Economic and Social Revolution

Chapter 4

Crash Course

The Industrial Revolution

The Western economic base remained essentially agricultural until the 18th century, and the great majority of the population lived in the countryside. A wave of scientific, technological and agricultural innovations brought major changes that mar ed the beginning of the industrial era. This phenomenon, nown as the industrial !evolution would last until the beginning of the "#th century. There were two phases in the process of industriali$ation%

The first was mechani$ation that increased production than s to the invention of the steam engine. The second phase occurred about a century later, in the middle of the 1&th century, with the discovery of electricity and oil. These and other new energy sources increased production and led to further inventions.

Britain, France, Germany, U S and the Industrial Revolution

The first country to enter the 'ndustrial !evolution was (reat )ritain in the 18th century. The country had a strong economy and reigned over a vast colonial empire that provided substantial wealth. 't was well positioned to benefit from the latest inventions and gradually moderni$ed its mode of production of goods with the new machines. 't was not until the 1&th century that *rance, (ermany and the +.,. moderni$ed their own production methods and became industrial powers. At each country became industriali$ed, its economic and social structure changed dramatically.

Industrialization in Great Britain

Industrialization in Great Britain (reat )ritain was the first country to become industriali$ed, in the 18th century.
Agricultural - technological innovations, the availability of capital, a substantial supply of coal - iron - an e.tensive labour force permitted the 'ndustrial !evolution to happen in (reat )ritain. As large numbers of mines were opened - industries were created, people moved in droves from rural areas to the cities to wor . All of these developments caused remar able transformation in the country/s economy and social structure. The 'ndustrial !evolution profoundly changed the economy as well as the social hierarchy. 0any wor ers lived in poverty. 0iserable living and wor ing conditions as well as new social philosophies led the wor ing class to unite and demand improvements.

The Causes o! Industrialization

A"ricultural Innovations
*armers

abandoned the practice of allowing spent fields to lie fallow. This system was replaced by crop rotation. As a result, agricultural production has increased. further increase in production occurred when imported American plants, such as potatoes and corn, had adapted to their new environment. 0any of these crops provided food for both people - animals. production increased, providing even more food for people. machinery became more and more efficient at the same time. 'n fact, some machines were so productive that fewer - fewer farm labourers were needed. This led to many peasants to move to the cities in hope of finding wor there.

1ivestoc

Agricultural

Enclosures and #rivate #ro$erty

2uring the course of the 18th century, rich landowners bought up land which they combined to create large holdings. They fenced in their land to protect their crops - prevent cattle from gra$ing in their fields. These areas are called enclosures because they were enclosed with fences. ,ome farmers became the owners of vast stretches of land. They moderni$ed and mechani$ed agricultural production, which thereby increased. +nfortunately, the small farmers were forced to sell their land to become farm wor ers, while others moved to the cities to loo for wor .

%emo"ra$hic Gro&th

'n general, (reat )ritain/s population grew steadily throughout the 18th century. Agricultural advances provided better nutrition and conse3uently people lived longer. 4opulation growth led ta a greater demand for manufactured goods, particularly clothing. 't also led to a significant increase in its wor force. The fledgling industry could therefore draw on a substantial number of wor ers to run its machines.

'a(or Technolo"ical Advances

Technology progressed in (reat )ritain, allowing industries to develop. 'ndustriali$ation was spurred on by new energy sources, 'ndustries were able to produce more goods, more 3uic ly. 5ames Watt developed the first steam engine. ,team was a much more dependable source of energy than people or animals and was e.tremely powerful. 'nventors used this new power source in many fields. 'n transportation, the steamboat and locomotive were invented 'n industry, inventions to run machines such as the spinning frame and the weaving loom. *uel is re3uired to produce steam and, (reat )ritain had huge coal deposits. 0ines were opened all across the country, and industrial activity was soon concentrated in the mining regions 0etallurgy was another e.panding sector. (reat )ritain produced enormous 3uantities of iron, pig iron, late - steel. These metals were essential for manufacturing machines and train trac s.

The Te)tile Industry

The te.tile sector was the first to benefit from mechani$ation, producing a substantial output in response to the high demand for cotton products and facilitated by the availability of raw cotton from the )ritish colonies.

