Booming Industry During The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a time of advancement and greatness in the world for all. It was a major change from 1760 to the period of 1820 all the way to 1840. The movement started in Great Britain and affected anything and everything from industrial manufacturing processes all the way to the daily life of the average normal citizen. This paper is about discussing the Industrial Revolution and all the effects it had on the world as a whole. The main booming industry of the time was the textiles or cloth industry. It had the most workers, output, and invested capital. This industry was the first one to take on the new modern production methods. The transition to machine powered work massively increased productivity and efficiency a lot. This extended all the way to iron
production and chemical production. It all started in Great Britain and soon expanded its way into Western Europe and to the United States. The actual effects of the revolution on different sections of society differed. The ‘trickle down’ effect whereby the benefits of the revolution helped the lower classes didn’t happen until towards the 1830s and 1840s. Initially, machines like one such as the Watt Steam Engine and the Spinning Jenny only benefited the super wealthy industrialists. The effects of the revolution on the general population, when they did come, were absolutely major.
Prior to the industrial revolution, most cotton spinning was done with a wheel in the home. These advances allowed families to increase their productivity and output enormously. It gave them a way more disposable income and enabled them to facilitate the growth of a more large consumer goods market. The lower classes were able to spend. For the first time in history, the masses had a sustained growth in living standards. Social historians noted the change in where people lived. Industrialists wanted way more workers and the new technology largely confined itself to the large factories in the cities. Thousands and thousands of people who lived in the countryside came to the cities permanently. It led to the growth of cities across the world, including London, Manchester, and Boston. The permanent shift from rural living to city living has endured to the present day. Trade between nations increased as they often had massive surpluses of consumer goods they couldn’t sell in the domestic market. The rate of trade increased and made nations like Great Britain and the United States richer than ever
before. Naturally, this translated to military power and the ability to sustain worldwide trade networks and colonies. On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution and migration led to the mass exploitation of workers and slums. To counter this, workers formed trade unions. They fought back against employers to win rights for themselves and their families. The formation of trade unions and the collective unity of workers across industries are still existing today. It was the first time workers could make demands of their employers. It enfranchised them and gave them rights to upset the status quo and force employers to view their workers as human beings like them. Overall, the Industrial Revolution was one of the single biggest events in human history. It launched the modern age and drove industrial technology forward at a faster rate than ever before. Even contemporary economics experts failed to predict the extent of the revolution and its effects on world history. It shows why the Industrial Revolution played such a vital role in the building of the United States of today.