Station 1: Causes of Industrial Revolution Agricultural Revolution

Station 1: Causes of Industrial Revolution 

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Agricultural Revolution -enclosure system that allowed for cultivation of larger fields, Jethro Tull’s seed drill, crop rotation, new methods of breeding livestock – all lead to a population increase, less labor-intensive, and land displacement of smaller farmers who move to cities and begin working in factories Development of iron-making industries Increased use of refined coal Textile Industry o New inventions in the textile industry – flying shuttle, spinning jenny, spinning mule, water frame – modernize the cotton and textile industry; quicker and cheaper production; demise of cottage industries o Cotton gin (Eli Whitney) – mechanized way to remove seeds from cotton; more labor could be dedicated to field work than to seeding cotton; greater agricultural output results and leads to growth of slavery in the United States Steam Technology o Steam engine as a source of power – James Watt o Steamboat makes water transportation easier – Robert Fulton (American) Factory system o Factory system used for the housing of large machinery Transportation technology o Improvement of roads in England – turnpikes and tollgates for profit; macadam roads of crushed rock that make transportation easier Railroads o Inexpensive way to transport materials and finished products; creation of new jobs; boost to agriculture and fishing industries that could be transported to different areas; brought rural people to cities to find work

Station 2: Politics and Economics of the Industrial Revolution 

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New laws to reform industrialization o Ended long hours for women and children o Labor Act 1833: Children under 9 years old could not be hired to work. Extension of suffrage (right to vote) to larger number of people Establishment of European colonies in Africa and Asia to obtain sources of raw materials and markets for the sale of manufactured goods Spread of free enterprise, as well as responses to free enterprise through socialist and communist philosophies o As factory owners became wealthier, the gap between rich and poor was widened. People began to argue for more equality and worker rights. Increase in commercial agriculture leads to mechanization of agricultural production o Small farmers began to move to the cities to work in the factories. Division of labor in factories and routine work tasks Creation of merchant class Mass production of goods

Station 3: Social Changes resulting from the Industrial Revolution Increase in population and life expectancy due to improvements in food production and health care  Long work hours, low wages, and dangerous working conditions for industrial workers  Class tensions between the upper/middle classes and the working classes  Increase in child labor which later led to child labor reform laws  Poor housing conditions for workers that result in poor sanitary conditions and health epidemics  Urbanization of industrial areas in Europe and the United States  Destruction of factories and machinery by the Luddites in response to the demise of cottage industries  Beginnings of labor unions that result in better working and housing conditions for workers Role of children in Industrialization:  Children take on the role of bread-winner for families  Easier for them to find work due to their size (working in the coal pits) and reduced wages paid to children. 

Station 4: Impact of the Industrial Revolution     

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New inventions, products, and methods of work Cheaper prices for manufactured goods Competition for trade Growth of national pride Beginnings of imperialism so that raw materials could be obtained from colonies and so that goods could be marketed to these colonies Spread of industrialization from Great Britain to mainland Europe and the United States and then to other parts of the world Illness and death from poor working conditions in factories leads to shorter life span Poor worker conditions – low wages, child labor, lack of solidarity without unions, long work hours Rapid urbanization as enclosure laws ruined smaller farmers who moved to cities for work Illness and death from overcrowding in cities as working population grew Growth of free enterprise through laissez-faire economic policies New artistic movements that reacted differently to industrialization: Romanticism and Realism Development of socialism and communism as a reaction to capitalism brought by industrialization Reforms for working, living, and political conditions including the extension of universal manhood suffrage in some industrialized nation