The Industrial Revolution and Its Educational Impacts
Patrick Galvin
TEL 502
Fall 2003
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Introduction
The Industrial revolution can be described over-simply as the period in history when people applied power
to manufacturing machinery. As with many historically significant technological advances, an invention of necessity
has lead the way to pervasive application. To more fully describe the era one might include the significance of
economic democratization that took place. Mass production of goods allowed average people previously unheard of
leisure. Industrialization allowed for mass expansion of a productive middle class. One could parallel the switch
from agrarian to industrial economies with the switch from monarchies to democratic government. It is difficult to
place an exact date on the beginning of this era, but one can look to the earliest application of machine power to
work formerly done by human power.
Life before the Industrial Revolution
On the eve of the Industrial Revolution, less than 10 percent of European people lived in cities (Rempel,
2001). Small towns and villages were the homes of people that spent their days farming. The industrious few
produced enough crops to sell or trade surplus, but most grew just enough for their families. These people made
their own clothing, furniture, and tools from raw materials produced on farms or in forests.
Of the manufacturing occurring at this time, a portion was taking place in guild shops. Guilds were groups
of craftsmen that produced specific goods. The master of a guild passed on his knowledge of a skill, such as
blacksmithing, over a period of years to a trainee called a journeyman. Leatherworking, jewelry making, pottery,
and cloth making were among the categories of guilds. Most manufacturing of the pre-industrial era occurred in
rural homes. Under this “domestic” or “cottage” system families were hired by merchants to produce goods.
Entrepreneurs, as they were called, supplied raw materials to workers in their homes and collected the finished
products for later sale. The majority of this work was accomplished by hand using crude tools, however waterwheels
furnished some power when available.
Most people’s lives revolved around the agricultural seasons – planting, cultivating, harvesting, and
processing the harvest. Living under the constant threat of failed crops, life was hard and worrisome for most. The
distribution of wealth was extremely unequal as only the very elite had the luxury of extra income. The governments
of most European countries were monarchies so only a select few had any political leverage. Overall the masses
worked very hard for very little.
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The First Signs of Change
The early 1700’s ushered in a period of mechanical refinement where the production of devices such as
clocks could be made available to the typical people. Keeping time is such an omnipresent part of our society it is
hard to believe that people a few hundred years our prior used the position of the sun in the sky to plan a days events
without actually knowing what “time” it was. The majority of people thought that a pocket watch must indeed be
possessed by demons in order to show the correct time and fit into one’s pocket. However stunning such an
accomplishment, the great innovation was in the combination of machines with external power. In 1712, a mining
engineer named Thomas Newcomen built a steam engine to assist in the process of pumping water from the bottom
of ore mines. Men who had previously operated the pumps manually now could be employed as diggers. “By 1785
James Watt had further developed the steam engine, eliminating most of its shortcomings, making the engine fuel
efficient enough to be viable as a power source for manufacturing” (Rempel, 2001).
Precision machining and the steam engine
The enormous potential of the steam engine and power driven machinery could not have been achieved
without the development of machine tools to accurately shape metal. When Watt began to experiment with the
steam engine, he could not find a tool that drilled a perfectly round hole. As a result, his engines leaked steam. In
1775, John Wilkinson invented a boring machine that drilled a more precise hole. Between 1800 and 1825, English
inventors developed a planer, which smoothed the surfaces of the steam engine’s metal parts and ensured a highly
reliable seal. The steam engine was refined to a very efficient power source.
The impact of coal
The industrial revolution could not have developed without coal. Coal was not only used as fuel to drive
steam engines but was an essential part of the iron making process. Early iron making required the raw ore to be
refined to molten iron by heating it in a charcoal fired oven. Since charcoal is derived from wood and England had
essentially used up all of her Oak forests another fuel was needed (Harmon, 1999). Abraham Darby developed a
method of processing iron ore by using coke, which is derived from coal. England had large coal reserves available
so it was a natural fit. At first, the coke-fired iron was brittle and more difficult to shape than charcoal fired iron, but
Darby’s son, Abraham II further developed his father’s process to produce easy to manage coke-fired iron. Around
the same time, Henry Cort had developed a puddling furnace to purify iron and created advanced rolling machinery
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to produce iron in shapes other than thin sheets. Prior to Cort’s advances, the relatively impure iron did not easily
take to shapes other than sheets. By 1830, nearly all the basic machine tools necessary for modern industry were in
general use.
