The Industrial Revolution was absolutely beneficial to the progress of the world from the 1800s all the way to present day. Sacrifices were made which allowed technological advancements during the Industrial Revolution, which in turn, created happiness, life opportunities, and an over-all, definite amelioration of life. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, many hardships had to be overcome, causing great grief to most of the population. Faith was lost, patience was tried, and a blanket of oppression covered the people of Europe.
When new inventions arose to facilitate the producing and mass-producing of goods that supplied the people of Europe, nearly everyone was forced to begin a new career within a factory. These are just some of the hardships that many loyal, hardworking citizens were faced with. The reverberations of these new inventions caused a dramatic plummet of the life expectancy of an average citizen to an alarming 15 years of age. Women and children were expected to work up to 16 hours a day and doing labor that could cause serious injury, like carrying extremely heavy loads.
For their work, they were paid ridiculous wages, women around 5 shillings per week, and children about 1. One can easily recognize the negative aspects of such a dramatic event. However, if one “steps back” to view the revolution as a whole, he will notice that the positive aspects completely out-weigh the negative aspects. The revolution began when inventors introduced their creations to improve the way people were producing goods. Machines such as the cotton gin, water frame, power loom, and spinning jenny allowed textile products to be produced in mass quantities.
These techniques of mass-production made other methods such as cottage industry, where families produce items by hand, obsolete. As a result of this, people began to work in factories with these machines. Factories became so dominant that eventually the cottage industry no longer played a part in people’s lives. This dramatically changed people’s lifestyles, and for a long period of time, there were terrible work conditions. These factories had its positive and negative aspects. The work conditions were very dangerous, there were no safety devices, and many had to work long hours.
However, due to the mass production, many jobs were available, and the prices of goods considerably decreased because of the extreme availability. The job opportunities and price decrease definitely improved the lives of the people, giving them a chance to be a part of the society and be able to purchase products at a price that wasn’t too bad. As the revolution progressed, people began to realize that there were solutions to the problems and hardships that they battled every day.
The people went to the Parliament with an answer: unions. A union is an organized group up people working for a mutual cause. In 1824, the right to form unions was established. These unions created laws and regulations that made working less dangerous and cruel, and more sanitary. Consecutive acts were formed that lessened the amount of hours women and children could work in the factories and safety and sanitary regulations were enforced. One act that really benefited the rules of labor for children was the Factory Act of 1833.
This act stated that children had to be over 9 years old to work in factories, and children 9-13 years old couldn’t work more than 9 hours, and children 13-18 years old could not work more than 12 hours. Eventually, personal insurance developed which led to social security. These are the positive outcomes that derived from the industrial revolution that effects the workers. Now let us view how many people’s lives changed outside work. There were many national benefits of this revolution.
One very important aspect is that there became many more goods available because of the mass-production. Due to this mass-producing, the goods also dropped in price, which considerably benefited those who were financially struggling. Along with the mass-producing came more employment opportunities, which allowed some of the less fortunate people to have a chance of getting a job. The increase of new ideas and inventions led to an increase of the quality of life. Medicinal products became more plentiful, transportation improved, and free education was available.
People began to find themselves with more leisure time. Wages were increased, health benefits became available, and eventually, pension became available to those who retired. These are just some of the many aspects of the revolution that benefited the people as a nation, which made them happier, and made the government safer from rebellion. There is still one more aspect of this revolution and that is the effects of it on present day. Without the inventions and changes that took place to form a more ideal society, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Without labor laws and health benefits, the life expectancy of a human would drop at least 20 years. Our lives would not be integrated with the technology that helps us learn and grow such as computers, cars, and airplanes. Without the growth of industrialization, there would not be the need for any of these inventions, and we would all still be working on a farm. Some would say that they would rather live on a farm, but many can easily see how much better our lives are with the effects of the industrialization. Let us “step back” and view the revolution as a whole now.
In the beginning, people struggled and suffered, and this happens with all change and progress; people sacrifice. As time passed, people gained more benefits, and their lives became better. Work became much less tedious, and many people found themselves with more extra time. Finally there is the modern day and the future. Technology and industry has dominated our world, improving it to a point that would have been unimaginable one hundred years ago, and with the help of the people, the sacrificing and the hardships, progress continues.
