industrial revolution negative effects essay

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7 Negative Effects of the Industrial Revolution

By: Patrick J. Kiger

Updated: August 9, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2021

The Industrial Revolution , which began roughly in the second half of the 1700s and stretched into the early 1800s, was a period of enormous change in Europe and America. The invention of new technologies, from mechanized looms for weaving cloth and the steam-powered locomotive to improvements in iron smelting, transformed what had been largely rural societies of farmers and craftsmen who made goods by hand. Many people moved from the countryside into fast-growing cities, where they worked in factories filled with machinery.

While the Industrial Revolution created economic growth and offered new opportunities, that progress came with significant downsides, from damage to the environment and health and safety hazards to squalid living conditions for workers and their families. Historians say that many of these problems persisted and grew in the Second Industrial Revolution , another period of rapid change that began in the late 1800s.

Here are a few of the most significant negative effects of the Industrial Revolution.

1. Horrible Living Conditions for Workers

As cities grew during the Industrial Revolution, there wasn’t enough housing for all the new inhabitants, who were jammed into squalid inner-city neighborhoods as more affluent residents fled to the suburbs. In the 1830s, Dr. William Henry Duncan, a government health official in Liverpool, England, surveyed living conditions and found that a third of the city’s population lived in cellars of houses, which had earthen floors and no ventilation or sanitation. As many as 16 people were living in a single room and sharing a single privy. The lack of clean water and gutters overflowing with sewage from basement cesspits made workers and their families vulnerable to infectious diseases such as cholera.

2. Poor Nutrition

In his 1832 study entitled “Moral and Physical Condition of the Working Classes Employed in the Cotton Manufacture in Manchester , ” physician and social reformer James Phillips Kay described the meager diet of the British industrial city’s lowly-paid laborers, who subsisted on a breakfast of tea or coffee with a little bread, and a midday meal that typically consisted of boiled potatoes, melted lard and butter, sometimes with a few pieces of fried fatty bacon mixed in. After finishing work, laborers might have some more tea, “often mingled with spirits” and a little bread, or else oatmeal and potatoes again. As a result of malnutrition, Kay wrote, workers frequently suffered from problems with their stomachs and bowels, lost weight, and had skin that was “pale, leaden-colored, or of the yellow hue.”

3. A Stressful, Unsatisfying Lifestyle

Workers who came from the countryside to the cities had to adjust to a very different rhythm of existence, with little personal autonomy. They had to arrive when the factory whistle blew, or else face being locked out and losing their pay, and even being forced to pay fines.

Once on the job, they couldn’t freely move around or catch a breather if they needed one, since that might necessitate shutting down a machine. Unlike craftsmen in rural towns, their days often consisted of having to perform repetitive tasks, and continual pressure to keep up—“faster pace, more supervision, less pride,” as Peter N. Stearns , a historian at George Mason University, explains. As Stearns describes in his 2013 book The Industrial Revolution in World History , when the workday finally was done, they didn’t have much time or energy left for any sort of recreation. To make matters worse, city officials often banned festivals and other activities that they’d once enjoyed in rural villages. Instead, workers often spent their leisure time at the neighborhood tavern, where alcohol provided an escape from the tedium of their lives.

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4. Dangerous Workplaces

Without much in the way of safety regulation, factories of the Industrial Revolution could be horrifyingly hazardous. As Peter Capuano details in his 2015 book Changing Hands: Industry, Evolution and the Reconfiguration of the Victorian Body , workers faced the constant risk of losing a hand in the machinery. A contemporary newspaper account described the grisly injuries suffered in 1830 by millworker Daniel Buckley, whose left hand was “caught and lacerated, and his fingers crushed” before his coworkers could stop the equipment. He eventually died as a result of the trauma.

Mines of the era, which supplied the coal needed to keep steam-powered machines running, had terrible accidents as well. David M. Turner’s and Daniel Blackie’s 2018 book Disability in the Industrial Revolution describes a gas explosion at a coal mine that left 36-year-old James Jackson with severe burns on his face, neck, chest, hands and arms, as well as internal injuries. He was in such awful shape that he required opium to cope with the excruciating pain. After six weeks of recuperation, remarkably, a doctor decided that he was fit to return to work, but probably with permanent scars from the ordeal.

5. Child Labor

While children worked prior to the Industrial Revolution, the rapid growth of factors created such a demand that poor youth and orphans were plucked from London’s poorhouses and housed in mill dormitories, while they worked long hours and were deprived of education. Compelled to do dangerous adult jobs, children often suffered horrifying fates.

John Brown’s expose A Memoir of Robert Blincoe, an Orphan Boy, published in 1832, describes a 10-year-old girl named Mary Richards whose apron became caught in the machinery in a textile mill. “In an instant, the poor girl was drawn by an irresistible force and dashed on the floor,” Brown wrote. “She uttered the most heart-rending shrieks.”

University of Alberta history professor Beverly Lemire sees “the exploitation of child labor in a systematic and sustained way, the use of which catalyzed industrial production,” as the worst negative effect of the Industrial Revolution.

6. Discrimination Against Women

The Industrial Revolution helped establish patterns of gender inequality in the workplace that lasted in the eras that followed. Laura L. Frader , a retired professor of history at Northeastern University and author of  The Industrial Revolution: A History in Documents , notes that factory owners often paid women only half of what men got for the same work, based on the false assumption that women didn’t need to support families, and were only working for “pin money” that a husband might give them to pay for non-essential personal items. 

Discrimination against and stereotyping of women workers continued into the second Industrial Revolution . “The myth that women had ‘nimble fingers’ and that they could withstand repetitive, mindless work better than men led to the displacement of men in white collar jobs such as office work, and the assignment of such jobs to women after the 1870s when the typewriter was introduced,” Frader says. 

While office work was less dangerous and better paid, “it locked women into yet another category of ‘women’s work,’ from which it was hard to escape,” Frader explains.

7. Environmental Harm

The Industrial Revolution was powered by burning coal, and big industrial cities began pumping vast quantities of pollution into the atmosphere. London’s concentration of suspended particulate matter rose dramatically between 1760 and 1830, as this chart from Our World In Data illustrates. Pollution in Manchester was so awful that writer Hugh Miller noted “the lurid gloom of the atmosphere that overhangs it,” and described “the innumerable chimneys [that] come in view, tall and dim in the dun haze, each bearing atop its own pennon of darkness.”