The textile industry
The production of textiles underwent many changes during the industrial revolution. Machines were used to
produce cloth in quantities and qualities unheard of to that point. The cottage industry of textile production included
distribution of raw materials like wool and cotton to individual households to be spun into yarn. The yarn was then
distributed to households with looms to be woven into cloth. Controlling the consistency of the fabric was difficult
and delivery schedules were impossible to meet. The cumbersome nature of distributing and collecting and
redistributing and bringing to market added to the inefficiency of the whole process. In 1733, John Kay patented a
loom with a “flying shuttle” which greatly increased the speed at which weavers could do their work. In 1779 when
Samuel Crompton invented his yarn production machine, called “Crompton’s Mule” the production of strong, high
quality yarn finally caught up to the weaver’s ability to produce cloth. In the late 1700’s machines were produced to
print patterns on fabrics and in the late 1800’s Northrup’s power loom paved the way for women to become loom
operators. Families that had spent their days laboring on farms or producing goods by hand were now available to
operate machinery. Children were often used to get into the small spaces inside of the looms to repair parts or
retrieve dropped items.
Transportation
The increased demand for products ignited the need for a faster and more efficient means of transport. The
steam engine was put to use for the purpose of transporting goods and people. The first advance, occurring in the
late 1700’s was the steamship. Met at first with public scrutiny, the steamship soon gathered favor for its reliability,
speed and independence of a need for wind.
Railroads became common in England in the early 1800’s. Powered by steam boilers, a locomotive could
pull massive amounts of raw materials, finished goods, coal, and later people. By the mid 1850’s railroad tracks
traversed England, connecting all of the major commerce centers and allowing people from rural areas access to
these burgeoning market places. The success of English railroads led to development of railway systems throughout
Europe and further advanced England’s economic dominance. The lessons learned in Europe were taken to the new
world and a network of rails soon appeared in America and Canada, where vast distances between communities
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could now be quickly spanned. Trains were traveling nearly 50 miles an hour. A rumor of the day was that if a train
traveled faster than 60 miles per hour (a mile a minute) the laws of physics would cause the train to explode. As it
turned out, the train did not explode.
Automobiles began to take favor in the early 1900’s because they offered their owners the freedom to
choose when and where to go. The development of the internal combustion engine facilitated the automobile’s
creation. At first autos were individually hand-built and therefore expensive, often viewed as a plaything of the rich.
Roadways of the time also presented a problem, as they lacked the ability to sustain any volume of auto travel.
Many people of the day were not ready for such a drastic change in transport. The laws of road travel were written
with horse and buggy in mind. We often take for granted “the rules of the road”, but in those days there was nothing
regulating the behavior of automobile drivers.
Although he did not invent the automobile, Henry Ford did much to make the car an omnipresent part of
life in America. His assembly line production of automobiles reduced the cost to a level where average people could
afford them. One might compare Ford’s production of automobiles to the entire Industrial Revolution; mass produce
goods using power tools and all people can benefit. The widespread societal impacts of Ford’s automotive
contributions are immeasurable.
Electricity
In 1831, Michael Faraday demonstrated how electricity could be produced mechanically. Soon there after,
people applied his “dynamo” to machinery and transportation. At first the power of falling water was harnessed
using water wheels hooked to generators, later coal burning steam engines drove turbines. As early as 1875, electric
textile looms were being operated in Italy (Harmon, 1999). By the early 1900’s, England had constructed an
“electric grid” completely covering the country. Starting late with industrialization, Russia used electricity to catch
up with the rest of Europe and rapidly develop their industrial base.