Te.tiles rapidly became (reat )ritain/s main industrial product. A series of inventions contributed to improving productivity. 6ere are two e.amples%

The flying shuttle, invented in 1788, ma e power looms run faster

The mechanical spinning wheel, invented in 177&, accelerated the production of yarn for the weaving of te.tiles.

An Economic Revolution

't was not by chance that (reat )ritain was the birthplace of the 'ndustrial !evolution. This was in reality the result of two main factors the significant amount of capital available for investment and the new ways of running the economy.

(reat )ritain/s te.tile industry dominated the 9uropean mar et and its merchants fleet criss:crossed the world/s seas.

)ritish colonies on three continents offered both valuable raw materials, such as 'ndian cotton, and a vast mar et for manufactured goods.

(reat )ritain amassed huge profits from these economic activities. 'n addition to this capital, major landowners had ac3uired great wealth as a result of enclosures and agricultural innovations.

This meant that a significant pool of capital was available. 9ntrepreneurs and some major landowners too advantage of the opportunity to ma e their money grow.

Economic *i+eralism

Adam ,mith, a ,cottish philosopher, formulated a new doctrine called 9conomic liberalism. 'n 177;, he presented his theories in a boo called the Wealth of <ations. ,mith/s boo was very successful. According to mercantile theory, which had been around for more than a century, the wealth of a nation depended on its accumulated reserves of gold and silver. The theory of economic liberalism instead stated that a nations wealth was related to society/s production of goods and its capacity for production =(<4>. Adam ,mith believed that, in order to encourage production, the entrepreneur and the mar et had to have as much freedom as possible,

An Economic Revolution

The Ur+anization o! Great Britain The industrial !evolution transformed the )ritish

landscape. )ecause machines were very e.pensive, entrepreneurs brought them together in one place this was the birth of the factory. *actories grew continually, re3uiring hundreds of wor ers. 0any of these wor ers came from the country and move to live close to their place of wor . With such large concentrations of wor ers, whole cities grew around factories. 9ngland became the first country in the world to have a larger number of people in cities than in the country. This was called +rbani$ation.

The Ur+anization o! Great Britain

'inin" Cities , 'eans o! Trans$ortation The advent of steam power, produced by burning coal, and the

development of the steel industry, gave rise to another phenomenon%

To avoid the e.pense of transporting coal and iron to cities for smelting, new cities grew around the mines. A major networ of roads, canals and especially railroads developed between the cities and the countryside, as well as between the cities themselves, to transport people and merchandise. 't was not long before the entire country was criss:crossed with railway lines. Transportation became more convenient and, above all, much faster, ma ing it easiest to access raw materials and distribute manufactured goods.

A Social Revolution

'ndustriali$ation provided enormous profit for rich owners and entrepreneurs, raising their standard of living. +nfortunately, the same could not be said of the wor ers. 'n fact, many of them lost their jobs because they were replaced by machines, 1iving and wor ing conditions were generally very hard for wor ers. +ltimately, this was the reason they joined forces to demand better social protection. Wor ing conditions in the mines and factories were appalling and wages were minimal. 'n order to survive, every member of a family had to wor , fathers, mothers and children, some as young as five or si.. 'n some industries, such as te.tiles, the majority of the wor force was made up of children.

A Social Revolution

*ivin" Conditions

?ities grew very rapidly. The cities had not been built to accommodate so many people, and living conditions for wor ers and their families were dreadful. 4eople were crowded into unsanitary housing, with no running water or sewers. There was no garbage collections and no police, firefighters, schools or hospitals. The railways and factories monopoli$ed coal, pushing up the prices for private individuals. 1iving in such conditions, wor ers often contracted contagious diseases such as tuberculosis and cholera, which were rife. 1ife e.pectancy was short, and the mortality rate was high, 2uring this period, one child in four died before the age of five.

