industrial revolution :: essays research papers

The Industrial revolution was a time of drastic change and transformation from hand tools, and hand make items to machine prevaricationd and mass produced goods. This change helped life, but also hindered it as well. Pollution, such as CO2 levels in the atmosphere, rose, working conditions declined, and the number of women and children working increased. The government, the arts, literature, medicinal drug and architecture and mans way of looking at life all changed during the period. Two revolutions took place, both resulting in productive but also dire consequences. Before the offshoot industrial revolution, Englands economy was based on its cottage industry. Workers would buy raw materials from merchants, take it back to their cottages, hence the name, and produce the goods at their home. It was usually was owned and managed by one or more people, who were generally close to the workers. There was a good worker/boss relationship, which was demolished and destroyed by capitalis m. This industry was streamlined but the workers productivity was low, making costs higher. The longer it took one person to manufacture a product, the higher the price. Subsequently, goods were high in price and exclusive simply to the wealthy people. The year was 1733, the demand for cotton cloth was high, but production was low. This crisis had to be solved or Englands economy would be hindered. The answer came from a British weaver, John Kay, who invented and fashioned the flying shuttle, which cut weaving time in half. John Kay was a pioneer and his invention paved the way for numerous inventors. Although at first, many workers didnt accept machines, in fact, many inventions were destroyed, but what was inevitable, couldnt be stopped. The machines had made their way to England, and nothing could stop them. By the 1750s, the industrial Revolution had begun. At first, inventions were purely limited to cotton weaving. Inventions such as the spinning jenny and the water-powered frame, both of which provided spinning yarn faster, the spinning mule, the power loom and the cotton gin, all helped the manufacture of cotton goods by speeding up the process. Mass production had begun, along with capitalism. Capitalist, people who have their own materials, money and space, bought many machines and stored them in a factory, where leased people worked the whole day manufacturing goods. The factory system had replaced the cottage industry. Mass production made usually dearly-won items, such as shoes, less expensive and easily affordable by lower class and less wealthy people.