Air pollution continued to rise in the 1800s, causing respiratory illness and higher death rates in areas that burned more coal. Worse yet, the burning of fossil fuel pumped carbon into the atmosphere. A study published in 2016 in Nature suggests that climate change driven by human activity began as early as the 1830s.

Despite all these ills, the Industrial Revolution had positive effects, such as creating economic growth and making goods more available. It also helped lead to the rise of a prosperous middle class that grabbed some of the economic power once held by aristocrats, and led to the rise of specialized jobs in industry.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Industrial Revolution — Positive and Negative Effects of the Industrial Revolution

Positive and Negative Effects of The Industrial Revolution

• Categories: Industrial Revolution

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Words: 715 |

Published: Sep 5, 2023

Words: 715 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Positive effects: technological advancements and economic growth, negative effects: harsh working conditions and exploitation, positive effects: urbanization and social mobility, negative effects: environmental degradation, positive effects: advances in education and medicine, negative effects: social inequalities and class struggles.

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Descriptive Essay: The Industrial Revolution and its Effects

The Industrial Revolution was a time of great age throughout the world. It represented major change from 1760 to the period 1820-1840. The movement originated in Great Britain and affected everything from industrial manufacturing processes to the daily life of the average citizen. I will discuss the Industrial Revolution and the effects it had on the world as a whole.

The primary industry of the time was the textiles industry. It had the most employees, output value, and invested capital. It was the first to take on new modern production methods. The transition to machine power drastically increased productivity and efficiency. This extended to iron production and chemical production.

It started in Great Britain and soon expanded into Western Europe and to the United States. The actual effects of the revolution on different sections of society differed. They manifested themselves at different times. The ‘trickle down’ effect whereby the benefits of the revolution helped the lower classes didn’t happen until towards the 1830s and 1840s. Initially, machines like the Watt Steam Engine and the Spinning Jenny only benefited the rich industrialists.

The effects on the general population, when they did come, were major. Prior to the revolution, most cotton spinning was done with a wheel in the home. These advances allowed families to increase their productivity and output. It gave them more disposable income and enabled them to facilitate the growth of a larger consumer goods market. The lower classes were able to spend. For the first time in history, the masses had a sustained growth in living standards.

Social historians noted the change in where people lived. Industrialists wanted more workers and the new technology largely confined itself to large factories in the cities. Thousands of people who lived in the countryside migrated to the cities permanently. It led to the growth of cities across the world, including London, Manchester, and Boston. The permanent shift from rural living to city living has endured to the present day.

Trade between nations increased as they often had massive surpluses of consumer goods they couldn’t sell in the domestic market. The rate of trade increased and made nations like Great Britain and the United States richer than ever before. Naturally, this translated to military power and the ability to sustain worldwide trade networks and colonies.

On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution and migration led to the mass exploitation of workers and slums. To counter this, workers formed trade unions. They fought back against employers to win rights for themselves and their families. The formation of trade unions and the collective unity of workers across industries are still existent today. It was the first time workers could make demands of their employers. It enfranchised them and gave them rights to upset the status quo and force employers to view their workers as human beings like them.

Overall, the Industrial Revolution was one of the single biggest events in human history. It launched the modern age and drove industrial technology forward at a faster rate than ever before. Even contemporary economics experts failed to predict the extent of the revolution and its effects on world history. It shows why the Industrial Revolution played such a vital role in the building of the United States of today.

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DBQ: US Government – Liberty or Safety

DBQ: School Integration in the South: Evaluate the Response of Southern Society to Integration.

DBQ: The Industrial Revolution – a positive or negative effect on the quality of life for humans?

• Filed under Uncategorized

Historical Question: The Industrial Revolution – does rapid economic growth, due to industrialization, have a positive or negative effect on the quality of life for humans?

Introduction: This DBQ, will have students analyze the effects of industrialization culturally, politically, and economically in the western world. They will compare sources from a variety of viewpoints and infer on the overall impact industrialization can have on human life. Students can use that they’ve learned from this DBQ and also apply it to industrialization in other countries throughout the world. This DBQ supports the profile of the South Carolina Graduate (see resource section) because students will be using critical thinking skills to analyze and compare sources, collaborate and discuss with their peers, and communicate their findings in a democratic way.

Standards | Vocabulary |  Context | Questions – Doc #1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , #5 , #6 , #7 , #8

Time Required:  The estimated time frame for this DBQ is four 45 minute class periods.

Click here to download the full DBQ with attached handouts: The Industrial Revolution/ Does rapid economic growth, due to industrialization, have a positive or negative effect on the quality of life for humans?, Standard 4,   and Sources with Questions , and Quality of Life Chart

South Carolina Standards (2020)

Targeted Standard: Standard 4: Demonstrate an understanding of how increased global exchanges promoted revolution from 1760 to the beginning of the 20th Century.

6.4.P Summarize the local and global impacts of the Industrial Revolution.

6.4.CX Contextualize the environmental impact of the Industrial Revolution.

6.4.E Analyze multiple perspectives on increased global interactions and revolutions through a variety of primary and secondary sources.

• Industrialization
• Child Labor
• Agriculture

Historical Context and Background Information:

The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the late 1700s following the Agricultural Revolution and early advancements in technology and machinery. The enclosure movement, crop rotation, and the agricultural technology increased agricultural yields, which led to increased population and forced small farmers to become tenant farmers or move to the cities. Great Britain had the factors of production needed for industrialization, including natural resources, rivers and harbors, experience entrepreneurs, rising population, political stability, increasing world trade, and economic prosperity and progress. Following it start in Great Britain, the Industrial Revolution spread to the United States and those countries of continental Europe and which factors of production were available such as Belgium and Germany. Later, in Japan, industrialization began as a response to growing imperialistic threats against the nation. The Industrial Revolution caused major economic, cultural, and political changes around the world.

