Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution is a major factor in why our nation is like it is today. We are a nation formed under capitalism, and the industrial revolution was the epitome of capitalism. It was the start of big business, big cities, and big pay checks for some. A lot of good things and some bad things came form the revolution. It seemed that a positive usually went hand in hand with a negative. For instance the use of mass production gave us products quicker and more efficient but it lead to unsafe working conditions and child labor. Also the revolution made some people very rich but the change to the city nearly wiped them out. Even though there are pros and cons to many aspects of the revolution I believe that over all the Industrial Revolution was a positive thing; with the improvements in technology, new inventions, and the growing idea if you worked hard enough you could succeed.
English: Light bulb patent application. Photolitho...
Created by the previous uploader using a popular O...
A Spinning Jenny, spinning machine which was signi...The revolution gave us inventions that, "...a century ago the boldest imagination could not have dreamed (George)". Lead by the minds of Bell and Edison our nation began seeing invention that would let people live more comfortably, more efficient, and easier. Edison provided us with such luxuries as the telegraph, light bulb, storage batteries and the motion-picture camera and film. Bell was the first to come up with the telephone. These inventions, along with the sowing machine, are still used today with a few improvements. There were other technological achievements as well. The Bessemer Process would strengthen our iron ore to steel. Other things such as, "...bottle and glassmaking, canning, four milling, match production and petroleum refining" were many examples of how the revolution was improving the old and showing was what we can do. All of these helped...
A few clarifications
12 hour work day and dangerous conditions are not the only harms during the industrial revolution. Families that once supported by father's using skilled labour and mastry of a craft were forced to lose that craft. this is demeaning to families, for not only is pride lost, but so is family structure. children were forced to work doing the same repetitious labor as their mothers, as well as their fathers, but most factories forced women, men, and children to work seperately.
also, while Andrew Carnegie became terribly rich, 1000's of people who once could support thier families found themselves falling further and further into poverty. The hard work of those laborers did more to make factory owners rich than any other factor except for greed and expliotation.
also keep in mind that it isn't taking chances that makes you money, but having money. poor people were FORCED to work for factories because factory owners controlled the only means of production. with no option but to work for a factory, workers were then payed unfair wages. There was no reward for hard work of the working class.
pretty bad essay, opening sentence makes less gramatical sense than this ranting comment.
p.s. we also can't forget how hard business owners worked (and work) to keep workers from organizing their interest group and gaining power as unified workers. Unions were made legal in the US in 1935 but as soon as they began to show any sort of power, congress (mainly business men and other greedy bourgoisie) passed the 1947 taft-hartly act that limited a number of powers of unions, including prohibiting political donations made by labor unions. notice that coperations (business owners, elite, bourgoisie) can still make HUGE contributions to political campaigns.
in effect, the industrial revolution served as a turning point for social reform stemming from the french revolution: just as the poor masses (majority) began to organize their voice, the elite class finds ways to change the system for their own benefit. The rich get richer, and the poor do the REAL work.
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