The Industrial Revolution I English Origins Agricultural revolution

The Industrial Revolution

I. English Origins • Agricultural revolution led to increased food supply and a growth in … • population • Technological breakthroughs came from… • inventive citizens • Availability of resources including: • large coal supplies, • plenty of iron, and a • labor force • Government supported… • economic growth • Navy offered protection for: • merchant ships

• Rich landowners took over and fenced off land at the expense of… • peasant farmers • Larger farms increased: • output and… • profit • The larger fields required fewer… • workers • Displaced peasant farmers migrated to… • towns and… • cities • They formed the labor force needed to work in… • factories with new machines Enclosure Movement

• Crowded tenements • No sewage or sanitation systems • Disease spread rapidly • Noisy and smelly environment • Polluted air • High crime rates • Frequent abuse of alcohol • People were tired from long hours at work

Growing Middle Class • Upper middle class included doctors, lawyers, and scientists • Lower middle class included teachers, office workers, shop keepers, and clerks • Workers and peasants made up the lower class • Growth in education - 3 “R’s” • Emphasis on punctuality, obedience, discipline, patriotism, and religion • Roles of women: act proper, marry well, raise children, direct servants, religious or charitable work

Labor Unions • Working class became increasingly dissatisfied with working conditions • Protested low wages, long hours, unsafe conditions, and constant threat of unemployment • Germany legalized labor unions in 1869, followed soon after by Britain, Austria, France, etc. • Universal male suffrage in most western countries helped the cause of labor unions • Laws eventually passed to regulate working conditions to appease workers • Gains included old age pensions and disability insurance

New Economic Ideas • Capitalism • Laissez-Faire Economics • Socialism • Communism Adam Smith Frederick Engels Karl Marx

Capitalism • Adam Smith – led the battle cry for laissez-faire economics – a hands off approach • Free market – unregulated exchange of goods • According to Smith, a free market would eventually help everyone, not just the rich • More goods could be produced at lower costs making products more affordable for everyone • As a result, capitalists would be encouraged to reinvest their profits into new business enterprises

Socialism • A proposed solution to end poverty and injustice • People as a whole rather than private individuals would own and operate the means of production • Grew out of Enlightenment belief in progress and goodness of human nature • Society to operate for the benefit of all members, rather than just for the wealthy

Communism • Karl Marx believed that economics is the driving force in history • History of “class struggles” between the “haves” and the “have-nots” • He saw the modern class struggle that was going on during the industrial revolution as being between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat • Marx predicted that the proletariat would be victorious • They would set up a classless, communist society