The Industrial Revolution was an economic revolution, and therefore economic changes were widespread and still continue to impact our world today. These economic changes lead to cultural and political changes. Economic changes began with the invention of machines. New textile machines for spinning and weaving, chores that had previously been done by hand increased the production of cloth goods. The modernization of textile technology revolutionized industrialization. The flying shuttle advanced textile production by doubling the amount of weaving a worker could do in one day. This machine was soon joined by the more advanced spinning jenny, which allowed one spinner to spin eight threads at a time. At first operated by hand, these machines were soon powered by the water frame. In 1779, the spinning wheel was invented as a combination of the spinning jenny and water frame. The mule produced a stronger product than its predecessors. And 1787, the water-powered power loom increase the speed of weaving yet again. The cotton gin significantly increased cotton production following its invention in 1793. As reliance on large, expensive machines increased, factories were built to house the machines, rather than the “cottage industries” of handwork previously done at home in earlier times. Due to the increasing demand for waterpower to drive machines, factories were built near rivers or streams. Therefore, jobs that had previously been done by individuals in the home were moved to factories. These factories were built in existing cities or established towns near water sources. After the development of the steam engine by James Watt, factories begin being built away from water sources because the steam engine became the new power source for machines. Coal and iron were the main resources used to power and build these engines in machines, and later, and the second wave of the Industrial Revolution that began in the 1870s, electricity, chemicals, and steel were the main sources for industrial business.

Transportation improved with the development of the steam engine as well. The steam engine was soon used to power steamboats and locomotives, leading to the building of canals and railways for trade and transportation. The railroad boom created new jobs for railroad workers and miners were needed to obtain cold to power the new engines. With less expensive means of trade and transport of goods, industries developed and trade over long distance is grew and travel for humans was easier. With the development of the

factory system came the division of labor as individuals were assigned specific task, which led to increased worker productivity and increased output of manufactured goods. Through the development of interchangeable parts, where many identical parts were produced rather than the previous process of creating unique items by hand, it became possible to mass produce and repair many goods with the aid of machines and refined them by hand. Mass production allowed goods to be produced for a cheaper price, making them more accessible to the increasing portion of the population. Worker spent long hours in the factories, often 14 hours a day, six days a week. The working conditions were dangerous and often resulted in injury, but there was no recourse for such injuries. Individuals could earn more in factories than on farms, leading to a large rural-to-urban migration.

Rural-to-urban migration lead to many social changes. Unfortunately, the division of labor also made clear the division between the worker and owner classes. Many European cities doubled in population during this period of history. Because of the low pay for workers and because of the living conditions in cities were unregulated, housing conditions were often very poor. The working class lived in crowded areas often without basic utilities such as running water. Conditions were often unsanitary due to these circumstances along with increase pollution from the factories. Crime increased due to poverty, however there was often inadequate police protection. The middle and upper classes, usually business owners or other professionals, typically moved to nicer homes in the suburbs, which was a tangible reflection of the growing class divisions.

Because working conditions were so dangerous and because of the growing class divisions, further economic changes began along with political changes. Laissez-faire capitalism was the foundation of the Industrial Revolution, as this was the economic system in which all factors of production were privately owned and there was no government interference. But capitalism based on laws of competition, supply and demand, and self-interest, also allowed for great disparity in wealth. Supporters of capitalism opposed the creation of minimum wage laws and better working conditions, believing that it would upset the free-market system and weaken the production of wealth. The working class was increasingly oppressed by the middle and upper classes. This lead to rising support of socialism, because of the belief that such a system would provide for the greater welfare of the masses of working class people and allow the government to plan the economy in order to promote equality and end poverty. Socialism at that time offered workers more protection than capitalism and it also promised that it would better distribute wealth according to need. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, writing in The Communist Manifesto , proposed a radical socialism, stating that society was dividing into warring classes. It was proposed that the proletariat, the “have nots” or the workers, who were oppressed in their current conditions, would overthrow the bourgeoisie, the “haves”, or the owners, and create a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” Although this proletariat revolution did not occur during the Industrial Revolution, Marx provided the fuel for future reforms and revolutions.

In addition to the rise of socialism, labor unions and reform laws came about in the 1800s as a means to correct the disparities between social classes. Unions negotiated for better working conditions, higher pay, and shorter hours, and they would strike if demands were not met. These unions were restricted at first, but overtime achieved nominal success. In the 1830s, the British Parliament begin regulating mine and factory conditions for women and children, bringing much needed reform. Well individual gaps and wealth were problematic at this time, a global wealth gap also was occurring. As industrialized nations gained power over non-industrialized nations, these industrial powers begin looking to exploit the weaker nations for resources and markets. Thus imperialism was born out of the industrial era (South Carolina Department of Education, 2011).

Guiding Questions and Sources

Document 1: Fredrikke Palmer illustration in the Women’s Journal , 1916.

• What do you notice about the outside of the web? What is going on in the center?
• What labels or main words do you see?
• Who is represented in the cartoon?
• How would people of the time period feel if they saw this cartoon?

Citation: Simkin, J. (n.d.). Retrieved July 30, 2018, from http://spartacus-educational.com/USAWpalmer.htm

Document 2 : Lewis Hine Photograph of Child Labor in Textile Factory

• What is going on in the source? What is the child making?
• Who do you think is being represented in this source? Who is not represented?
• How would this image be different in modern times?
• Is this image meant to persuade or inform the viewer?

Citation: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. (1905). Sadie Pfeifer, 48 inches tall…, November 1908 Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-4d2c-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Document 3 : “Child Labor in the Canning Industry of Maryland”, Lewis Hine 1909

• What is being described in the source?
• What is the tone? Is the author happy? Angry?
• What do you think is the author’s goal?
• Based on the author’s findings and what you learned from the image in Document B, what are the effects of hard labor on children?

Citation: Hine, Lewis. (1909, July 10). “Child Labor in the Canning Industry of Maryland.” [Manuscript]. From Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division. National Child Labor Committee Collection . http://www.loc.gov/pictures/static/data/nclc/resources/images/canneries3.pdf

Document 4 : William Blake poem The Chimney Sweeper

• What is the daily life of a chimney sweep?
• What does this poem say about the family life during this time period?
• What do you think is the author’s opinion on children working in these conditions?
• What feelings do you think would come up when someone of the time period were to read this? How could this poem persuade the public?
• How would Andrew Ure (Document E) respond to this poem?
• Based on when this poem was written, what do you think will happen to the health of children in the workforce as the Industrial Revolution continues?