*ivin" Conditions

Social 'ovements

(reat )ritain/s social structure e.perienced a rapid transformations at the the time of the 'ndustrial !evolution. )ourgeois entrepreneurs, investors and industrialists held most of the capital and controlled most of the factories, mines and railways. These entrepreneurs made a profit through the labour of an army of underpaid wor ers, were doomed to a life of misery

Socialism

'n reaction to the wealth of the bourgeoisie and the poverty of the labourers, a new intellectual movement wanting e3uality and solidarity, came into being. This was socialism. According to socialist thought, there were two classes in opposition to each other%

The !uling class% made up of the rich bourgeoisie The !uled class% made up of wor ers

@arl 0ar. was one of the main socialist thin ers. 6is ideas had a major influence on people concerned with social injustice and in particular on the wor ers. 0ar. identified with a part of the socialist movement nown as ?ommunism. 6e advocated a classless society - believed that wor ers should sei$e power by revolting. 0ar. also e.plained how the economic system of his time functioned. *or 0ar., the capitalist mode of production was a combination of two factors%

The productive forces A the elements re3uired to produce goods and services, consists of wor ers and the means of production. ,tructure is re3uired to balance the relationship between the owners of the machines and those who provide the labour. The relations of production are organi$ed in their way in e.change for their labour, the wor ers receive a salary and the capitalists made profits

Social 'ovements

The Union 'ovement

Wor ers 3uic ly understood that in order to improve their lives they should join forces by forming unions. This was the beginning of the +nion 0ovement. Wor ers also reali$ed that the most effective way to ta e action was to stop wor , that is, to ,tri e. 'n the first decades of the 'ndustrial !evolution, entrepreneurs tried to 3uell stri e efforts by having laws passed that prohibited them. ,tri e were harshly suppressed on many occasions

The Union 'ovement

Social %emocracy

The trade unions wor ed closely with socialists and shared their main ideas. They often acted together. 6owever, the urgent need to improve miserable wor ing conditions spurred some of them to loo for more concrete, less radical solutions than those proposed by 0ar.. 0ost often, wor ers formed social democratic political parties ,ocial democrats believed that the wor ers/ lot could be improved and that society could be made more democratic by negotiating with owners and political leaders. Bver time, though not without stri es and demonstrations, the social democratic parties and the unions succeeded in securing significant gains for wor ers and greater respect for their rights.

Industrialization in France

*rance was ruled by <apoleon ', who crowned himself 9mperor in 18#C. +ntil 181D, the *rench 9mpire waged a number of wars against the major powers in 9urope, including (reat )ritain. The times were not favourable for economic development. 'ndustriali$ation began later in *rance than it did in (reat )ritain but the process was the same. *rom 188# onwards, the country/s industrial e.pansion was in full growth. 2uring this period, industrial production in *rance diversified. The country had a number of mining areas. And the te.tile industry was growing. *rance also speciali$ed in selling manufactured goods, with many stores opening up in major cities li e 4aris. *rance also began to ma e lu.ury products. 2espite all of this, the country remained mostly rural.

#o$ulation Gro&th and -or.in" Conditions

*rance/s population grew substantially between 18th and 1&th centuries, primarily in the cities. The mechani$ation of agricultural production too wor away from rural peasants. They were forced to move to the new industrial cities. *rench wor ers endured conditions similar to those of )ritish wor ers. Wor ers had no protection if they had an accident or fell ill, the owners simply fired any who were injured or sic . Thus, unemployment lines grew

-or.ers #rotest

The revolution of 178& seemed to have given people more rights and freedoms, yet there were still no laws protecting wor ers. 'n 17&1, the <ational Assembly passed the 1e ?hapelier law, depriving wor ers of the right to form associations. 'n 18#8, under the rule of <apoleon )onaparte, a new law banned all stri es. The wor ers formed a movement in protest of these laws. ,ocialist ideology had many followers, and some groups of wor ers used it to denounce ine3uality. There were many stri es that were long and trying, While *rance was at war with (ermany in 1871, revolution bro e out. They revolted against the government, insisting that their wor ing and living conditions be improved. The official government sent in troops and harshly suppressed the revolt, illing "# ### and many more e.ecuted afterwards.

