Ch. 20 – Industrial Revolution – Essay Test Focus Questions – Flashcards

Thesis: Great Britain was the first state to have an industrial revolution because of its natural resources, ready supply of capital, and the success of the prior Agricultural Revolution.

- Natural resources+means to transport them = Britain had coal, iron, and water. = Coal and iron ore needed for steam engines and manufacturing, while it also has many rivers to transport and provide power. = Furthermore, since Britain was relatively small, the materials could easily be transported, and communication was easier

- Ready supply of capital = A stable financial system allowed people to possess a more ready supply of capital. = Unlike other places, Britain had a stable national bank which was trusted by the people. = This enabled people who had ideas to be able to start their own business and be successful. = Many inventors who created the machines necessary for the Industrial Revolution, like Richard Arkwright, had not been born rich but had been able to be successful through investments and loans.

- Agricultural Revolution = Inventions from the previous Agricultural Revolution, such as the seed drill, allowed for greater crop yield per acre = One thing this did was make larger farms more efficient, which forced peasants off the land and into the cities, creating the labor force necessary in the city to facilitate industrialization = Another thing the agricultural revolution did was lower the prices of food, This allowed people to spend money on things other than food, like the manufactured products.

While the Industrial Revolution caused a lot of change quickly economically and socially, its occurrence was not a complete break from the past. The Industrial Revolution was not a spontaneous development, and required all of these things vvv to happen before it was able to occur.

Thesis:

- Urban = Creation of industrial cities: Millions live in one area because there are jobs there = Dense, tightly packed people. = Filthy, no sanitation system. = Lots of poverty.

- Classes = Industrial Middle class == Entrepreneurs == Factory owners == Lived on the outskirts of towns/ cities. = Working class == Poor, lived right in the center of town near the factories. === Only place they could live because of lack of transportation == Worked in mines and factories.

- Family life = Family working dynamic. Though they were involved on the farm, it's different-longer hrs, more monotonous, etc. = Everyone works and contributed to the household's income. == Everyone worked in mines and factories.

Thesis:

Relate the body paragraphs to standards of living? -- like saying the standards improved or not Use the info given in the body paragraphs

- Conditions = Factories == No factory safety regulations. === Children were put at risk grabbing loose cotton under machinery. === Belts would fly off and hit people. == Hot, filthy, loud, and chaotic. Just a bad time. == Very long work days - Ranging from 14-16 hours of work per day. = Mines == Small tunnels == Dusty == Black lungs

- Luddites = The Luddites, a group that had formed, attempted to help the Industrial Revolution in their own way. = Skilled craftspeople who opposed new technologies that threatened their livelihoods. = Ergo, they made it their mission to destroy the machines that were ruining their lives. = Unfortunately, the Luddites were not successful in their endeavors, and the machines remained prevalent.

- Factory Acts = Children and women work days reduced = Less money for family = Factory inspectors created and dispatched to make sure owners are following the rules = Able to fine the owners = Children must also receive two hours of education a day when working in a factory

Why did some attempts at reform succeed while others did not? The reform attempts that succeeded appealed to the wealthy, through the efforts of reformers like Chadwick and Dickens. The Luddites had no money and no power, and their ideas were harmful to the influential.

Thesis:

- Role of government = The government had been used to involvement in economics on the Continent = Whereas the British government utilized a laissez-faire policy of no involvement, governments on the Continent gave grants, paid for education, and more.

- Cottage Industry = While in Britain, cottage industry had completely been destroyed by the Industrial Revolution, it persisted and was interwoven with the machines on the Continent = This is thanks to the greater influence of the guild system on the Continent

- Transportation = Canals and rivers = Trains

The Industrial Revolution would never have the same between Britain and the Continent. For one, the existence of British mass produced goods made it necessary for the government to instate protective tariffs, making it impossible for the policy to be laissez-faire.