Was the industrial Revolution a good thing?

University Degree Historical and Philosophical studies

Was the industrial Revolution a good thing?

The Industrial Revolution was a series of many changes that took place in Great Britain from 1750 to 1900. There is much controversy as to whether the changes were for better or for worse and to whether the Industrial Revolution was a good thing or a bad thing. Some people say that it improved peoples’ lives, and that technology and entertainment got better. They say that Britain was made a great, rich and powerful country. Others disagree and say that it was a bad thing and that during the Industrial Revolution there were terrible working and living conditions and many people suffered because of the changes that took place. They also say that it caused a lot of pollution and that it changed many people’s lifestyles for the worse. In this essay I will investigate the bad and then the good things that happened to people’s lives in Britain between 1750 and 1900 and then make up my own mind as to whether the Industrial Revolution was a good thing or not.

In the early 1700’s a lot of people worked on the land. Nearly all of the people that didn’t work on the farms worked in their homes, spinning or weaving. Most families spun and wove in the same room as they did all of their domestic chores. This room was usually quite full, with the children, adults and even the elderly all helping to produce wool and cloth. This was a good idea, because the less capable members of the family could get help if they needed it and the parents could look after the young children. This was also a good idea because the family could choose whichever hours they wanted to work and they could also choose how much leisure time they had, according to how much work there was to be done and when they wanted their free time. A good thing about the Domestic System was that they could keep all of the profits for themselves because they sold their products at the nearest market town. They were self-employed, so there was no middleman taking the profits away from them, unlike in the factories and mills.

All of these facts about the textile industry and the Domestic System before the Industrial Revolution make the Industrial Revolution a bad thing because the Domestic System had a lot of benefits. It seemed good compared to the situation after the change in the textile industry. During the Industrial Revolution new methods of spinning and weaving were introduced, which couldn’t be done in the home because the machinery, including the Water Frame, invented in 1769 by Richard Arkwright, was too large to be used in the home. Mills, built by fast flowing rivers, were used to do spinning. Lots of jobs had to move to huge factories that were built especially. At the factories and mills parents couldn’t supervise their children whilst they were working. The employers made children undertake many dangerous tasks for very low wages. In some mines children, women and men all did the same type of work for the same length of time. Women earned just half the amount that men did and children were only paid a third of what men were paid.

Children were exploited and forced to work in dreadful conditions. They were beaten when they didn’t do their work. Most children became very tired and were frequently found asleep on the mill floors. This was not surprising when children as young as 6 or 7 were working 14 hour days, with no substantial breaks for meals, some with only half an hour in the middle of the day to sit down, eat and rest. Even heavily pregnant women and women who had just had children were known to be working in the mills and mines. There is evidence in reports from the mid 1800’s, including one in 1843 which said that young children working in the cotton mills and factories were beaten cruelly for making minor errors. They were said to be beaten with whatever tools their boss could find, including hammers, sticks with leather attached to them, whips, straps and files. Some children were also punched and kicked.

At most work places there was hardly any safety precautions taken at all. There were no protective guards on the machines and most workers wore bare feet. A lot of the workers were in constant danger whilst doing their jobs. Young and small children were forced to put their lives at risk by picking up cotton from underneath deadly machinery that was still in motion. Also at the mills, older children that were too big to crawl under the machines had to pull heavy baskets all day long.

The tired children and adults that worked all day long at tip punching machines were in constant danger of their fingers or hands being punched off, some children’s arms were even broken.

Another very dangerous process was fork grinding. Pictures that were drawn in the 1860’s show that fork grinders had hardly any safety equipment at all. Not many fork grinders had safety goggles or masks to protect them from the dangerous flying sparks and metal dust. There was a survey published in the Medical Times, 1843. It stated that 855 out of every 1000 fork grinders between the ages of 20 and 40 died, whilst the national average was only 296. This showed that this job was very bad for the workers’ health. Some other health risks in the cotton mills were the loud monotonous noise from the machines which was terrible and also deafening and there was an awful smell that made some of the workers sick. The dust that flew about was also very dangerous. It made the children cough very badly. Some of the workers died, just because of the cough. The working conditions were generally very poor during the Industrial Revolution, a lot worse than the safer and more relaxed working conditions before 1750 in the Domestic System. The Domestic System gave people more free time to enjoy themselves and work together in close and friendly communities and in harmony with nature, instead of with complete strangers and cruel employers who were obsessed with time and profit and exploited their workers, especially the women and young children which is what happened in the mills, mines and factories.

