Beginnings of Industrialization
• In France, Latin America, and America various revolutions
changed the role of government
• The Industrial Revolution began in England and increased
the output of machine-made goods
• Before the revolution, peole wove textiles by hand
Industrial Revolution Begins in Europe
• In the 1700’s, farmers began buying up the land once
worked by village farmers
• They improved farming methods, and started an
agricultural revolution
Agricultural Revolution Paves the Way
• As farmers bought land, they made enclosures, which had
two important results  landowners tried new agricultural
methods and landowners forced small farmers to become
tenant farmers
• In 1701, Jethro Tull invented the seed drill which helped
more seeds take root
Rotating Crops
• Crop rotation improved the three-field system by switching
the type of crop that was planted from year to year
• Livestock breeders increased their methods too  Robert
Bakewell only allowed his best sheep to breed
• With more food from increased agriculture, there was a
growing demand for food and goods such as cloth
• As village farmers lost their land, they had two choices 
become tenant farmers or move to the cities and work in
factories
Why the Industrial Revolution Began in England
• England had expensive natural resources, which
industrialization requires. These resources included: water
power and coal to fuel the new machines, iron ore to
construct machines, tools, and buildings, rivers for inland
transportation, harbors from which merchant ships set sail
• In addition to resources, Britain had an expanding economy
• The highly developed banking system led people to make
investments in machinery
• Other countries had some, but Britain had ALL the factors
of production (land, labor, and capital)
Inventions Spur Industrialization
• The textile industry was the first to be innovated
Changes in the Textile Industry
• In 1733 John Kay invented the flying shuttle, which doubled
the work of a weaver in a day
• In 1764 James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny,
which allowed one spinner to weave eight threads at a time
• In 1769, Richard Arkwright invented the water frame,
which used waterpower from streams to drive the spinning
wheels
• In 1779 Samuel Crompton combined the spinning jenny
and the water frame to produce the spinning mule
• In 1787 Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom
• These inventions were expensive, and made the use of
these machines limited to the most wealthy
• Most of these machines were used in factories, which
relied on running water and were often near rivers/streams
• England’s cotton came from the Americas, and was
particularly difficult to remove the seeds
• In 1793 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, increasing
cotton production almost 80% in 20 years
Improvements in Transportation
• As early as 1705, coal workers were using steam powered
pumps to remove water from mine shafts. It worked, but
used a great amount of fuel
Watt’s Steam Engine
• In 1774 Watt joined with Matthew Boulton and devised a
better machine that used less fuel
Water Transportation
• Steam could propel boats, and Robert Fulton bought a boat
from Watt and Boulton
• In 1805, Fulton’s Clermont was used to ferry passengers
along the Hudson River
• In England, 4250 miles of inland channels made the
transportation of goods much easier
Road Transportation
• In the 1800’s, John McAdam created “macadam” roads
• Private investors created roads and charged tolls to cross
them  “turnpikes”
The Railway Age Begins
• Steam engine on wheels – the railroad locomotive – drove
industrialization in England after 1820
Steam-Driven Locomotives
• George Stephenson built around 20 engines for mine
operators
• In 1821, he began construction on the first railroad line
Liverpool-Manchester Railroad
• In 1829, trials were held to choose the best locomotive for
use on the new line
• Rocket hauled a 13 ton load twenty four miles per hour
• The Liverpool-Manchester Railway opened in 1830
Railroads Revolutionize Life in Britain
• The locomotive had at least 4 effects:
– Railroads spurred industrial growth by provided cheap
transportation of goods
– The new industry created hundreds of thousands of jobs for
miners and railroad workers. The miners provided iron for the
tracks and coal for the steam engine
– The railroads boosted England’s fishing and agricultural industries
– Finally, railroads encouraged country people to take distant city
jobs
Industrialization: Manchester
• While in the long run industrialization improved the quality
of life for most people living in Great Britain, initially it
caused human suffering
• Industrialization brought unhealthy working conditions, air
and water pollution, and child labor; it also led to increased
tensions between working and middle class
Industrialization Challenges Life
Industrial Cities Rise
• By the 19th century, a shift began where ppl moved from the
rural areas to the cities due to wealthy landowners buying up
the farmland
• A period of urbanization occurred, and the number of cities
hosting 100,000+ rose from 22 to 47 from 1800-1850
• Cities such as Manchester, London, Birmingham, Sheffield, and
Paris were among Europe’s largest
Living Conditions
