Unit 5: The Commercial, Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions (1750-1850)
The era known as the Industrial Revolution was a period in which the modern economy emerged. Products made with the help of newly invented machines in factories began to replace those made by skilled hands in homes and on farms. The factory system employed a new idea called “division of labor” where workers specialized in fewer tasks and did these over and over.
Like the political revolutions we studied recently, the Industrial Revolution began first in England before spreading to Continental Europe, North America and beyond. Societies experienced a shift from a traditional, labor-intensive economies based on agriculture and handicrafts to more capital-intensive economies. These changes increased the efficiency of production, enhanced the quality of products and lowered prices. The economic transformation that occurred was indeed a “revolution” because it drastically changed the way millions of people worked and lived.
Despite the material advantages of industrialization, it was quickly apparent that this revolution came with many social costs. The rapid growth of cities, called urbanization, that accompanied industrialization led to miserable living conditions for many. Also, the initial lack of any regulation of factories made life dangerous for the workers. People from all walks of life began to criticize the negative impacts of these economic changes and called for political reforms.
The evolution of industry and business also changed the way governments work, and the way that people view themselves and their government. This new way of living brought about new ideas for how people should live, including philosophies such as Marxism and utopianism, which arose in response to the new struggles and societal pressures that emerged as societies developed and advanced economically.
The Industrial Revolution’s technological and economic innovations had long lasting impacts on population distribution, agricultural innovation, mechanization and trade. For better or for worse, the pace of modernization was very different in Europe, the US and Japan than in other countries of the world: specifically Africa, Asia, and Latin America fell further behind in this time period.
Themes
· The Industrial Revolution transformed the world of industry, work and economics.
· Industrialization occurred at different rates depending upon geographical, political, cultural, and physical factors.
· Industrialization had unforeseen positive and negative impacts.
· Industrialization affected the environment, politics, culture, and population distribution.
Key Questions
· What agriculture developments in the early 1700’s were vital to the industrial growth of England? How?
· What were some economic and political factors that allowed England to industrialize before other nations?
· Explain how urbanization and industrialization in England changed people’s lives in a bad way.
· Explain how urbanization and industrialization in England changed people’s lives in a good way.
· How and why were Americans and other Europeans eager to copy British industrialization despite its problems?
· What are the benefits and costs of new inventions and economic developments for society?
· How can economic changes spark social and political reforms?
· Did urbanization improve the standard of living for ALL members of society? The majority?
· How did a rising middle class transform society?
· What economic systems did the Industrial Revolution promote/invent?
· Explain how capitalists like Adam Smith and socialists like John Stuart Mill viewed the industrial revolution differently.
· How did supporters of communism like Karl Marx view the Industrial Revolution?
· How did workers unions and government actions only somewhat help reform the impacts of industrialization?
Timing of Industrialization
Great Britain: 1700-1900
Continental Europe: 1800-1900
United States: 1800-1900
Terms
Adam Smith
Agricultural revolution
Alexander Graham Bell
Assembly Line
Banking
Berlin Conference
Capitalism
Charles Darwin
Child Labor
Classes: working and middle
Class tensions
Collective Bargaining
Communism
Corporation
Crop Rotation
Entrepreneur
Factories
Factors of production
Industrialization
Karl Marx
Laissez-faire
Louis Pasteur
Luddites
Mass Culture
Mercantilism
Mechanical Reaper
Middle Class
Model T
Railroads
Reform Movement
Seed Drill
Social Democracy
Socialism
Steam Power
Steel Furnace
Strike
Suez Canal
Suffrage
Textile industry
The weekend
Theory of Evolution
Thomas Edison
Trade unions
Urbanization
Utilitarianism
Utopian ideas
The era known as the Industrial Revolution was a period in which the modern economy emerged. Products made with the help of newly invented machines in factories began to replace those made by skilled hands in homes and on farms. The factory system employed a new idea called “division of labor” where workers specialized in fewer tasks and did these over and over.
Like the political revolutions we studied recently, the Industrial Revolution began first in England before spreading to Continental Europe, North America and beyond. Societies experienced a shift from a traditional, labor-intensive economies based on agriculture and handicrafts to more capital-intensive economies. These changes increased the efficiency of production, enhanced the quality of products and lowered prices. The economic transformation that occurred was indeed a “revolution” because it drastically changed the way millions of people worked and lived.
Despite the material advantages of industrialization, it was quickly apparent that this revolution came with many social costs. The rapid growth of cities, called urbanization, that accompanied industrialization led to miserable living conditions for many. Also, the initial lack of any regulation of factories made life dangerous for the workers. People from all walks of life began to criticize the negative impacts of these economic changes and called for political reforms.
The evolution of industry and business also changed the way governments work, and the way that people view themselves and their government. This new way of living brought about new ideas for how people should live, including philosophies such as Marxism and utopianism, which arose in response to the new struggles and societal pressures that emerged as societies developed and advanced economically.
The Industrial Revolution’s technological and economic innovations had long lasting impacts on population distribution, agricultural innovation, mechanization and trade. For better or for worse, the pace of modernization was very different in Europe, the US and Japan than in other countries of the world: specifically Africa, Asia, and Latin America fell further behind in this time period.
Themes
· The Industrial Revolution transformed the world of industry, work and economics.
· Industrialization occurred at different rates depending upon geographical, political, cultural, and physical factors.
· Industrialization had unforeseen positive and negative impacts.
· Industrialization affected the environment, politics, culture, and population distribution.
Key Questions
· What agriculture developments in the early 1700’s were vital to the industrial growth of England? How?
· What were some economic and political factors that allowed England to industrialize before other nations?
· Explain how urbanization and industrialization in England changed people’s lives in a bad way.
· Explain how urbanization and industrialization in England changed people’s lives in a good way.
· How and why were Americans and other Europeans eager to copy British industrialization despite its problems?
· What are the benefits and costs of new inventions and economic developments for society?
· How can economic changes spark social and political reforms?
· Did urbanization improve the standard of living for ALL members of society? The majority?
· How did a rising middle class transform society?
· What economic systems did the Industrial Revolution promote/invent?
· Explain how capitalists like Adam Smith and socialists like John Stuart Mill viewed the industrial revolution differently.
· How did supporters of communism like Karl Marx view the Industrial Revolution?
· How did workers unions and government actions only somewhat help reform the impacts of industrialization?
Timing of Industrialization
Great Britain: 1700-1900
Continental Europe: 1800-1900
United States: 1800-1900
Terms
Adam Smith
Agricultural revolution
Alexander Graham Bell
Assembly Line
Banking
Berlin Conference
Capitalism
Charles Darwin
Child Labor
Classes: working and middle
Class tensions
Collective Bargaining
Communism
Corporation
Crop Rotation
Entrepreneur
Factories
Factors of production
Industrialization
Karl Marx
Laissez-faire
Louis Pasteur
Luddites
Mass Culture
Mercantilism
Mechanical Reaper
Middle Class
Model T
Railroads
Reform Movement
Seed Drill
Social Democracy
Socialism
Steam Power
Steel Furnace
Strike
Suez Canal
Suffrage
Textile industry
The weekend
Theory of Evolution
Thomas Edison
Trade unions
Urbanization
Utilitarianism
Utopian ideas