The Industrial Revolution- defined as 'the change from an agricultural to
an industrial civilization that took place from about the middle of the 18th century
to the middle of the 19th century.' Sounds like it's unimportant, doesn't it? That
could not be any further from the truth. The Industrial Revolution was neither
sudden nor swift. It was a long, slow process in which production from hand
tools to machines and in which new sources of power such as steam and
electricity replaced human and animal power. The Industrial Revolution did not
only convert the patterns of work in nations, but completely transformed the way
of life.
During the early years of the Industrial Revolution, the transition
from hand to machine labor was very slow. In the first ten years of the Industrial
Revolution, the demand for clothes was to be met by hand labor. Since hand
labor wasn't productive enough, not very much money was made.
Created by the previous uploader using a popular O...
Trade Union official Mick O'Reilly on stage at May...
Get the boot from Industrial Revolution!This led to
the factory system, which brought about it own inventions. One key 'invention'
was the idea of crop rotation by Robert Taunted. The idea of crop rotation was
to rotate the crops that a farmer would plant in his field so the soil would not
wear out. Farmers also began to use new iron plows in place of less efficient
wooden plows. Harvesting crops also became much easier. This further
increased farm production. This brought about the Agricultural Revolution,
which set the stage for the Industrial Revolution. With more food now available,
the health and diets of the people improved. This contributed to the growth of
population which troubled the living conditions in most factory infested cities.
Population grew between 1750 and 1914 100%+ in most cities. Thousands of
workers were living in overcrowded houses. A family with 6...