• Because cities grew so rapidly, there were no development
plans (sanitation or building codes)
• As cities grew, there was inadequate housing, education, and
police protection
• Streets had no drains and garbage collected; workers lived in
cramped settings and cholera spread throughout the cities
• Average life span was 17 years old, compared to 38 in more
rural areas
Working Conditions
• Average worker spent 14 hours a day at work for 6 days a
week
• Work was routinized unlike farm labor
• Factories were seldom well lit of clean machines injured
workers
• Coal mines were the worst places to work; most mine
employees lived on average 10 years shorter than everyone
else
Class Tensions Grow
• While life for workers was rough, the Industrial Revolution
brought enormous wealth to the merchant class  led to
an increase in split between working and middle class
The Middle Class
• Made up of factory owners, shippers, and merchants
• These people enjoyed a comfortable standard of living
• Many were now wealthier than the landowning aristocracy
The Working Class
• Between 1800-1850 many laborers saw their livelihoods
disappear as machines took their jobs
• Some of these workers smashes new machines in
frustration  Ned Ludd and the weaving machine in 1779
England
Positive Effects of the Industrial Revolution
• Despite the problems, it had some positive effects
• Created jobs, fostered technological progress and
innovation, and most importantly created hope
• In the long run, it created better diets, better housing, and
cheaper, manufactured goods
Long Term Effects
• Profits from industrialization led to tax revenue, which was
used to invest in urban improvements in cities
• Goods considered luxury 50 years ago are commodities
today
The Mills of Manchester
• Manchester already had access to waterpower, and had
available labor from Liverpool
• Manchester displayed not only the upside to industrialization
but also the detriment
• To maximize profits, workers labored under bad conditions in
Manchester
• Children worked as early as 6, and for thirteen hours a day
• Half an hour for lunch and an hour for dinner; beat the children
to keep them awake and working
• British government passed first Factory Ac tin 1819, which
restricted the working age and hours
• The coal used in factories blackened the air in Manchester,
textile dies colored the rivers
• While industrialization had many positive effects on society, as
seen in Manchester’s case study it was just as detrimental to the
environment and to workers
Industrialization Spreads
Industrial Development in the United States
• During the War of 1812, Britain’s blockade of US ports
forced the US to begin producing its own goods and rely
less on imports
Industrialization in the US
• Began in the textile industry in 1789 when Sam Slater
emigrated to the US and built a spinning machine
• Along with Slater, other investors such as Francis Cabot
Lowell revolutionized the textile industry
• Young, single women fled their rural homes to work as mill
girls in factory towns to make better money
Later Expansion of US Industry
• Until 1865 most of the US remained agricultural, but the NE
did experience industrialization
• In the late 1800’s, the US experienced a technological
boom that relied on three factors:
1. Wealth of natural resources (oil, coal, and iron)
2. Burst of inventions (light bulb and telephone)
3. Swelling urban population
• The railroads played a major role in industrialization by
increasing communication between states, and also as a
business in itself
The Rise of Corporations
• To build the railroads, entrepreneurs sold stock
• People who bought stock owned a percentage of the
corporation
• In late 19th century, corporations such as Standard Oil
(Rockefeller) and Carnegie Steel (Carnegie) begin to form
monopolies
Continental Europe Industrializes
• The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars (1789-1815)
halted the trade and communication between Britain and
other European countries
Beginnings in Belgium
• Had rich deposits in iron ore and coal
• Like Slater in the US, William Cockerill illegally made his way
to Belgium in 1799
• He brought plans for building spinning machinery to
Belgium and his son eventually built mechanical equipment
in Belgium
Germany Industrializes
• Around 1835, Germany started copying the British model
for industrialization
• German parents send their children to school in Britain
• Germany built railroads that connected natural resources
with a city
Expansion Elsewhere in Europe
• Industrialization emerged regionally rather than from
country to country
• Many did not industrialize (mostly due to societal structure
and geography)  Austria-Hungary’s mountains prevented
railroad construction, and Spain lacked roads and
waterways
Impact of Industrialization
• Increased competition between industrialized nations, and
poverty in less-developed nations
Rise of Global Inequality
• Industrialization widened the gap between industrialized and
non-industrialized nations
• Non-industrialized nations supplied industrialized nations with a
supply of raw materials, and industrialized nations used nonindustrialized nations as markets for finished products to be
sold
• Industrialization led to imperialism, the policy of extending one
