4 21. The Industrial Revolution: The Transformation of Society. The term "industrial revolution" denotes the shift from an agrarian, handicraft economy to one dominated by machine manufacture, the division of labor, the use of factories, and generally with greater concentrations of population in urban areas. Industriali zation did not progress everywhere at the same pace; it began in England in the mid-18th century, started in France during the Revolution, reached Germany in the 1840s, and eastern Europe in the last decades of the 19th century. It also crossed the Atlantic, reaching the United States in the mid-19th century. Some areas, as western Germany, were heavily industrialized; others, as in Italy, lagged badly. A. The Rise of the Industrial Age. 1. The Roots of Industralization. The industrial revolution came to western Europe because: a. Western Europe was wealthier than most of the world, its wealth spread across the social classes. The Commercial Revolution after the Renaissance had allowed Europe to tap the resources of Africa and the Americas. b. Western European agriculture was more efficient in its use of land, capital, and labor. Labor was not solely tied to land. c. Competition between the nations contributed to economic expansion. 2. The Population Explosion. Vigorous population growth provided both labor and consumers. There were several reasons for population growth: declining death rates and more efficient agriculture. 3. The Agricultural Revolution. Some of the major changes in agriculture were: a. Agriculture was becoming a capitalistic enterprise for markets rather than home consumption. b. Selective breeding of animals had been developed. c. There were improved methods of farming: rotation of crops, improved plows, simple machines as threshers increased productivity. d. Landowners began to claim the "common lands" in which was called the "enclosure movement". 4. Britain First. Great Britain was the first country to industrialize. a. France had a skilled population, but its people were less willing to change traditional ways, as in agriculture, and tended to hand-produce luxury items rather than mass consumption goods. French farming was more inefficient; the country also had internal tariffs. b. Britain had many advantages: coal and iron deposits; transportation system of rivers, canals, and roads; a labor pool of ready workers; while government policies provided law, order, and protection of private property. 5. Changes in Technology. The industrial revolution was largely the application of technology to the manufacturing process. a. The cotton industry. First stage was invention of simple machines in textile production: flying shuttle, spinning jenny, etc. Workers were brought together in the "factory system". Water power was used to run the machines, the factories usually located along rivers. b. The steam engine. Was developed by James Watt about 1760, at first used for pumping water from coal mines, but in time it came to revolutionize factory production when applied there. Women and children came to be employed in greater number, and status of workers was greatly reduced. c. The iron industry. The steam engine brought improvements in metals. 1) Abraham Darby produced coke-smelted cast iron; and next step was a more efficient method of producing wrought iron. 2) Henry Bessemer in mid-19th century developed one process, the open hearth process was another, for making high quality steel, which replaced iron because of its greater strength. d. Changes in manufacturing were paralleled by improvements in transportation, particularly coming of the railroad in the early 19th century. Britain took the lead, followed by continental governments. Steam ships did not compete with sailing ships until the late 19th century. e. Were also improvements in communication: postal service, telegraph. 6. Changes in Finance. Industrial Revolution required enormous amounts of capital. Family firms first dominated the industry, but investment needs brought in banking. Also, more businesses turned to incorporation, or limited liability, in which ownership could be transferred and the corporate body had its own identity. The corporate form expanded rapidly in the 19th century. B. Society Transformed. The Industrial Revolution brought great social change. Older social patterns had been built around family kinship, in which land was the source of wealth and power. But industrialization brought many changes. 1. Urbanization. There was a great increase in urbanization in the 19th century. a. Industrialization was heaviest in certain regions, as English Midlands, Scottish Lowlands, the northern plains of France, German Rhineland. Was so rapid that government efforts at order and planning were often ineffective. b. A characteristic of urbanization came to be the "segregated city", each class living in its own section, the workers and urban poor in appalling conditions of over-crowding, lack of sanitation, and immorality were all common. 2. Changes in Social Structure. a. The bourgeoisie, or middle class, grew in number and power. The wealthiest were bankers; factory owners; merchants, professional classes as doctors and lawyers; storekeepers and managers. They struggled with the aristocracy for social recognition, political power, sought respectability, often married into aristocratic families. Were characterized by hard work, thrift, ambition; but could be materialistic and selfish. b. Workers fell into several categories: 1) Artisans were craftsmen with skilled trades. Generally well educated, of stable families, living in one place for generations, enjoyed recognized social standing. But introduction of machinery and competition with growing class of factory workers threatened their status; and they were at the forefront of revolutionary movements in Europe as they sought to save their positions. 2) Servant class. Middle class employed thousands of servants, were often country men and women at the mercy of their employees, but were deferential and aspired to status themselves. 3. The Conditions of Industrial Workers. a. Factory workers were a new class, generally unskilled, often recently from the country. b. Conditions of labor were oppressive: long hours, work was menial, machines demanding, conditions were often dangerous; factories were dirty and unventilated. Their bodies were often stunted and broken. c. Their living conditions were crowded, filthy, was a degree of anonymity in comparison to the rural environment from which they had come. Marriage was early, families large, for children were assets and an old-age pension. Social life centered around pubs and taverns. The Methodists, dissenting churches, and Catholics were more successful in establishing churches among them. d. Working classes often endured, and union movements did not appear among them until the late 19th century. Strikes were rarely successful, the artisans protesting more than the factory workers. Some workers formed cooperative organizations for self-help and aid. Unions became legal in England in 1825, but for a long time were not very successful, and craft unions were generally more successful than labor unions of unskilled workers. C. Relief and Reform. 1. As industrialization progressed, there was a widespread perception that workers' conditions were worsening, but no clear idea what to do. Many classical economists opposed actions that would violate laissez-faire principles; utilitarians thought a better organization of government and industry held the answer. 2. Legal Actions on Behalf of Workers. a. After a series of Parliamentary reports, Britain passed various factory acts to relieve the worst conditions, regulating hours of labor for women and children, and providing some schooling. b. Efforts were made to reform the "poor laws" to provide relief to the suffering; to distinguish between "deserving" and "undeserving", while workhouses with harsh living conditions were established. Historians continue to debate how bad conditions were, but most agree that standards of living rose during the 19th century, but still the pace of industrialization caused much misery. D. Industrialization in Perspective. The authors of the text offer the following conclusions: (1) in the long run industrialization was a great force for democratization of the human race, but this would only slowly evolve over the 19th and 20th centuries; (2) the secularization of society - the movement away from belonging to a community of families united by religious belief and custom - was another important trend that had only barely begun by the end of the 19th century; (3) urbanization of industrialized areas was a major change; and (4) the Europeanization of the world would be a long-term trend, only apparent in the 20th century. Names and Terms to Remember Industrial Abraham Darby German Rhineland Revolution Henry Bessemer (m) Agricultural open hearth process artisans Revolution limited liability trade unions enclosure movement urbanization Factory Acts factory system English Midlands (m) Poor Laws James Watt