The Industrial Revolution1750ish-1850ish

The shift from making goods by hand to making

them by machine!

• Causes of the I-Rev in England

• 1. Agricultural Revolution• 2. Capital • 3. Natural Resources• 4. Governmental support• 5. An Abundance of Markets

1. The Agricultural Revolution

1. the population got bigger, but people didn’t need to farm. They could work somewhere else. Where?

2. Food was cheaper, so people had more to spend on manufactured goods.

2. Capital • 1. Cottage Industry merchants/entrepreneurs made money, which he could invest later. How could he make more money?

• Effects: • Big profits for new class of merchants (mercers)who could parlay this into new investments (factories,etc)

• Interesting fact: of 110 cotton mills in the Midlands, England in the late 19th-c, 62 were founded by cottage industry participants.

3. Natural Resources--Especially Iron and

Coal• 1. Iron was needed for farming tools, new factory machines and steam engines.

• 2. Henry Cort developed a process for developing higher quality iron (puddling)

• 3. Smelting iron made it more pure. It turns iron into steel, which is much stronger. The Bessemer Process made smelting iron very fast.

• 4. In order to smelt iron you need carbon, which is found in coal. Coal also powered the steam engines.

• 5. Britain produced more iron and coal than the rest of the world.

4. Government support--

Transportation• 1. Since they made a

lot of stuff, they needed to move it.

• 2. They first made MacAdam asphalt roads.

• 3. Then they invented canals to move things around by water.

4. Gov’t Support -Transportation

• 1. Since they made a lot of stuff, they needed to move it.

• 2. They first made MacAdam asphalt roads.

• 3. Then they invented canals to move things around by water.

• 4. Finally, the railroad train was invented. Stephenson’s Rocket went 29 miles per hour (don’t believe your book) in 1829. That’s fast.

• 5. In 1830 there were 70 miles of railroad; by 1870 there were 15,000! Wow! Say it!

5. An Abundance of Markets• 1. Plenty of

places to sell manufactured goods.

Why Britain led the Industrial Revolution

• 1. Lots of people were there to work in factories. (Ag. Revolution and enclosure movement)

• 2. Plenty of capital was available to be invested by entrepreneurs. • 3. Natural resources abounded• 4. The government supported factories and transportation. It helped businesses.• 5. Britain had control of a lot of colonies, thus an abundance of markets• 6. Additionally, Britain was separated from the continent. No one else could

copy. • Basically, Britain had all the “Factors of Production.” What are they?

The New Technology

• The cottages couldn’t keep up with the demand for textiles (things made of cloth).

• Look how slow she’s going!

Textile Industry and the Factory System • NEW INVENTIONS

• 1. James Hargreaves’ Spinning Jenny and Richard Arkwright’s Water Frame birthed Samuel Crompton’s spinning mule, thus improving the spinning (making thread) of yarn.

• 3. The Power Loom, invented by Edmund Cartwright in 1785, improved the weaving process.

• 4. The cotton gin separated seeds from cotton, thus more cotton could be grown (2.5 million pounds imported in 1760, 366 million pounds in 1840).

• 5. The big machines (power loom and spinning mule ) couldn’t fit in houses, so they were put in big buildings: factories.

• 6. Factories made things faster and cheaper than people could in their own cottages.

• 7. Thus many people had to leave their cottages and work in the factories. In 1815 there were 250,000 cottage weavers; in 1860 there were 3,000.

• 8. Peasants from the country also moved to the cities to work in factories.

The Steam Engine: Energy Needed for the Industrial Revolution.

• 1. Factories needed power. They first used water and horse power, but that didn’t work well.

• 2. James Watt perfected the Steam engine. Steam that moves from a high pressure to a low pressure makes energy

• 3. Factories could now work with steam engines, and they could be anywhere! :)

• 4. In order to have a steam engine, you need fire (to make the water boil) and for fire you need wood or coal

Great Britain vs. Continent

• 1. Continent lagged behind because of….

• Lack of roads, less enterprising, toll stations and

• Napoleon!• Lack of technological knowledge

Great Britain vs. Continent

• 1. Continent lagged behind because of….

• Lack of roads, less enterprising, toll stations and

• Napoleon!• Lack of technological knowledge

Differences (Great Britain vs. Continent)• 1. Actively involved governments--schools, training, railroads

• 2. Tariffs to protect against competition

• Friedrich List, National System and Political Economy (1844)

• 3. Large role of joint-stock banks for investment--invested in industry (railroads, mining, etc._

• 4. Cotton/textiles basis of British Industrial Rev. What was the basis on the Continent?