There was an organisation called the Ten Hours Movement, which claimed to want shorter days for the children although only the leaders of this organisation cared about the children. Most just wanted shorter days for themselves. There were Acts that were supposed to improve working conditions, because employers found ways around them and children were forced to lie about their age. Also if the working hours were shortened then the workers wouldn’t get paid as much and would need to do more hours because they needed the money. Parliament was not a lot of help because they didn’t have enough inspectors to inspect every single workshop thoroughly, if at all. The worst evils of child labour ended when parents began to earn reasonable wages for themselves, so they had no reasons to send their children to work as well.

The transport was basic in 1750, but at least no pollution was caused unlike during and after the Industrial Revolution. Pollution from transport and factories is still a problem today.

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The transport was basic in 1750, but at least no pollution was caused unlike during and after the Industrial Revolution. Pollution from transport and factories is still a problem today.

Another bad point about the Industrial Revolution is that the living conditions also got worse after 1750. As many peoples’ jobs moved into the towns and cities the people also ended up moving house with their jobs. The houses were built very closely together in narrow streets. Lots of them were terraced houses. Pictures that were drawn at the time show terribly overcrowded conditions in houses and streets. The houses were built very closely together. People bought, for example, an acre of land and then built and sold as many houses as they could on the land with no reference to drainage or anything. Nobody could do anything about it.

Most of the houses didn’t have a water supply. Some people went down to the nearest river to collect their water, although this wasn’t sufficient for drinking or washing. In some towns the water was turned on for a certain amount of time each day, in Liverpool it was turned on for four hours. The poor had to tap for it, although they could only fetch as much as their pans could carry. Another bad thing was that there were no proper refuse collections. Rubbish was thrown into the middle of the narrow streets along with sewage and all sorts of refuse. Some of the sewage in towns such as London went down gutters into the rivers, along with dead bodies of animals and humans which were also thrown in. This sounds bad enough but the place where this sort of thing was thrown was very close to where people collected their water for washing and drinking. For example in London, the Battersea sewer emptied into the Thames just above the Chelsea water intake. The richer people did pay a water carrier one shilling each week, to come in his cart, bringing fresh water.

The population rose very quickly. Between 1801 and 1841 the population doubled from 10.5 million to 21 million. Industrial towns grew even more quickly. Manchester’s population rose from 75,000 to 450,000. Many towns grew so fast that living conditions become worse. Some families lived in the cellars of houses. Some families managed to fit about 9 people in one tiny cellar, and also a couple of pigs! The 1840 Report on the Health of Towns recorded 39,000 people living in 8,000 one-room cellars under houses. These statistics show that living conditions were very poor in the cities in the 1840’s. Of course not everybody lived in city slums with overcrowded conditions and poor waste disposal, although the country cottages were often cold and damp.

Many children that were born died before they grew up. 1 in 6 children died before they reached 1 year of age and 1 in 3 before they reached 5. Disease attacked the weakest people. That of course included the babies and young children. Cholera was the new killer disease at the time. It came into Sunderland from abroad and was spread through the water supply. There were epidemics in 1832, 1838, 1848 and 1854. Thousands died from it. Seven thousand died of cholera in September 1849 in London alone! There were also many more infectious diseases including typhoid, spread by lice and tuberculosis, carried by bacteria in the air. There were no vaccinations or cures to these new diseases, so nothing could be done but to let the children and other sufferers die.

There was a lot of poverty and quite a few homeless people.

There was a survey done in 1842 showing that the average age of death for a labourer in an urban area, Manchester was just 17, a lot lower than that of a labourer in a rural area, Rutland which was 35. The average age of death for a professional working in Manchester was also 35. The highest average age of death was unsurprisingly that of a professional living in Rutland, which was 52 years of age. These statistics show that disease was worse in the towns than in the countryside and worse for the poor than for the rich, although the rich people’s water was often taken from the infected water supply anyway.