Undesired outcomes
Such massive changes and advances resulted in many positive changes, but the industrial revolution was
not without its problems. Massive urbanization caused over crowding which caused a lacked of sanitation which
caused health issues. Uncaring factory owners demanded high production, which led to crowded factories, which
caused unsafe conditions for workers. Abuses of workers by factory owners included poor wages, long hours and
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treatment as expendable commodities, not people. Children that had previously worked at home with their families
were now working in factories under abusive conditions or roaming the cities causing a rise in crime.
Changing social patterns
The industrial revolution caused widespread change in all aspects of society. An increase in food
production and medical advances caused an increase in population. Availability of economic opportunities
perpetuated a burgeoning middle class. The need for a concentrated work force to operate the machines in factories
caused mass urbanization. The general pace of society shifted from approximating time to the strict schedules found
in factories. Political thought was revamped to include the ideas of Karl Marx and Charles Darwin. Darwin’s central
idea was that the free market functioned as a test in the survival of the fittest. The change in social privilege from
aristocracy to ambition is the philosophical cornerstone of the era. Education follows this lead and schools become
the means by which people are equipped with the appropriate “survival tools”.
Educational impacts of industrialization
The industrial revolution initiated the rise of capitalism in Europe and in North America. Motivated
individuals could easily take advantage of the many economic opportunities of the situation, but the average person
would need to be educated in order to do so. In the mid to late 1800’s schools became the mechanism for survival
and, for the first time, a means of upward mobility in society.
Immigration played a role in American educational change. The dominant theory describing the
assimilation of new immigrants had been known as the “melting pot”, and it was assumed that the role of education
was to Americanize these people (Harmon, 1999). In 1850, the major influx of immigrants was made up of English
speaking people from England, Ireland and Scotland, but by the late 1800’s the majority were non-English speakers.
Americanization would now include instruction in a new language.
The existing system of education in America was centered in religion. Puritan settlers in New England
established schools where students were immersed in secular teachings of the way to live one’s life. Each student
received a healthy dose of Bible memorization. Students in American schools spent no more than 5 months out of
the year in school, sometimes even less. Most children had responsibilities on family farms or other jobs that
preempted their school attendance. In Europe, schools were based primarily on reading and memorization of
classical literary works. Schools were a place for the children of wealthy families, so the subject matter was intended
to prepare them for a life of privilege. It was becoming glaringly obvious that neither tradition was well suited in
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preparing people for life in an industrialized society. In 1877, J.R. Buchanan stated, “Education should be a
preparation for life and should be like the life to which it prepares” (Barlow, 1967).
“The awakening of educational consciousness in the United states occurred about 1820” (Barlow, 1967).
Concerned individuals began to advocate change. Reverend Charles Brooks conducted a series of lectures on the
Prussian system of normal schools in 1835. The Prussian system, as developed by J.H. Pestalozzi, diverted the
emphasis from memorization to “hands-on” activities. Pestalozzi stressed the importance of meaningful experience
to create productive people (Smith, 2002).
Horace Mann
Horace Mann also advocated Pestalozzi’s “Prussian System”. Mann was a senator in Massachusetts who
gave up his promising political career to champion the cause of education. He accepted the position of secretary of
the Massachusetts state board of education and immediately set out to make changes. Mann can be credited with
campaigning for the political changes necessary for widespread educational reform, much needed at the time. He
established the first normal school for teacher training in 1839 (Moore, 2001). Mann advocated the establishment of
free libraries for all school districts. One of his farthest-reaching accomplishments was instigating recognition of the
need for more financial support of schools. “Through his efforts, state aid to education doubled, teachers salaries
more than doubled, supervision of teaching improved with compensated school committees and textbooks and
educational equipment improved” (Moore, 2001). Mann edited the “Common School Journal” and wrote a series of
12 annual reports that can be closely paralleled with the formation of modern schools in America. “In his 5 th annual
report, Mann argued successfully that economic wealth would increase through an educated public. It was therefore
in the self-interest of business to pay taxes toward education” (Moore, 2001). “In his 10 th annual report, Mann
asserted that education was a natural right for every child. It is a necessary responsibility of the state to insure that
education was provided for every child. This report led to the first state law requiring compulsory attendance in
school in 1852” (Moore, 2001). “In his 12 th annual report, Mann presented a rationale for the support of public
education through taxation. Society improves as a result of an educated public” (Moore, 2001). He argued for nonsectarian schools, so the taxpayer would not be in the position of supporting any established religion with which
there might be disagreement in conscience.