Citation: Blake, W. (n.d.). Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Songs of Innocence: The Chimney Sweeper. Retrieved July 26, 2018, from http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/sie/sie09.htm

Document 5 : Skilled and Unskilled Labor Wages Chart, 1897 and 1899

• What do you notice about the value of wages from 1897 to 1899 for both unskilled and skilled workers?
• Why would the author publish this data? What is its purpose?
• What detail, group, or category is missing from this data that should be included? How would the missing information help determine the factors that led to wage increases?

Citation: Wright, C. D. (1900) Labor and capital. Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of labor, shows how labor fares under large industrial corporations. Chicago, Ill. Allied printing. Chicago. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.01804500/

Document 6: Something New Starts Every Day, Song Sheet

• What are some new things or inventions that have been created based on the song?
• What do you think is the tone of the song?
• What connections can you make between your background knowledge and the new things in this song?

Citation: Something new starts every day. Sold wholesale and retail, by Leonard Deming … No. 61 Hanover Street, Boston. Monographic. [Online Text] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/amss.as112730/

Document 7 : Photographs made by reform photographers, Jacob Riis and Jesse Tarbox Beals

• Look at the four corners/sections of each photo. What do you see? What are two notices and two wonders?
• What are the similarities and differences between the two images?
• Who is missing? Why do you think they were not included?
• Why do you think both photographers chose to take these pictures? What was the purpose?
• What can you infer was the reason that lead to these living conditions

Citation: Stamp, J. (2014, May 27). Pioneering Social Reformer Jacob Riis Revealed “How The Other Half Lives” in America. Retrieved July 29, 2018, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pioneering-social-reformer-jacob-riis-revealed-how-other-half-lives-america-180951546/

Tenement life in turn of the century new york. (2009, may 09). retrieved from https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/tenement-life-in-turn-of-the-century-new-york/.

• What is a trends or patterns do you see with the data?
• What do you think is the reason for this trend or pattern? What could be going on in the cities that would lead to these results?
• How trustworthy is this source?
• What details did this chart leave out that may help you answer the historical question? What groups of people are left out?

Citation: Szreter, S., & Mooney, G. (1998). Urbanization, Mortality, and the Standard of Living Debate: New Estimates of the Expectation of Life at Birth in Nineteenth-Century British Cities. The Economic History Review, 51 (1), new series, 84-112. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2599693

Digital Collections Information                    

This DBQ is based on images and/or documents from several institutions including the University of South Carolina Libraries, The National Archives, and The Library of Congress. See individual images for institution information.

DBQ Prepared by Courtney Garrison, 2018

Made with by Graphene Themes .

Positive and Negative Effects of the Industrial Revolution on Society

This essay provides an analysis of the Industrial Revolution’s impact on society, discussing both its positive and negative effects. It will cover how the revolution transformed economies, living conditions, and social structures, focusing on aspects like urbanization, labor practices, and technological advancements. The piece aims to present a balanced view, acknowledging the progress and innovation brought by the Industrial Revolution while also addressing the challenges and inequalities it exacerbated. Additionally, PapersOwl presents more free essays samples linked to Child Labour.

How it works

Starting around the eighteenth century in England (United Kingdom), the First Industrial Revolution marked a transformation from a rural and agrarian society to one that was more urban and industry-dependent. By the 1830s to ‘40s, this period soon spread to other nations in the world, including the United States. Not only did it transform England’s economy from rural to urban, but it also altered the way people lived and how goods were produced. For example, with the creation of simple machines like the spinning jenny, the power loom, etc.

, clothes were weaved easier and much faster. As a result, goods became cheaper, and most people–even lower classes people–could access them. In addition, the invention of steam-powered locomotives (steam-powered boats and ships) allowed people to cross the Atlantic, something that was impossible for people to achieve before (History.com Editors and John). Besides the positive aspects and results that the Industrial Revolution brought to people’s lives, it also resulted in harmful downsides like devastating working conditions, the formation of child labor, and dreadful living conditions.

• 1 Working Conditions During the Industrial Revolution
• 2 Wages and Work Hours During the Industrial Revolution
• 3 The Rise of Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution
• 4 Living Conditions During the Industrial Revolution
• 5.1 References

Working Conditions During the Industrial Revolution

To begin with, people from the middle class and high class did not notice the trenchant working conditions that many low-class people needed to experience to produce their everyday products (clothing, shoes, etc.). Back during that time, people and the government worked according to laissez-faire capitalism: an ideology stating that the government should try to stay away from the country’s economic decisions and leave most of them to its citizens. This way, the nation’s economy would progress and grow stronger. As a result, mines, as well as factory owners, took control of everything, wages, working hours, etc., and they acted the way they desired. What they chose was to let workers face notorious working conditions without any worker rights. There were no guards or any security available for the workers back then.

Consequently, injuries were common among those people, especially the ones who worked near the spinning belts and shafts machines. In addition, most workers had to wear loose clothes to work with machines that ran at high speed; because of that, many of them were pulled into the machines and died. Furthermore, windows and ventilations were not equipped in factories or mines; this was the reason why workers usually suffered from heart diseases and lung problems back in the Industrial Revolution. Even though the government knew the hazardous working environment the low class faced, they did not establish any laws or protections for those people, as they hoped that everything could run according to laissez-faire capitalism (History “Working Conditions”).

Wages and Work Hours During the Industrial Revolution

Despite the harsh circumstances that the low-class people worked in, they did not receive a high wage. In fact, their wages were very little, and they could barely cover their living costs. Normally, men would work sixteen shifts in one day, and they earned 10 shillings (around .098 cents) per week. On the other hand, women worked shorter shifts, around twelve hours in one day, and received half the amount the men did (around .049 cents) per week. Although both the men and the women worked shifts that were long and exhausting, they refused to take breaks throughout the day because the factory owners would deduct their wages if they took breaks. Besides that, all workers were required to be at the factory from early in the morning to start their work, or else their wages were also going to be lowered (History “Working Conditions”).

