World as we know it today is only a product of continual evolution in technology and methods of production. Throughout history, humans have sought to find easier ways to complete tasks and produce needed goods. While goods were constantly being produced, the time period known as the Industrial Revolution forever changed the production of goods. New machines and factories led to more efficient means for producing goods. With this revolutionary time period came many effects, both positive and negative, as well as responses to these effects that would eventually lead to the world as we know it today.
Some effects, however, had both positive and negative impacts on the economy. For example, rapid industrialization led to lower wages. As machines became more and more popular in factories, unskilled workers were now a cheap but effective option for factory owners. Due to the fact that anybody could operate these machines, their pay decreased as the owner had a much larger pool of people to pick from. As demonstrated by document #3, Industrialization Levels from 1750 to 1980 by P. Bairoch, the United States had higher industrialization rates than any other country in Europe.
While this led to large scale population and uprising of many big cities, this also led to high poverty rates. According to OECD, the United States has the 4th highest poverty rate (in comparison to the mean GDP per capita) in the world, which may be attributed to rapid Industrialization during the Revolution. As factories shot up, former farmers who lost their land to the enclosure movement flocked to cities in search of new opportunity. This led to a higher population density. Document #5, the Population Density chart of England from 1801 to 1851 displays how rapidly population near major cities increased during the Revolution.
Ultimately, this population growth in the urban areas led to present day England having the highest population density in Europe. This population density is actually economically efficient for the country as well as environmentally. Less energy is used per capita, as people are more obliged to walk to venues due to close quarters. Higher density also reduces average costs of the transport network. Unfortunately, a high population density leads to greater amounts of pollution, as well as high congestion. This high congestion may one day engulf what is left of Earth’s natural areas such as forests which will lead to even more population.
Many people, mostly the wealthy, said that the industrial revolution benefited life more than it degenerated it. One document, which was released in 1851 addresses how beneficial railroads are because they provided a source of transportation to those who had access to one. Since the quantity of goods went up due to factories working faster than ever, locomotives were also used to transport many of the goods to areas to where they could be sold. Another document, released by Thomas Ashton displays the scientific contributions the revolution had to offer and how hospitals became safer places thanks to new innovations.
These innovations include things such as sterilization and antibiotics, as well as many other health products. These contributions increased life expectancies as well as boosted the morale of hospital patients because they could now trust the doctors to save their lives with the new innovations. There were many negatives that were brought from the Industrial revolution. The large urbanization of the common people brough way to a new lifestyle in crowded cities and cruel factories.
John Wright displays the negative effects in his 1833 document, “Testimony by John Wright” In this document, he illustrates the poor conditions in factories, he talks about the stunted growth within adolescence working with the unsafe machines present in the factories. Along with this alarming growth, a loss of appetite and an alarming increase of Cripples came from the unfair working conditions and long hours that factories had upon the working class. Along with long hours, poor wages was also present, displaying the poor lifestyle of the working class within the cities that revolve around factories.
As a result of the numerous effects of the Industrial Revolution, many people called for change to fix policies regarding workers conditions, the general economy, and many other topics. Document #2 is a prime example of someone calling for a change. A Testimony by a Commission of Medical Examiners in 1833 discusses how the amount of work kids were being put through was not healthy for children. The testimony states that not even adults could endure the amount of strain being put on the children’s’ bodies.
It also recommends that there be a maximum limit of 8 hours per day for children and 10 hours per day for adults. Along with shorter hours, it was also argued that employees should be under looser watch. Workers were often beaten if they didn’t perform to the satisfaction of their employer. Samuel Smiles, in his piece Self-Help (1859, Document #8) argues that workers are more likely to improve under their own supervision, as they take more pride in their work. When under the strict requirements of their boss, they simply finish their tasks to the minimum point in which they will not be punished.
Smiles believes factory owners should provide less guidance to their employees both for the benefit of the employees as well as the owners themselves. While most people argued that workers should have better working conditions, the Earl of Shaftsbury pointed out that there should actually be less workers, in his House of Commons Speech (1844). The Earl states that with the new advanced machinery, less workers should need to be employed. Instead, he points out, that more workers are needed to work the machines as they are dangerous and the workers are afraid to operate such dangers alone.
He believes they need to reach a point when the machines can do their jobs efficiently without being harmful to any workers. With the many effects that were brought with the Industrial revolution, many wished for the government to have no involvement with the market. David Ricardo illustrated this in 1817 with his, “Principles of Political Economy” In this, he talks about how a free market system, where the government doesn’t intervene with the trade of goods, would be beneficial for society. He said that the current system in place hurts the rich because of the unfair control of prices.
The free market system that he wished for would give shop owners and merchants control over what they sell and for how much. This would give opportunity for businesses to compete against others or team up to discuss the prices of goods to benefit profit for the company. This illustrates his wish for the government to not intervene with the market because it overall harms the rich unfairly. While the majority of the Revolution population approved ushering some law changes, some extremists vowed for a fully new system.
The most famous example of this was Karl Marx’s idea of Marxism, which eventually transformed into Communism. In his piece, The Communist Manifesto (1848), Marx states that his idea of Communism will help even the working class with the upper classes. He urges the working class men to revolt against the unfair society that they are living in. As far as Marx is concerned, no man should be used by another to make profit. Document #12, The International by Eugene Pottier, conveys a similar message as Marx’s piece.
Pottier is trying to persuade the working class that they no longer have to work under the rule of the wealthy class above them. Pottier pleads for them to break the tradition of the lower class doing all of the wealthy classes dirty work, stating that “No more tradition’s chain shall bind us”. Pottier wants a new, more fair society as shown in his line “The earth shall rise on new foundations,”. Similar to Document #10, Pottier is calling for the working class to rebel against the current society.