Industrialization in France

Industrialization in Germany

'n 181D, the (erman territory became a confederation of 8& states under the leadership of Austria. 'n 1871, after 1# years of war against 2enmar , Austria and *rance it was 4russia, under William ' and ?hancellor )ismarc , that finally succeeded in unifying (ermany. 'n comparison to (reat )ritain, industriali$ation in (ermany was slow due to the way its territory was divided into many small states. 't was also slowed my numerous wars. ,till primarily are agricultural country at the beginning of the 1&th century. (ermans did not really begin to become industriali$ed until the 18D#s, yet would become one the world/s great industrial powers by the early "#th century. +nified (ermany possessed substantial capital. 't too little time for powerful industries to establish themselves in the region and prosper. Te.tile plants and other iron and steel foundries were also established railway lines soon blan eted the country, and a major fleet was built.

#o$ulation Gro&th, -or.in" and *ivin" Conditions

(ermany/s population also grew during the 1&th century, rising from C1 million to ;D million between 1871 and 1&1C. This growth guaranteed (erman industry a si$eable wor force, which helped fuel country/s industrial e.pansion. Wor ing conditions in (ermany resembled those in (reat )ritain. 0en, women and children ali e often wor ed long hours for very low wages 1arge numbers of (ermans were living in slums.

-or.ers #rotest

2riven by harsh living and wor ing conditions, many wor ers protested against the social order. 't was in (ermany that socialist ideas were most widespread and unions most numerous. 'n 187D, a fusion of 0ar.ists and socialist:learning unions led to the creation of the first ,ocial 2emocratic 4arty in history. 'n 1&18, on the eve of WW', the party had C million members. Almost half of the country/s 8 million male wor ers were unioni$ed, and the majority of the unions were socialists. ?hancellor )ismarc tried to stop the ,ocial 2emocratic 4arty/s popularity. 6e saw socialists as revolutionaries who threatened (erman prosperity. 6e reali$ed that he was dealing with some powerful organi$ations, he had no choice but to meet some of their demands. (ermany was now more socially advanced than any other industriali$ed country by the end of the 1&th century.

Industrialization in Germany

When the +.,. won independence in 1788. The e.pansion of the west was accomplished through coloni$ation - the occupation of new territories.

Industrialization in the United States

At the end of the 18th century, the +.,. economy was based mainly on agricultural production. 'n the ,outh, the main crops were cotton, tobacco, rice and sugar cane. 'n other parts of the country, agriculture and livestoc formed the basis of the economy. 'ndustriali$ation began around 18D#, growing by leaps and bounds under the influence of territorial e.pansion and heavy immigration. The vast territory provided an enormous mar et that opened up than s to C### m of railroad trac s. 'mmigration provided a substantial wor force, in addition, the country was rich in natural resourcesE - the new steel industry began to grow in 187#. )y the 1&th century, the +.,. was the leading industrial power the world. in

A Gro&in" #o$ulation

The population of the +nited ,tates grew substantially between the end of the 18th century and the end of the 1&th centuryE it numbered only C million in 178&, but reached over "8 million in 18D# and almost 7# million by the close of the 1&th century. 'mmigration was one of the main causes of this demographic growth. )etween 188# to 18;#, C.; million 9uropeans came to the +.,. 'ndustriali$ation too a large number of these people to the cities thus harssening urbani$ation.

*ivin" and -or.in" Conditions

The industriali$ation of the +.,. was largely dependant on child labour. At the beginning of the1&th century, children between 7 and 1" made up one third of the wor force. )y the end of the century, one child in five between the ages of 1# and 1; was employed in a factory. *or children, as for adults, wor ing conditions were appalling, resembling in every way the conditions in (reat )ritain and the other industrial countries. 1abourers/ living conditions were e3ually miserable. ?ities were constructed too hastily to provide ade3uate accommodation for the rapidly e.panding population, leaving masses of American labourers living in unsanitary slums during the 'ndustrial !evolution

-or.ers #rotest

American wor ers formed unions to fight for better living conditions and wor ing conditions. These unions were particularly active and called fre3uent stri es. These unions were particularly active and called fre3uent stri es. These stri es were often violent and sometimes bloody because of oppostion from employers and public authorities.

Industrialization in the U S