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Industrial Revolution

Industrialization

1. What was the Industrial Revolution? Why may it be said that it was not a revolution at all?

The industrial revolution was a period of time in which many countries decided to abandon the agriculturalist way of life and decided to do what the name of the period suggests, industrialize. New technology was introduced and machines came about that characterized the industrial revolution. However, in spite of what its name suggest it can be argued that the industrial revolution wasn’t a true revolution but rather an enlarging of both the business and the wage-earning classes, The main difference in the before and after periods of the industrial revolution was that power machinery replaced the common carpenters tool belt so to speak. What also keeps one from calling this a revolution was the fact that in the 1830’s, despite all of the “revolution-izing” that took place, only a small fraction of the working class in Britain were employed in the factories that came about during that time. The factories of the time weren’t so much a revolution so much as a growth and expansion of business as usual. They were viewed as a new and advanced form of production.

2. What important population and urban change accompanied the Industrial Revolution? Why was it difficult to deal with the problems of rapid urbanization?

In no place is industrialization seen better than at its root, Britain. It is here that the population changes can be noted as the most obvious as well as the urban changes that clearly show a boom. In the span of one hundred years the population had tripled. Where as the majority of England’s population lived in the south, its resources were located in the north. Its resources, namely coal and iron were in such high demand that many moved to where they could mine these materials. Prior to the boom of the English population there were only three cities with more than 50,000 people outside of England and Scotland. But a short seventy...