The Industrial Revolution

1. The Industrial Revolution Change is inevitable in a progressive society. Change is constant. - Benjamin Distraeli, 1867

2. Life before the Industrial Revolution For hundreds of years there was very little change in technology in Europe. Nothing had changed since ancient Roman times. People lived and worked with the same simpletools that their ancestors had used. Candles were used to light homes, animals provided help for transportation, and craftsmen used their skills to make hand-constructed goods needed in the primitive society.

3. The Industrial Revolution In the 1700s, the Industrial Revolution, an increase in technical and economic development that began in Britain, forever changed the world. It was a time when people used machinery and new methods to increase productivity, a measure of how much work can be done in a certain length of time. The changes these machines brought were so great that they led to a revolution in the ways people lived and worked.

4. A Changing World The Industrial Revolution started in Britain for several reasons. Britain had natural resources such as iron and coal which were needed to make and run the machines. There was a plentiful supply of wool and cotton to make cloth. There was also a source of people, human resources, who could be hired to work the machines. As farmers used more machines to plant crops, fewer people were needed to work the farms, so many moved to the cities to work in factories and shops.

5. Major Industries The first industry to be moved to the factory was textiles, or woven cloth. Before that, spinning and weaving cloth had been done by family members in their homes. Industrialization made it possible for factories to employ many workers and produce huge quantities of cloth. Textile Mills became more productive when steam replaced water power for running the machines.

6. Major Industries In the early 1700s, Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine which was used to pump water out of coal mines. In 1769, James Watt invented a more efficient steam engine used for textile mills, riverboats, and locomotives. The steam engine modernize the railroad by replacing wooden with iron rails. In 1804, the first steam engine tramway locomotive was invented. By early 1800s, the Industrial Revolution had spread from Britain to much of western Europe and North America.

7. Changing Lifestyles At first, Industrial workers including women and children worked hard for long hours often under dangerous conditions. Then in the 1860s, workers formed unions, groups that spoke for the workers in a factory or industry and bargained for better working conditions, higher pay, and shorter work days. If the factory owners refused the workers demands the workers would then strike, workers refused to work until their demands were met. One of the first strikes took place in 1885 against railroad owner Jay Gould.

8. Changing Lifestyles The Industrial Revolution made life difficult at first, but better overall. For example, manufactured cotton clothing was made better and cheaper, so people could afford more. This meant people had more clothes, that they could wash more often, which reduced sickness and diseases. The Industrial Revolution also resulted in strong economies in western Europe which led them to dominate the world in the 1800s and early 1900s.

9. Rivalry Between Nations The Industrial Revolution created rivalries among Britain, France, Germany, and other European countries. This led to a system called imperialism, nations competing for other countries’ resources for their benefit and military advantages. European countries claimed colonies, overseas territories tied to a parent country, in Africa and Asia in the late 1800s. European nations built up armies and navies to protect themselves and their empires. Different alliances, agreements between countries to support one another in times of war, were formed.

10. World War I In 1914, a war broke out in Europe and spread to other areas of the world. It was known as the Great War, and later called WW I. The techniques learned in the Industrial Revolution designed weapons like tanks, machine guns, and airplanes. This made the war more violent than any other war. Millions were killed or wounded and European cities were destroyed.

11. New Problems As a result of WWI, many once-strong countries became weak. Germany was blamed for starting the war and was asked to pay for much of it. The U.S. and Japan became great powers. In 1917 a revolution in Russia led to the social system called communism, an economic, social, and political system that believed in eliminating private property based on the teachings of Karl Marx. Marx, a German philosopher, believed industrialization had created two classes of people the haves and the have-nots. He thought this was unfair and wanted the system overthrown.

12. World War II In the 1930s, a worldwide depression known as the Great Depression, when many governments had a difficult time providing for their citizens, started. The problems that were not solved after WWI led to new alliances in Europe.

13. World War II Germany became a dictatorship under Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist German Worker’s party. Its members, called Nazis, believed that Germany was superior to other countries and people. By 1939, Germany, Italy, and Japan were at war with Britain, France, and China. In 1941, the U.S. and Soviet Union joined the war that became known as WWII.

14. World War II During the war, Hitler and the Nazis began the Holocaust, the murder of more than 12 million people, including 6 million European Jews during WWII. The Holocaust is an example of a war crime of genocide, the mass murder of people because of race, religion or culture. Other people killed included Gypsies, Serbians, disabled people, and many others that the Nazis thought were “undesirable.”

15. World War II In 1943, Italy surrendered, and Germany was defeated in May 1945. However, Japan continued fighting until the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on two of their cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From this global conflict, and the weapons created due to the Industrial Revolution, the U.S. and Soviet Union emerged as superpowers.

16. The age of the machine had begun and life would NEVER be the same!