The Rise of Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution

Another negative aspect that sprung up during the Industrial Revolution was child labor, and as the Industrial Revolution progressed, child labor became prevalent. This occurred because low-class families did not have enough money to supply their daily needs, so they sent their children to work as an extra income source. Families tried to have as many kids as possible since the more children they had, the more income they would receive. Most of the children who went to work were about fourteen to sixteen, and factory owners favored them more than adult workers for several reasons. Firstly, they were assigned the same amount of work that adults did, but the owners only had to pay them ten to twenty percent of the amount they paid adults. Secondly, children were more obedient than adults: they would not form strikes to request higher wages, ask for shorter work days, etc.; therefore, it was easier for the owners to control the children. Finally, their body sizes were smaller, which means that they could fit into tighter places that adults were not able to.

For example, machines like the textile mill ran at high speed, and they were often clogged. Children’s small fingers simply could unclog those machines. Nevertheless, when the children did that, the owners never ordered them to stop the machines. This led to the machine working against the children’s fingers, and they would be severely injured (History “Child Labor”).

Similar to adults, children always had injuries all over their bodies when they worked in factories since they were required to work close to spinning belts and powered machines without any guards provided. Working without guards was more dangerous for children than for adults, as they were not old enough to recognize the safety rules and guidelines outlined while working. On top of that, the machines that children worked with were most of the time bigger and taller than them. As a result, it was not safe for the children to operate those machines. Furthermore, clothing was another obstacle for children while they worked. They were provided clothes that were several sizes larger than theirs, and on their feet, they did not have any shoes or protection. Because of the big clothes, getting caught in the machines was a banal problem for children, and each time like that, they would die (History “Child Labor”).

Living Conditions During the Industrial Revolution

The last downside of the Industrial Revolution was the awful living conditions for low-class people. Those who decided to move to industrial cities had to stay at “back-to-back terraces” that were constructed by factory owners and entrepreneurs. Those houses were called back-to-back terraces because they were built side-by-side and connected to each other. Since the intention of those houses was for workers to live, their quality was poor. The cheapest materials were utilized to construct them, and basic amenities like windows and ventilators were not available. Besides that, there was no running water or sanitation equipped in those houses. After a long work day in hot factories and mines, people could not take a shower, which resulted in a lack of hygiene and diseases. Without water, sanitation also became a challenging process: people had to dump their wastes out onto the streets or dig holes to bury them. This made streets in the United Kingdom a dirty place.

Numerous diseases also came with filthy conditions, and they communicated to individuals at a rapid pace. Bodies of water like lakes and rivers were also highly polluted as people threw their waste and garbage into them. Not only humans harmed the environment, but factories and mines were other factors that annihilated the environment. Every day, factories and mines burn coal to operate. Consequently, a gigantic amount of smoke and burned particles were released into the air. In addition, locomotive engines were also powered by coal which also caused environmental problems (History “Living Conditions”).

It is undeniable that considerable changes came with the Industrial Revolution. Everything (food, clothes, transportation, etc.) was produced at a rapid rate, so people of all classes could access them. Railroads and steam-powered engines made it possible for people to travel across the ocean (John). On the other hand, problems like harmful working conditions, abuse of child labor, and horrendous living conditions did rise with the transformation from agrarian to machines. Regardless of the positive or negative effects that the Industrial Revolution brought with it.

• History.com Editors. “Industrial Revolution.” History, A&E Television Networks, 2009
• History. “Working Conditions During The Industrial Revolution.” National World War II Museum.

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The Impact of the British Industrial Revolution

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The consequences of the British Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) were many, varied, and long-lasting. Working life in rural and urban settings was changed forever by the inventions of new machines, the spread of factories, and the decline of traditional occupations. Developments in transportation and communications meant life in the post-industrial world was more exciting and faster, with people more connected than ever before. Consumer goods became more affordable to more people, and there were more jobs for a booming population. The price to pay for progress was often a working life that was noisy, repetitive, and dangerous, while cities grew to become overcrowded, polluted, and crime-ridden.

The impact of the Industrial Revolution included:

• Many new machines were invented that could do things much faster than previously or could perform entirely new tasks.
• Steam power was cheaper, more reliable, and faster than more traditional power sources.
• Large factories were established, creating jobs and a boom in cotton textile production, in particular.
• Large engineering projects became possible like iron bridges and viaducts.
• Traditional industries like hand weaving and businesses connected to stagecoaches went into terminal decline.
• The cost of food and consumer goods was reduced as items were mass-produced and transportation costs decreased.
• Better tools became available for manufacturers and farmers.
• The coal, iron, and steel industries boomed to provide fuel and raw materials for machines to work.
• The canal system was expanded but then declined.
• Urbanisation accelerated as labour became concentrated around factories in towns and cities.
• Cheap train travel became a possibility for all.
• Demand for skilled labour, especially in textiles, decreased.
• Demand for unskilled labour to operate machines and work on the railways increased.
• The use of child and women labour increased.
• Worker safety declined and was not reversed until the 1830s.
• Trade unions were formed to protect workers' rights.
• The success of mechanisation led to other countries experiencing their own industrial revolutions.

Coal Mining

Mining of tin and coal has a long history in Britain , but the arrival of the Industrial Revolution saw unprecedented activity underground to find the fuel to feed the steam-powered machines that came to dominate industry and transport. The steam-powered pump was invented to drain mines in 1712. This allowed deeper mining and so greatly increased coal production. The Watt steam engine , patented in 1769, allowed steam power to be harnessed for almost anything, and as the steam engines ran on coal, so the mining industry boomed as mechanisation swept across industries of all kinds. This phenomenon only increased with the spread of the railways from 1825 and the increase in steam-powered ships from the 1840s. Coal gas, meanwhile, was used for lighting homes and streets from 1812, and as a source of heat for private homes and cookers. Coke, that is burnt coal, was used as a fuel in the iron and steel industries, and so the demand for coal kept on growing as the Industrial Revolution rolled on.

There were four principal coal mining areas: South Wales, southern Scotland , Lancashire, and Northumberland. To get the coal to where it was needed, Britain's canal system was significantly expanded as transportation by canal was 50% cheaper than using roads. By 1830, " England and Wales had 3,876 miles [6,237 km] of inland canals, up from 1,399 [2,251 km] in 1760" (Horn, 17). Britain produced annually just 2.5 to 3 million tons of coal in 1700, but by 1900, this figure had rocketed to 224 million tons.

