The Industrial Revolution
1750-1870
Changes in Manufacturing
Methods during 18th Century
• From slower, more
expensive production
by hand to quicker,
less costly production
by machine
• From work at home
to work at a factory
Characteristics of the Old
Industrial Revolution
• The invention of the 1st complex machines
and building of the 1st factories
• The development of steam as a source of
power, and its applications
• The expansion of the output of basic
materials….coal, iron, steel
• The introduction of new methods of
transportation and communication
Historical Method of
Production
• By the late Middle Ages the manufacture of
goods was controlled by trade or artisan
guilds
• The guilds were organizations that set
standards for their craft.
• Typically they restricted the number of
workers, hours worked, types of tools that
were used, etc
• As a result, the output of goods was limited
The Shift
• Along with the growth of towns, the reemergence of trade, and the population growth
came a demand for more goods than the guilds
could produce.
• In the 16th century, the English textile industry
defied the guilds by using the “putting out”
system
• How did it work?:
– individuals at home would be provided with the raw
materials
– get paid for creating finished goods (ex. spinning raw
wool or cotton into thread)
Why did the textile industry become
the 1st major industry to adopt the
factory system?
• Demand for textiles
– cotton (which was much more
comfortable than the traditional wool).
• The constant thread shortage focused
attention on ways of improving spinning
methods.
Results
• The amount of cotton yarn produced in
England in 1790 was 10 times the amount
produced in 1770
• Cotton goods became much cheaper and
more available. {use of underwear}
• Wages for textile workers increased greatly
• Changes in demographics: rural agrarian
life gave way to urban industrial life
Why did Britain take the lead
in Industrialization?
• Natural resources:
– Raw materials like coal (steam) and iron ore
– Colonies (Mercantilism)
• Transportation:
– Harbors
– Canals
– Railroads
• Agricultural changes:
– enclosure movement
• Population: G.B. had
– skilled workers
– wealthy capitalists
• Government:
– Stable
– organized banking system
– protected industries.
How did machines affect work?
• Less time to learn a craft
• Preferences for younger workers – Why?
• Women and children increasingly hired –
Why?
• Who gets left out?
Wage System
• Old System: Domestic
– Worked unsupervised in your home
– Turned in finished products for money
• New System: Factory
– Supervised division of labor
– Paid by the number of hours worked, or the
amount of goods produced
Why Wages?
• Allowed owners to produce goods as
cheaply as possible (could adjust wages)
• What determined wages?
–
–
–
–
Oversupply of workers lowered wages
What people could earn doing other jobs
Males earned more
Best way to good wages: Acquire skills
Factory Rules and Regulations
• Set break and lunch times, no off times
• 14 hours a day, 6 days a week
• Factories were poorly ventilated, dirty,
unsanitary, and usually without any safety
precautions, especially with machines
Average Age at Death for
Different Social Groups
Gentry Tradespeople
Laborers
Rutland
52
41
38
Truro
40
33
28
Derby
49
38
21
Manchester
38
20
17
Bethnal Green
45
26
16
Liverpool
35
22
15
Agricultural area, Tin-Mining center, Industrial Centers
Child Labor
• Was a necessity in
many families
• Children as young as
five were sent to
work in mines, cotton
mills
• Little protection
• No real protection until 1833 with Britain’s
Factory Act, which called for enforcement of child
labor laws and inspections of factories
Living Conditions
• Tenement lifestyle was the most common
• Even in 1840, between 40,000 and 50,000
laborers in Manchester lived in cellars
• Exposure to poor sanitation, diseases
• Standard of living improved
– wages slowly increased
– inexpensive consumer goods became available
to laborers
Rise of the Middle Class
• As economic and political power moved
from agriculture to manufacturing, a
middle class formed (lawyers, doctors,
bankers, merchants, manufacturers)
• The new middle class:
–
–
–
–
Dressed differently
Lived in different communities
Gained prestige and political power
Like the upper classes, the rising middle class
could now afford things like…
Economic Systems
Goals
Capitalism
(Market
Economy)
Socialism
Communism
(Command
Economy)
Gov’t
Decisions Economy
Capitalism
• Goals
– Use supply and
demand, natural laws
– Profit motive
• Government
– Laissez Faire
Capitalism
• Decision Making
– Free enterprise
– Supply and demand
• Economy
– Competition
– Privately owned
property
Socialism
• Goals
– Equitable
distribution of
resources
– Provide for basic
needs
• Government
– Controls major
resources and
industries
Socialism
• Decision Making
– Made by the
government for good
of everyone
• Economy
– Smaller businesses
owned privately
– Government makes
bigger economic
decisions
Communism
• Goals
– Karl Marx:
• History of class struggle
• Bourgeoisie vs.
Proletariat
• Tribes, Slavery,
Feudalism, Capitalism,
Communism
– Classless society, total
equality
– Government will
eventually wither away
• Government
– Stresses cooperation
– Owns businesses
– Set prices
Communism
• Decision Making
– Economic decisions
made by government
• Economy
– Common ownership
of property
– Views capitalism as a
threat