country’s rule over many other lands
Transformation of Society
• Revolutions in agriculture, production, transportation, and
communication change the lives of people in Europe an the
United States
• The development of a middle class created opportunities for
education and democratic participation
Reforming the Industrial World
Philosophers of Industrialization
• As people grew tired of the working conditions of
industrialization, they formed unions to fight for their rights
• Some people thought that government should not
intervene in business (laissez-faire) while others
encouraged the government to step in and improve
conditions for the workers
Laissez-faire Economics
• French economic philosophers from the Enlightenment argue
that if government allowed free trade that the economy would
prosper
• Adam Smith defended laissez-faire economics in The Wealth of
Nations
Economists of Capitalism
• British economists Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo believed
that natural laws governed economic life capitalism
• Capitalism is an economic system in which the factors of
production are privately owned and money is invested to make
a profit
• Malthus argued in his book that wars and plague were
necessary to keep the balance of population and food supply
stable
• Ricardo believed that wages would be forced down as the
population increased
• Laissez-faire thinkers such as these opposed government
involvement in business
Rise of Socialism
• Other theorists believed that gvmt should get involved
Utalitarianism
• In the late 1700’s Jeremy Bentham argued that people should
judge ideas, institutions, and actions on their usefulness and
that the gvmt should promote the greatest good for the
greatest number of people
• John Stuart Mill took over the utilitarian movement after
Bentham, and advocated for the betterment of the working
class
Utopian Ideas
• Some reformers took a more active approach
• Robert Owen was a factory owner who improved the conditions
for his employees
• He rented property at low rates, he prohibited children under
10 to work, and provided free education
Socialism
• French reformers like Charles Fourier and Saint-Simon
promoted socialism, a system where the factors of
production are owned by the public and operate for the
welfare of all
• Socialists argued that the government should plan the
economy rather than depend on capitalism
• Also argued for government intervention to improve the
economy and promote equality
Marxism: Radical Socialism
• Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote The Communist
Manifesto
Communist Manifesto
• Marx and Engles argued that human societies have always
been divided into social classes
• They classified people into the “bourgeoisie” and the
“proletariat”
• Marx and Engels both agreed that the proletariat would
eventually rise up against the bourgeoisie and overthrow
their owners
The Future According to Marx
• Marx believed that the capitalist system would eventually
destroy itself because factories would drive artisans out of
business, leaving a small number of manufacturers to
control all of the wealth
• As the proletariat increased, it would revolt and use the
factories to provide what society needed in a “dictatorship
of the proletariat”
• The last stage of this rebellion would consists of a period of
cooperative living and education where the state would
wither away and a classless society developed 
communism
• Marx described communism as an economic system in
which the means of production (land, mines, factories,
railroads) are owned by the public. Private property ceased
to exist
• In the 1900’s, the Communist Manifesto would inspire
revolutionaries such as Russia’s Vladimir Lenin, China’s Mao
Zedong, and Cuba’s Fidel Castro
Labor Unions and Reform Laws
• To press for reforms, workers joined together in voluntary
associations called unions
Unionization
• Unions engaged in collective bargaining, where they negotiated
for better working conditions and higher pay
• If the factory owners refused, union members could strike
• Unions helped skilled workers more than non-skilled workers
• The British government passed the Combination Acts of 1799
and 1800, and then repealed them
• In the US, various unions came together and formed the AFL
Reform Laws
• In the 1820’s, Parliament began investigating the abuses of
child labor and the conditions in factories and in mines, and
passed the Factory Act of 1833
• The new law made it illegal to hire children under 9, and
limited the hours of children from 9-17
• In 1842, the Mines Act prevented women and children
from working underground
• The Ten Hours Act of 1847 limited the workday to ten hours
for women and children working in factories
The Reform Movement Spreads
The Abolition of Slavery
• Britain finally abolished slavery in 1833 after William
Wilberforce urged Parliament to vote against slavery
• Some were morally against slavery, and others viewed slave
labor as an economic threat
• In the US, slavery ended when the Union won the Civil War
and with the Emancipation Proclamation
Women’s Rights
• Women factory workers only made around 1/3 what men
made
• Women formed unions in their own trades
• In the US, Jane Addams formed the Hull House to assist the
poor