Manufacturing

The steam engine transformed industry, particularly one of Britain's biggest sectors: textiles. Spinning and weaving had been cottage industries centred around a single or a few households. A series of machines were invented which revolutionised how cotton was cleaned, spun, and woven. These devices were the flying shuttle (John Kay, 1733), spinning jenny (James Hargreaves, 1764), waterframe (Richard Arkwright, 1769), spinning mule ( Samuel Crompton, 1779), power loom (Edmund Cartwright, 1785), cotton gin (Eli Whitney, 1794), and Robert's loom and self-acting mule (Richard Roberts, 1822-5). Mechanisation permitted the establishment of textile mills and factories where first water-powered and then steam-powered machines did work faster and cheaper than was ever possible by hand. By the 1830s, 75% of cotton mills were using steam power and cotton textiles accounted for half of Britain's total exports.

Some protested violently at the advent of mechanisation, particularly skilled textile workers. The period between 1811 and 1816 saw the Luddites, named after their mythical leader Ned Ludd, smash factory machines. These protestors were dealt with harshly, and the crime of damaging machines could lead to the death penalty.

Despite the turbulence in traditional ways, many more jobs were created by mechanisation than were lost in older industries. In 1830, one in 80 Britons worked in the 4,000+ textile mills across the country. The new jobs were quite different from those in the past. Factory workers had to very often perform repetitive tasks, and they were ruled by the clock. Previously, workers had often been paid for a specific project (piecework) and worked at their own rhythm. In the new factory system, a worker performed only one task in a series that involved many other workers. On the other hand, factory jobs ensured regular pay, something that seasonal agricultural workers, especially, appreciated the value of.

Agriculture

Industrialisation in Britain was dramatic, but this did not mean that agriculture declined. On the contrary, innovations and mechanisation helped make agriculture more efficient than ever and so able to feed the ever-growing population. In 1800, agriculture involved 35% of Britain's total workforce, and even by the end of the Industrial Revolution in 1841, 1 in 5 Britons still worked in farming. Machines countered Britain's relatively high labour costs, and they compensated for the trend of people moving away from the country and into the cities.

The Rotherham swing plough (Joseph Foljambe, 1730), winnowing machine (Andrew Rodgers, 1737), threshing machine (Andrew Meikle, 1787), reaping machine ( Cyrus McCormack, 1834), and steam-powered flour mills all transformed harvesting and food production. Mobile steam engines were used to cut drainage trenches and pump out waterlogged areas to make them useful for agriculture. With the enclosure system, more common land was utilised for farming. Mass-produced agricultural implements were stronger, sharper, and longer-lasting than traditionally-made tools thanks to new metalworking machines. Scientists developed better fertilisers to increase yields. All of these improvements made food cheaper and helped many more people eat healthier diets, and so life expectancy went up, particularly regarding children.

There were negative effects of the Industrial Revolution on the agricultural sector. Jobs were lost, especially seasonal ones as farmers now hired machines at harvest time. Some labourers attacked the new machines that had taken their livelihood, notably during the Swing Riots of 1830-32. Land became more valuable, and so rents were increased, which led to many small farmers having to give up their farms.

There was a great increase in the use of female and child labour, particularly in factories and textile mills. One reason was that both groups were cheaper than male workers, another reason was that women and children had smaller and often more dexterous hands, which were advantages when using some machines. All three groups tended to work 12-hour shifts until this practice was reduced by law to 10 hours (in 1847). Children, on average, began working as young as eight in mines and factories, and so "at least half of nominally school-age children worked full-time during the industrial revolution" (Horn, 57). In the textile industry, women made up half of the workforce.

The health and safety of workers were often a low priority for employers until laws made these an obligatory consideration. Lung diseases caused by coal dust were a common problem for miners. Working in the damp conditions of a textile mill had a similar negative effect on workers there. Factories were very noisy, and many workers suffered hearing loss to various degrees. Repetitive stress injuries were common as workers performed the same tasks all day, six days a week. Dangerous substances were commonly handled, such as lead and mercury. Machines were large, heavy, had fast-moving parts, and were prone to breakages, all of which could lead to accidents like lost fingers, limbs, or worse.

Successive governments were reluctant to restrict business owners in principle since it was considered possibly damaging to the national economy to interfere. Workers attempted to act collectively to protect their interests, but the formation of trade unions was resisted by employers and politicians. Indeed, the government banned trade unions between 1799 and 1824. From the 1830s, though, Acts of Parliament began to ensure workers had improved protection and working conditions. Trade unions like the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (formed in 1851) then grew in stature to ensure these gains in rights were not lost.

Transportation & Communication

For many, the sight and sound of a train tearing through one's local countryside was the most visible and impressive result of the Industrial Revolution. Trains were first used on short lengths of track at mines. In 1825, the first passenger train ran from Stockton to Darlington. The first intercity passenger line was opened in 1830. Running between Liverpool and Manchester and pulled by Stephenson's Rocket locomotive, the line was such a great success it led to the railways spreading everywhere. Trains also revolutionised goods transport since a single train could carry 20 times the cargo of a canal boat and reach its destination eight times faster. This made consumer goods and raw materials transported by train cheaper than previously.

From 1848, passengers could travel from London to Glasgow in 12 hours, a journey that would have taken many days by stagecoach. By 1870, Britain had over 24,000 kilometres (15,000 miles) of rail lines. People were more connected than ever before. Even the less well-off could buy cheap excursion tickets, and so seaside resorts boomed. A trip from London to Brighton by stagecoach took five days and cost £1.20 in 1830; ten years later, the same journey by train took three hours and cost 40 pence.

A Gallery of 30 Industrial Revolution Inventions

Businesses, especially food producers, could now reach new markets which previously had been too expensive or too far away for fresh produce to be sold there. No longer restricted to local markets where they were already well known, businesses invested in countrywide advertising inside the new bustling train stations. The railways created tens of thousands of new jobs. Steam was also used to power metal ships, which were faster and more reliable than vessels that used only sails. Dockyards were another significant employer. The rise of steam-powered transport perpetuated the success of the coal, iron, and steel industries. In 1850, 2.25 million tons of pig iron were produced in Britain, that compares to 70,000 tons in 1786. Sheffield became the world's major steel producer; the city had five steel manufacturers in 1770, but 135 by 1856.