These statistics just about sum up the poor working and living conditions in the town and cities and how people’s lives were made worse by the Industrial Revolution.

Now that I have explored the bad changes that took place between 1750 and 1900, I will explore some of the many good changes that took place in the same period of time.

In 1750 Great Britain was a very backward country, compared to lots of others. Before 1750 Britain had been similar for hundreds of years. The population before the Industrial Revolution was just 6 million and afterwards it had grown to a lot to over 39 million, which shows that Britain was a popular country to live in. Another good thing about the population rising was that more cloth and other products were needed, making industry better and making Britain a wealthier country, because there was over 6 times as many people needing clothing, food and other produce. Britain became “The Workshop of the World.”

In 1750 Britain wasn’t really very powerful. It then had its’ empire in North America and the Caribbean, but by 1900 its’ empire covered nearly a quarter of the world including Africa, India, Canada, Australia, The Far East and the Caribbean.

In 1750 only the richest 4% of men were allowed to vote, this was bad because only a small fraction of the population could give their opinions when the whole population should be able to. The monarchy had some political importance. In 1900 this situation had improved and Britain had become far more democratic. Parliament and the cabinet had all of the political power and all adult men were allowed to vote. This was a great improvement because for the first time in history governments had to consider the opinions of ordinary people, but it was not until later that women were allowed to vote. Britain’s Navy became the world’s most powerful military force.

In the early 1700’s most people worked on the land - hardly anyone travelled a long distance to get to work. This was partly because methods of farming were very basic and before brilliant new machinery was invented farming was very hard work. Many people were needed to plough the fields and harvest the crops. Another reason why so many people worked on the land was because farming was a major industry and there were vast areas of countryside. Farming techniques in 1750 were not very good. Mainly horses and oxen pulled ploughs.

Also, before the Industrial Revolution, Britain was only producing 5 million tonnes of coal each year. After the Industrial Revolution farming and mining techniques had improved tremendously. Many machines were used for ploughing and harvesting and mining had become a huge industry. In 1900 Britain produced 225 million tonnes of coal, compared to the 6 million tonnes that it produced in 1750. This was due mainly to the great development in mining machinery. Other industries also grew a lot including the cotton, iron and ship building industries. In 1750 Britain was only producing 2 million kilos of cotton, whereas in 1900 it was producing 850 million kilos. In 1880 cotton cloth made up one third of Britain’s total exports. In 1750 the steel industry was not known whereas in 1900, 5 million tonnes were produced. Some of the many industries that were centered around the major cities- i.e. London, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham, were coal mining, iron mining, iron manufacturing, silk, linen, pottery, cotton, ship building and engine making. The products that were made in Britain were sold in shops around the country and exported abroad, bringing in lots of money. This made Britain a more wealthy country than it was in the early 1700’s, when the Domestic System produced the majority of wool and cloth and farming and mining techniques weren’t very good.

At the time the Domestic System seemed good but it also had its’ bad points. Nearly all of the children stayed at home all day so not very many children went to school. Only the rich could read and write. Schools were built that everybody could visit and the various Acts that took place between 1819 and 1878 shortened the hours that children were allowed to work in factories, allowing more time for their education. The Factories Act in 1833 stated that children must attend school for 12 hours each week. This was good, because before this many children had not been aware of the world outside of their local environment and were uneducated and unable to read or write.

Another bad point about the Domestic System and the textile industry before the Industrial Revolution is that it couldn’t produce a lot of wool with just one spinning wheel in each house; thousands of times more cotton (which replaced wool) could be spun on the great new machines in the large factories. The Spinning Jenny was invented. It could spin 16 spindles at once making spinning a lot more quickly. Another great new invention was the Power Loom, invented in 1785 by Edmund Cartwright. It speeded up weaving a lot. The hand loom weavers were then forced to give up their jobs and become factory weavers. A good thing about producing a lot more cloth was that it was guaranteed to sell and be exported abroad, so the workers received regular wages, unlike in the Domestic System. Before the Industrial Revolution they had to go to the nearest market town or pay a master clothier to sell it for them.

