries sped up, the East was subject to the West. “Woken up four-thirty in the morning, eating when five oclock sounds” The experience of Japanese Factory Life, Song of the living Corpses(1890s) From this lyrics we can see that how miserable Asia people was. Also, British exported opium to China, but Chinese against it and wrote a public letter to British to condemn its behavior. The Chinese Case Against Opium, Edict of Commissioner Lin Zexu (1839) The Industrial Revolution had many causes and consequences, its a very important time period which gave people new ideas. It has a big influence on todays world. Although some bad effects had happened during the Industrial Revolution, it is still a very big improvement of human. BibliographyFrader L. Laura. The Industrial Revolution A History In Documents. New York: OXFORD University Press publishers, 2006 “Industrial Revolution.” History. /topics/industrial-revolution. “Industrial Revolution.” How stuff works. /european-history/industrial-revolution.htm/printable “Industrial Revolution.” Wikipedia. /wiki/Industrial_Revolution Poggio, Pier Paolo & Carlo Si