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Communication was greatly sped up by the railways. Trains delivered newspapers from one area of the country to the other on the same day. Trains delivered letters and parcels in 24 hours. The railways inspired the invention of the electrical telegraph , invented in 1837 by William Fothergill Cook (1806-1879) and Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875), so that train drivers could communicate with stations. Soon the public could send private messages, and journalists, too, used the telegraph to contact their offices, and so the delivery of news sped up remarkably. As the Industrial Revolution spread to other European countries and the United States, so more communication and travel opportunities arrived. Ocean-crossing steamships and intercontinental telegraph cables made the world more connected than ever before.

As in other areas of the Industrial Revolution, new modes of transport brought some negative consequences. Canals and stagecoach companies went into decline. Some people were obliged to give up their land to make way for the railway lines. There was more air pollution and noise, and the countryside was spoilt by the tracks, bridges, and tunnels built to allow trains the most direct route between destinations.

Effects on Society

The population of Britain rocketed from 6 million in 1750 to 21 million in 1851. The 1851 census in Britain revealed that, for the first time, more people were living in towns and cities than in the countryside. The populations of cities and towns like Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, and Halifax increased ten times over in the 19th century. More young people meeting each other meant marriages happened earlier, and the birth rate went up compared to societies in rural areas.

Life became cramped in the cities that had grown up around factories and coalfields. Many families were obliged to share the same home. "In Liverpool in the 1840s, 40,000 people were living in cellars, with an average of six people per cellar" (Armstrong, 188). Pollution became a serious problem in many places. Poor sanitation led to the spread of diseases. In 1837, 1839, and 1847, there were typhus epidemics. In 1831 and 1849, there were cholera epidemics. Another effect of urbanisation was the rise in petty crime. Criminals were now more confident of escaping detection in the ever-increasing anonymity of life in the cities. The education of many children was replaced by a working day, a choice often made by parents to supplement a meagre family income. There were some rudimentary schools, and some employers provided a certain level of education, but compulsory education for 5-to-12-year-olds and the institutions necessary to provide it would not come along until the 1870s. Literacy rates improved in the period, a development helped by the availability of cheap books made possible by economies of scale from papermaking machines and printing presses.

Consumerism developed with workers able to afford mass-produced goods. There were more shops than ever before to meet this demand, and the stock was more interesting, with exotic goods coming from across the British Empire . An urban middle class grew up, but the gulf between those at the bottom and the top, if anything, widened. Factory workers, for example, had few transferable skills, and so they were stuck at their level of work. In the past, a handweaver might have saved, perhaps over many years, to form their own business with their own employees, but that method of climbing the social ladder now became much more difficult to access. Capital might have replaced land as the great wealth indicator, but for most people, the Industrial Revolution brought a different way of living, not necessarily a better one.

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Bibliography

• Allen, Robert C. The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective . Cambridge University Press, 2009.
• Armstrong, Benjamin. Britain 1783-1885. Hodder Education, 2020.
• Dugan, Sally & Dugan, David. The Day the World Took Off. Channel 4 Book, 2023.
• Forty, Simon. 100 Innovations of the Industrial Revolution. Haynes Publishing UK, 2019.
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• Yorke, Stan. The Industrial Revolution Explained. Countryside Books, 2005.

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Cartwright, M. (2023, April 24). The Impact of the British Industrial Revolution . World History Encyclopedia . Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2226/the-impact-of-the-british-industrial-revolution/

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Characteristics of the Industrial Revolution

• The first Industrial Revolution
• The second Industrial Revolution

Where and when did the Industrial Revolution take place?

How did the industrial revolution change economies, how did the industrial revolution change society, what were some important inventions of the industrial revolution, who were some important inventors of the industrial revolution.

Industrial Revolution

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Historians conventionally divide the Industrial Revolution into two approximately consecutive parts. What is called the first Industrial Revolution lasted from the mid-18th century to about 1830 and was mostly confined to Britain . The second Industrial Revolution lasted from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century and took place in Britain, continental Europe, North America , and Japan. Later in the 20th century, the second Industrial Revolution spread to other parts of the world.

The Industrial Revolution transformed economies that had been based on agriculture and handicrafts into economies based on large-scale industry, mechanized manufacturing, and the factory system. New machines, new power sources, and new ways of organizing work made existing industries more productive and efficient. New industries also arose, including, in the late 19th century, the automobile industry.  

The Industrial Revolution increased the overall amount of wealth and distributed it more widely than had been the case in earlier centuries, helping to enlarge the middle class. However, the replacement of the domestic system of industrial production, in which independent craftspersons worked in or near their homes, with the factory system and mass production consigned large numbers of people, including women and children, to long hours of tedious and often dangerous work at subsistence wages. Their miserable conditions gave rise to the trade union movement in the mid-19th century.

Important inventions of the Industrial Revolution included the steam engine , used to power steam locomotives, steamboats, steamships, and machines in factories; electric generators and electric motors; the incandescent lamp (light bulb); the telegraph and telephone; and the internal-combustion engine and automobile, whose mass production was perfected by Henry Ford in the early 20th century.

Important inventors of the Industrial Revolution included James Watt , who greatly improved the steam engine; Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson , who pioneered the steam locomotive ; Robert Fulton , who designed the first commercially successful paddle steamer; Michael Faraday , who demonstrated the first electric generator and electric motor; Joseph Wilson Swan and Thomas Alva Edison , who each independently invented the light bulb; Samuel Morse , who designed a system of electric telegraphy and invented Morse Code ; Alexander Graham Bell , who is credited with inventing the telephone ; and Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz , who constructed the first motorcycle and motorcar, respectively, powered by high-speed internal-combustion engines of their own design.

Industrial Revolution , in modern history, the process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing . These technological changes introduced novel ways of working and living and fundamentally transformed society. This process began in Britain in the 18th century and from there spread to other parts of the world. Although used earlier by French writers, the term Industrial Revolution was first popularized by the English economic historian Arnold Toynbee (1852–83) to describe Britain’s economic development from 1760 to 1840. Since Toynbee’s time the term has been more broadly applied as a process of economic transformation than as a period of time in a particular setting. This explains why some areas, such as China and India , did not begin their first industrial revolutions until the 20th century, while others, such as the United States and western Europe , began undergoing “second” industrial revolutions by the late 19th century.