Another good point about the mills, that was not so before the Industrial Revolution was that steam power was invented. New textile factories were built, this time not necessarily near to rivers. By 1880 all of the spinning and weaving processes had become fully mechanised

. The machines took a lot less effort to power than when the Domestic System was in use. Before the Industrial Revolution hand power and sometimes water power were used in the textile industry.

Another way in which steam power was used was to develop the transport system. In 1750 most people travelled by foot, heavy loads being transported by horse. In 1830 horses were used to pull boats along the newly made man-made rivers, canals. Between 1830 and 1900 transport developed hugely. A network of canals was in operation all over the country. Steam was used to operate trains and trams were also used. The rocky, muddy and dangerous roads changed to a network of fast, safe roads throughout Britain.

The claims that the working conditions in the factories and mines were poor were only partly true. There were many reforms in working conditions in the early 1800’s. There were some dangerous jobs, although the statement about 855 out of every 1000 fork grinders between the ages of 20 and 40 dying was probably an exaggerated claim. Also, sources of information written by journalists at the time may exaggerate and not tell the full truth about working conditions.

In 1842 Parliament appointed a Royal Commission to find out about working conditions. In the mines the commission discovered the bad working conditions and did something about them. The Mines Act of 1842 stated that no females could be employed in mines and neither could boys under 10 years of age. The Factories Act of 1833 stated that no child under the age of 9 must work in a textile mill and that those up to thirteen must work for no longer than 48 hours each week and must attend school for 12 hours each week.

The 1842 Mines and Collieries Act banned underground work for women and children under 10 years old and no winding gear was to be operated by those under 15. Mine inspectors were appointed to check that nobody was breaking the laws or working in dangerous conditions. The 1874 Factories and Workshops Act made a maximum of a 56 and a half hour week for all factory workers. This meant a ten-hour day Mondays to Fridays and 6 and a half hours on Saturdays. The 1878 Factories and Workshops Act applied all previous laws and sent inspectors to every workplace with machinery, so all workers in industry were protected. Working conditions were quite pleasant after these acts had taken place and the government inspectors had inspected all of the mines and factories. These reforms had improved the quality of work for nearly everybody.

There were also important reforms in living conditions. The problem of the disposal of human waste was solved by the 1875 Public Health Act. That act stated that there must be drains, toilets and underground sewage systems in all streets. The problem about the filthy water supply was solved in 1848, by the Public Health Act that stated that home owners could receive piped water in their houses for a small charge. The other main problem was the poor quality housing. This was solved by the 1875 Artisans Dwellings Act that stated that slums must be cleared, there should be thicker walls on houses and that all houses must have a sewage system.

There were fewer open spaces in towns in 1900, than there had been in 1750. This problem was about the lack of recreational space and was solved by the 1875 Public Health Act. New parks then opened. Parks were great for the children and the adults to have fun. There were fields, lakes and bandstands…a great place to spend the time that they had off work.

The 1875 Public Health Act also solved the problem of poor personal hygiene. Public Baths were opened, which gave the public a place to wash.

All of these reforms that took place during the Industrial Revolution were for the better and helped to make Britain a better and healthier place to live.

Before the Industrial Revolution most families stayed at home for most of the day working, some even spent their leisure time at home. During the Industrial Revolution, mainly in the late 19th century, there was a growth in new entertainment. This was partly because of the working people who were beginning to get more time off work. Another reason why so many people began to travel away from their home towns and cities was because of the excellent railway network, with its’ cheap fares. This was ideal for travelling easily and quickly all around the country. It became common for factory workers to be given the Saturday afternoon off and in 1871 Bank Holidays were introduced. Many people visited their local pub and drank heavily. Others discovered new forms of entertainment including day excursions, football matches, music halls and circuses.

Some popular resorts that developed in the late 19th century were Blackpool and Brighton. They are still popular resorts today. People enjoyed going to them because they were near the sea, to get away from the towns and cities and to the seaside to get some fresh air.

