The Industrial Revolution

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Industrial Revolution left in its wake an upheaval in the lifestyle and social fabric of society, which had never occurred before quite so rapidly or radically except as the aftermath of protracted warfare or natural catastrophes. The author points out that, to alleviate the harmful effects of the industrial revolution upon workers and their families, governments tried to intervene by introducing the first legislation and supervision of industrial working conditions, such as the Factory Act of 1833, which regulated children in the factories of Britain, and a series of parliamentary insurance acts in Germany addressing illness, accident, and old age. The paper relates that the Industrial Revolution divided society into two categories of the "haves" and the "have nots", which continues today, both on an individual level and on an international level as demonstrated by the "Industrialized West" and the "Third World" nations.

Table of Content
Introduction
New Hardships of Industrialization
Early Reforms
England and Germany: Different Responses to the Same Human Problem
The Industrial Revolution in Historical Perspective
Contemporary Industrial and Social Exploitation
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The Industrial Revolution brought about a migration of workers from the land to urban centers, when production by hand was superseded by power driven machinery. These machines were too expensive and heavy for home use, and could only be housed and maintained in large industrial factories. Before the subsequent advent of steam engines, factories were located near streams, which provided the water necessary for their operation. Workers had to leave their homes in the country and settle in factory towns, where they earned their livelihoods.
The small workshops of individual craftsmen and laborers had to give way to the modern factory. Many men who once made a comparably good living as weavers, for instance, were out of work once textile mills and factories became equipped for power weaving. In order to earn a living, they had to join the migration to the factory towns and industrial centers."

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