A brief treatment of the Industrial Revolution follows. For full treatment of the Industrial Revolution as it occurred in Europe, see Europe, history of: The Industrial Revolution .

(Read James Watt’s 1819 Britannica essay on the steam engine.)

The main features involved in the Industrial Revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and cultural. The technological changes included the following: (1) the use of new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel , (2) the use of new energy sources, including both fuels and motive power, such as coal , the steam engine , electricity , petroleum , and the internal-combustion engine , (3) the invention of new machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy, (4) a new organization of work known as the factory system , which entailed increased division of labour and specialization of function, (5) important developments in transportation and communication , including the steam locomotive , steamship, automobile , airplane , telegraph , and radio , and (6) the increasing application of science to industry. These technological changes made possible a tremendously increased use of natural resources and the mass production of manufactured goods.

There were also many new developments in nonindustrial spheres, including the following: (1) agricultural improvements that made possible the provision of food for a larger nonagricultural population, (2) economic changes that resulted in a wider distribution of wealth, the decline of land as a source of wealth in the face of rising industrial production, and increased international trade , (3) political changes reflecting the shift in economic power, as well as new state policies corresponding to the needs of an industrialized society, (4) sweeping social changes, including the growth of cities , the development of working-class movements, and the emergence of new patterns of authority, and (5) cultural transformations of a broad order. Workers acquired new and distinctive skills, and their relation to their tasks shifted; instead of being craftsmen working with hand tools , they became machine operators, subject to factory discipline . Finally, there was a psychological change: confidence in the ability to use resources and to master nature was heightened.

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Industrial Revolution

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Positive and Negative Effects of Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution started in England in the late 1700’s and brought about new inventions, products, and work methods. It had both positive and negative effects, which were evaluated by various stakeholders including factory workers, owners, the government, and observers of industrial cities. Among the negative impacts was the significant issue of poor working conditions in factories during this period.

Many people faced harsh working conditions in factories, characterized by cramped spaces and inadequate lighting. These conditions resulted in numerous injuries and even fatalities. In his testimony to the Sadler Committee, Joseph Hebergram revealed that he suffered from damaged lungs and impaired leg muscles, which rendered them incapable of bearing the weight of his bones. He attributed these health issues to the combination of dust present in the factories and excessive work demands. Hebergram’s account serves as evidence of the severe conditions that prevailed in the factories, where some individuals tragically lost their lives. According to Hebergram, approximately twelve deaths occurred during his two and a half years of employment in the factories.

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The factories had poor conditions, with factory workers facing long working hours. William Cooper, a ten-year-old boy, testified about his experience before the Sadler Committee. He disclosed that he worked from five in the morning until nine at night. These young factory workers had no time for anything except work and sleep. They lacked education and basic literacy skills. Cooper also mentioned that they were frequently punished, often beaten, when they failed to concentrate on their work.

The terrible conditions caused the factory workers to become angry and create unions and go on strike. These strikes and labor unions eventually forced factory owners to reach agreements with the workers and make improvements to the conditions in the factories. Another negative consequence of the Industrial Revolution was the unsanitary state of cities. When Friedrich Engels visited an English industrial city, he described in his work “The Conditions of the Working Class in England” that the streets were typically unpaved, full of holes, dirty, and covered in garbage because there were no gutters or drains.

The environment suffered negative consequences as a result of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Manchester. The city’s main river became heavily polluted and dirty, taking on a coal black color due to the waste that was dumped into it. Moreover, factories contributed to air pollution and deteriorating air quality through their open air vents and chimneys, which released pollutants into the atmosphere. The people living in these impoverished areas, predominantly occupied by the working class and poor individuals, had to endure these unhygienic living conditions. However, there was one positive outcome from the Industrial Revolution: prices decreased. Prior to this era, individuals mainly worked out of their homes or small workshops, resulting in higher costs for handmade goods.

In earlier times, people typically only owned one shirt and one pair of pants. However, as the demand for more goods increased in the 1700s, textile traders began looking for faster and more cost-effective ways to produce clothing. Machines like the spinning jenny, which could spin eight threads simultaneously; the flying shuttle that improved weaving speed; and the water frame – a large spinning machine powered by water in factories – played a role in achieving lower prices.

The improvements made are acknowledged by the author of “The Working Man’s Companion”: “Your houses are better constructed, your clothes are less expensive, and you have an endless array of household utensils.”

During the Industrial Revolution, the prices of goods decreased significantly, resulting in improved living conditions for people in the long run. Additionally, there was a substantial increase in iron production between 1740 and 1900 as a positive consequence of this revolution. Initially, only 17,350 tons of iron were produced by the British in 1740. However, the production quantity underwent a massive surge afterwards. By 1796, more than 100,000 tons had been produced; by 1839, over one million tons; by 1854, over three million tons; and by 1900, an astonishing nine million tons of iron had been produced. This clearly showcases how the Industrial Revolution greatly stimulated iron production.

During the time trains were being constructed, the production of iron played a crucial role in improving transportation and facilitating the movement of goods. Additionally, certain factories saw improvements in working conditions. In “The Philosophy of Manufacturers,” Andrew Ure observed that the children working in these factories appeared to be consistently happy and energetic, even skipping on their way home. These observations suggest that the factory owners treated the children well and implemented regulations to prevent mistreatment.

The Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor published a pamphlet mentioning that children working at Mr. Dale’s factory had a healthy appearance that caught the attention of travelers. This was credited to the regulations implemented by Mr. Dale, which differed from those followed in other factories. Between 1785 and 1797, out of the 3000 employed children, only 14 had died, while other factories saw numerous annual fatalities due to machine accidents. In “Manchester in 1844,” Leon Faucher stated that Mr. Ashton greatly benefited Hyde town, initially with a population of 800 people.

With a workforce of 1500 in his factories, Ashton had a positive influence on Hyde city. In essence, the Industrial Revolution resulted in both favorable and unfavorable consequences for society. Similar to the French Revolution, it had a lasting impact on society and elevated the middle class’s status. Despite causing ongoing negative social and economic problems, it also played a role in England’s emergence as a global power. Hence, the Industrial Revolution remains acknowledged as one of history’s notable events.

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