Another very popular form of entertainment was the music halls. All of the major cities had one, Birmingham and Liverpool had six each and London had 50. A variety of shows were on including singers, comedians, magicians and acrobats. The audience had great fun at the music halls and often joined in with the songs. One of the best-loved music hall singers was Marie Lloyd. Lots of musicians and singers were discovered through the music halls. Sheet music was available to the public, so that they could play along to their favourite songs at home. This was also a way of making extra money for the performer.

Another place that the whole family would enjoy visiting was the circus. People could see amazing acts and things that they had never seen before. Some famous circuses toured the whole of the country including the Barnum and Bailey’s circus.

Football was a very popular game in the late 19th century. Youths and adults liked playing and spectating the game. Manchester United and Arsenal, amongst other teams started playing as works teams at this time. Other teams that are still going today such as Aston Villa, Everton and Southampton were also formed at this time. Football was watched by huge crowds. The 1901 Cup Final was attended by a massive crowd of 110,000 people. The tickets for football matches were a lot cheaper than today and football became known as “The People’s Game.”

All of these changes to entertainment that happened in the Industrial Revolution were good ones because they gave people something to do in their spare time. They let people explore places that they’d never been before, enjoy themselves with their family and friends and see unusual performances and shows, instead of staying in their own town and not going out, apart from to their local pub.

Also in the cities and towns a lot of public facilities were built for the people including shops, libraries, public baths, music halls and schools. Some of these I have already mentioned. The public could go out and enjoy themselves and again see things that they’d never seen before and find out more about the world outside of their local environment.

Another problem that was solved during the Industrial Revolution was the poor healthcare and lack of medicine and cures to diseases. In the 1840’s and 1850’s x-rays began to be used to identify broken bones and also various scientists invented anaesthetics and antiseptics that made operations safer and less painful. These new inventions made health care lots better and are one of the many improvements that took place in the middle of the Industrial Revolution.

Now that I have given evidence both for and against the effects of the Industrial Revolution, I will do a conclusion to find out the answer to the question “Was the Industrial Revolution a good thing?" I will also try to make up my own mind as to whether it was a good thing or not.

There were many arguments against the Industrial Revolution including that there were very poor working and living conditions, environmental damage and pollution and that generally people’s lifestyle’s changed for the worse. In my essay I used the good points about the Domestic System to make the changes that took place in the textile industry sound bad. There were many good points about the Domestic System that were not true during and after the Industrial Revolution. The working conditions were less strenuous, the children and the elderly could be supervised and the hours were more convenient for the workers who worked at home. There weren’t many bad points for the workers that worked in the Domestic System apart from that the houses were crowded, with domestic chores going on in the same room as spinning and weaving. So, the change in working conditions didn’t benefit the workers very much, but it did benefit Great Britain as a whole. Before the Industrial Revolution Britain didn’t have a lot of different types of industry, whereas in 1900 there were many major industrial cities producing iron, steel, pottery, silk, linen, ship building and engine making. The cotton industry grew tremendously from 1750, when it produced 2 million tonnes each year to 1900, where it produced 850 million tonnes each year. Lots of the produce was exported and sold abroad making Britain become a very wealthy country, compared to in 1750.

Great improvements in machinery made farming and mining become easier and quicker, also helping to produce more, making Britain even wealthier. It was a good thing that Britain became wealthier, but where exactly did all of the money go? Britain brought in a lot of money, but living and working conditions were just as bad as ever, or were they?

There were terrible reports on working conditions in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. The safety precautions were virtually non existent, the hours were terrible, children as young as six were working in the mines and mills along with pregnant women, children were beaten and exploited, the noise was deafening, the dust from machines was deadly and the smell was sickening. These were definitely not conditions that the workers found pleasant and were probably one of the most terrible things about the Industrial Revolution. The working conditions weren’t good for anybody, except maybe the bosses and employers.