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Educational Legislation
The late 1800’s brought about widespread advocacy of educational reform. In the face of much opposition,
laws were passed that ensured the formation of schools, which have remained essentially the same to this day. In
1862, the Morrill Act provided lands to establish colleges to teach agricultural and mechanical arts; 11 million acres
were set aside. Though much of it was sold off to provide school funds, many land grant colleges were established
and exist to this day. In 1867, the United States Department of Education was established under the administration
of president Andrew Johnson (Harmon, 1999). In an effort to satisfy the great pressure on people in government to
implement new education doctrine, this department was formed to gather statistics regarding the state of education at
the time and to find new alternatives. In 1874, the Kalamazoo Decision by the Supreme Court made it legal for
states to levy taxes to pay for public schooling (Harmon, 1999). By the turn of the century education was becoming
fully integrated into the American cultural mindset and was also becoming fully bureaucratized.
Calvin Woodward
Woodward recognized the importance of practical experience in strengthening the theoretic knowledge
gained through instruction. His vision of a “Manual Training” school came to fruition with the St. Louis Manual
Training School of Washington University. “On September 6, 1880, the first class of fifty boys, selected by
examinations, began their studies in the first manual training school in the United States” (Barlow, 1967).
Woodward’s philosophy was eloquently summarized in the inscription which hung above the entrance to his new
school :
Hail to the skillful cunning hand!
Hail to the cultured mind!
Contending for the world’s command,
Here let them be combined. (Barlow, 1967)
John Dewey
As the 20th century began, the stage was set for educational policy to become what it basically is still today.
John Dewey expounded the virtues of education and declared that an appropriate school system could improve
society, a foundation of his “progressive education movement”. Dewey asserted that the role of education was to
encourage individuals to develop their full potential as human beings. He was disconsolate with traditional
education, especially rote learning of facts without supporting activities to engage the learners. Dewey declared that
children should learn by experience, and as a result they would develop skills, habits and attitudes necessary for
them to solve a wide variety of problems while gaining “book knowledge”.
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“ John Dewey's significance for informal educators lies in a number of areas. First, his belief that education
must engage with and enlarge experience has continued to be a significant strand in informal education practice.
Second, and linked to this, Dewey's exploration of thinking and reflection - and the associated role of educators - has
continued to be an inspiration” (Smith, 2001). “Third, his concern with interaction and environments for learning
provide a continuing framework for practice. Last, his passion for democracy, for educating so that all may share in
a common life, provides a strong rationale for practice in the associational settings in which informal educators
work” (Smith, 2001).
Conclusion
The impact that the Industrial revolution had on education in the United States is truly what defines
education as we know it. The growth of factories and the homogenization of people to the schedule of industry
spawned the “factory model” for schools to follow. Teachers’ roles were taken seriously enough to create training
schools specifically for their skills. Education in general moved away from a right of privilege to a societal
necessity. a growing democracy was mimicked closely by a changing educational system.
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Bibliography
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Chas. A. Bennett Co., Inc.
Bennett, C.A. (1937). History of manual and industrial education 1870-1917. Peoria, Illinois:
Chas. A. Bennett Co., Inc.
Harmon, D. (1999). The industrial revolution in America. Retrieved September 30, 2003, from
http://admin.vmi.edu/ir/industrial_revoultion.htm
Lampard, E.E. (2001). Industrial Revolution. In World Book 2001 (Vol. 10, pp 246-255). Chicago:
World Book Inc.
Moore, G. (2001). Horace Mann. Retrieved October 3, 2003, from
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/aee501/mann.html
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http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-pest.htm
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http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-dewey.htm