The Industrial Revolution

Cultural Impact: Children were one of the main sources of labor during the

Industrial Revolution. They were forced to work all day in dangerous factories and therefore could not attend school and never received an education, yet free public schools were established during this period.

The formation of a new social class, proletariats, was also a cultural impact of the Industrial Revolution. Proletariats had no access to wealth as they were often forced to sell their land. Those that kept their homes worked as manufacturers in their house. Other proletariats worked on estates, where their landlords took them advantage of them. Most of them ended up in the city either working in a factory or wandering and begging for money. This led to an undesirable attitude towards poverty even though it had been around for centuries.

For society as a whole, the Industrial Revolution made a positive impact. Healthy diets were becoming popular as well as the people had access to more foods and housing (even if they were atrocious).

Economic Impact:The biggest impact the Industrial Revolution had on the economy was the shift from a agricultural economy to a commercial economy. Without the agricultural limits the economy was able to thrive more than ever, though agriculture continued to grow because it supplied the factories with raw materials. There was more employment in the city due to the Revolution as well. The wealth made in this period only went to the upper-class citizens. The factories’ need for textiles led to an increase in international trade. The negative aspect of the trade was that it created economically dependent countries like India. Since the English placed tariffs on India’s cotton they became dependent on Britain, sucking them into the international trade. Trade was made easier during the Industrial Revolution because transportation both on land and sea was greatly improved.The coal industry grew a lot during the Revolution and was used as the main power source for most factories, especially iron factories. With the use of coal, factories could be built anywhere, meaning cities could be located anywhere.

Modern Connection:The impacts of the Industrial Revolution still carry on to today. In fact, some places are just now going through their own revolution. The commercial economy created in that period is still present, and clothing is still made in factories, making it easier for us to keep up with the quickly changing fashion. The Industrial Revolution led to our higher standard of living and longer life expectancy.Unfortunately the continuation of an industrial society has created more social inequalities and ecological disasters. Poverty is frowned upon in most of the world now though much is being done to fix it. However, we cannot fix the environment after decades of using coal and throwing out waste. Many of the things we use today are products of the Revolution such as cars, and planes, and assembly lines. Our society would not be where it is today if it weren’t for the Industrial Revolution.

Works Cited

Eric Bond, Sheena Gingerich, Oliver Archer-Antonsen, Liam Purcell, and

Elizabeth Macklem. The Industrial Revolution, 2003. Web. 28 Jan. 2012

Kelly, Martin. About.com, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2012

Montagna, Joseph. The Industrial Revolution, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2012

Stearns, Peter N., et al. World Civilizations. Addison-Wesley Educational

Publishers Inc. 2003. Print.