There were lots of reforms in working conditions starting from the mid 1800’s. In 1842 Parliaments Royal Commission found out about the terrible working conditions. They passed acts that helped the workers, including the Mines Act of 1842 that banned females from working in the mines and the factories Act in 1833 which stated that no child under the age of nine must work in a textile mill and those up to the age of thirteen must work for no longer than 48 hours per week. These reforms were a good thing about the Industrial Revolution, although some employers found ways around them. By the time the Industrial Revolution I think that most of the working conditions were a lot better and that the worst evils of child labour had ended, but nobody but the children and employers themselves will ever know how much the children suffered. Also, if these reforms hadn’t have taken place during the Industrial Revolution and if the acts hadn’t been passed by Parliament, then terrible working conditions mat have carried on for a lot longer and we may still have bad working conditions today. Another good thing about the Industrial Revolution was that acts were passed stating that children must go to school for 12 hours each week. This may not seem like a lot compared to today, but it gave the children an opportunity to learn about the world around them, unlike before the Industrial Revolution when most people were uneducated.

One of the bad points about the Industrial Revolution was the poor living conditions in towns and cities. The overcrowding was a big problem, with many people living in slums. The water supply and sewage and waste disposal were also huge problems. These terrible living conditions and polluted water supply caused disease and infections including cholera, tuberculosis and typhoid. At first many children and adults died from these diseases, but in the mid-1800’s x rays, anaesthetic, antiseptics and other medicines and drugs made operations safer and less painful.

Like the bad working conditions, the living conditions seemed to be more or less sorted out by the late 19th century. Another good thing about the Industrial Revolution was that Parliament took action to make people’s lives more pleasant. In 1875 they passed the Artisans Dwellings Act stating that slums should be cleared, thicker walls should be put on houses and all houses must have a sewage system. The 1875 Public Health Act also improved living conditions. As a result of this proper underground sewage systems were built along with drains and proper toilets. Before this in 1848 the Public Health Act half solved the water problem. It allowed all houses to have piped water for a small charge.

A lot of pollution was caused during the Industrial Revolution, and is a serious threat today, on a world wide scale. The factories gave off a lot of pollution. Today people who live near factories are still affected by pollution. During the Industrial Revolution pollution was also caused by trains. Now, pollution is caused more widely by cars, which were not around in the Industrial Revolution. During the Industrial Revolution was probably the first time that pollution really became a threat.

There were many more good points about the Industrial Revolution, including great improvements in travel. Railways, tram tracks and good roads made travelling quicker and easier.

Leisure and entertainment was a good point. If the new entertainments hadn’t have been discovered then, then nowadays we may not have popular seaside resorts, such as Blackpool and Brighton, theatres, cinemas, circuses, sheet music for sale and the most popular game in Britain may not be so popular. A lot of the football teams that are popular today such as Aston Villa, Everton, Southampton, Manchester United and Arsenal were started in the late 19th century as works teams or teams to keep local youths out of trouble. Lots of the parks that are around today were made in the late 19th century. Another point that makes the Industrial Revolution a good thing is that many shops, libraries, public baths and other public facilities were built. Some of the public baths are still around today, although they have now changed into swimming pools.

Lots of things that originated during the Industrial Revolution such as Bank Holidays, are still in use today.

I would not have liked to live between 1750 and 1850, because the living and working conditions were very poor. I would’ve hated to work long hours in the mills or mines and then come home to a cellar shared with ten others with the foul smells of sewage and other waste in the air.

I think that during the Industrial Revolution many important reforms took place, which improved the quality of life for most people and that by 1900 Britain would have been quite a nice place to live.

The changes that took place could mean different things to different people, therefore people who are very concerned about pollution and environmental damage will say that it is a bad thing. The people who are interested in health care would say that the Industrial Revolution was a good thing because many new treatments and cures to diseases were invented.

I would rather have lived in 1900 than in 1750, although people that prefer more friendly, rural communities would probably rather have lived in 1750. I think that the Industrial Revolution had more good points than bad points, because most of the problems that were around at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution ended up being solved by acts that were passed by Parliament. I think that most of the changes that happened about 200 years ago still influence our lives today. Overall the Industrial Revolution improved the bad living and working conditions, made Britain wealthier and far more powerful, improved entertainment, travel, education, public facilities and health care. Out of all of the points that I’ve mentioned in my essay I can only think of one bad effect that is long term and is still around. The problem has not yet been solved – that’s pollution.