1)
Industrial Revolution
A major economic CHANGE, beginning in 18th-century Britain, in
how goods were produced…
…From
…To
individual production
→
mass production
(“piece work”)
(assembly line)
handmade (low tech)
→
machine made (high tech)
manual power
→
automatic power
(human, animal)
(water power, then steam)
decentralized production
→
centralized factory
in homes (“cottage” industry)
production
rural setting (farm)
→
urban setting (cities… near
power sources!)
Industrial Revolution
A lasting and dramatic change in which
low volume handmade manual
production was replaced by the
invention and innovation of massproducing machines using automatic
power in factories clustered in growing
cities.
2) An AGRICULTURAL revolution precedes the
Industrial Revolution, during which…
… wealthy landowners buy up small farms, creating
new, larger and more productive farms that are
defined by fences or hedges (“enclosures”).
3) Agricultural improvements on larger,
enclosed farms:
• seed drill – plant seeds at specified depths
in orderly rows (vs. random spreading)
• crop rotation – plant different crops each
year to replenish soil, avoid
unproductive(fallow) fields
• selective breeding - for larger, healthier
livestock (animal husbandry)
• scientific approach to farming - maintain
detailed agricultural records of successes
3) (cont.)
Relationship between enclosed farms &
agricultural improvements:
Wealthy landowners have CAPITAL ($)
to INVEST in experimental farming
techniques, scientific methods, and new
equipment, which yield increased food
production (and wealth).
4) Increased farm production  industrialization:
While some farmers stay on as tenant farmers (now on
land owned by someone else), MOST farmers are no
longer needed with the new, more efficient farming
techniques.
As a result:
- many displaced farmers migrate to growing
cities (“urbanization”) to find new work
- this migrating population will serve as a
growing labor force for industrialization
(or, they EMIGRATE!)
- more food production (along with improvements in
medicine), feeds a growing population of both
WORKERS and CONSUMERS in the cities.
5) The Industrial Revolution starts in Great Britain...why?
Short answer: Britain possessed all the key
factors of production:
- LAND
- LABOR
- CAPITAL
Detailed Answer… Britain’s advantages:
1) Growing POPULATION = large labor force & many consumers
2) Abundant natural RESOURCES: rivers (for transportation and
power), coal, iron ore, harbors
3) Strong economy w/ CAPITAL ($) to invest in new businesses:
* many wealthy merchants from successful international trade
* strong banking system: lots of $ in circulation + many lowinterest loans available, with less risk to banks
4) ENTREPRENEURSHIP - a “climate of progress” in which
inventors & innovators combined with investors willing to
organize, manage and assume risks of new businesses
5) POLITICAL STABILITY
* Security (no wars at home):
island nation + strong navy = no invasion
* Stable government that supports entrepreneurship:
government comprised of wealthy who support businesses
with favorable laws that encourage more trade, investment,
innovation (i.e. low taxes, little regulation)
= Laissez-Faire govt: “hands off” (stay out of the way)
M → MARKETS (including foreign trade)
E → ENTREPRENEURSHIP (ideas)
L → LABOR (large pool of workers)
T → TRANSPORTATION (infrastructure)
I → INVESTMENT CAPITAL ($$$)
N → NATURAL RESOURCES
G → GOVERNMENT (laws, protection)
8) Earliest developments in industrial production:
TEXTILES (manufacture of cloth, linens & fabrics)
9) Machines & factories
first use water power…
… later replaced by
steam power (steam engine
development evolved with
innovations from 1765-1800,
becoming more efficient and
cost-effective)
Power sources TODAY:
10) Industrial development of British textiles:
Year
1733
Inventor/
Innovator
John Kay
Invention/
Innovation
Flying Shuttle
Eli Whitney*
Cotton Gin
Significance
Doubled weaving speed
(still hand powered)
1764 James Hargreaves “Spinning Jenny” Spins 6-8 threads
simul.
(still hand powered)
1769 Richard Arkwright Water Frame +
Machine-powered
spinning
Spinning Wheel
1779 Samuel Crompton “Spinning Mule”
Dramatically improves
(frame + jenny)
thread quality & quantity
(machine powered)
1787 Edmund Cartwright Power Loom
Machine-powered
weaving
1793
raw
hand
Cleaned seed out of
cotton 50x faster than by
*Also invented interchangeable parts, allowing for quicker
replacement of uniform machine parts. Result: machines are in
disrepair for shorter periods, less expensively fixed, and more
efficient & productive.
Pre-Industrial Transportation: SLOW!
- foot
- horse-drawn cart
- sailing ships
- poor roads (muddy, bumpy)
11) Industrial-Age improvements in transportation:
1. Steamships
2. “Macadam” roads
(better drainage, early
version of paving that
can handle heavier traffic)
Industrial Improvements in Transportation (continued):
3. Canals
Industrial Improvements in Transportation (continued):
4. Railroads (steam engine on wheels)
12) ALL improvements in transportation allowed for a greater
volume of cargo to be shipped further & faster than before.
As of the 1830’s, RAILROADS had the biggest impact:
1. Lowered unit cost of transporting raw materials AND
finished goods (= higher profits!).
2. Increased jobs (railroad building, maintenance, & operation
+ MINING INDUSTRY)
3. Increased food availability & distribution (feeding a growing
population / labor force)
4. Increased travel options for individuals
(for work AND recreation) = $$$
ALL of these GROW THE ECONOMY!
All developments in transportation (and communication)
represent improved INFRASTRUCTURE:
physical networks of transportation, communication, and
public utilities & power sources