How Did The Industrial Revolution Make Life Better
The results of this revolution would completely change the way humans acted. How they worked, the amount and type of goods they bought, the family structure, the social structure, and the way individuals thought were all changed. But, despite its advances, the industrial revolution made life harder for most people at the time because of poorer health and low wages.
While some may argue that living in the cities meant access to better health care the evidence supports the idea that the health of working people during the industrial revolution was dramatically worse than before. By the mid 1800s the life expectancy in cities averaged between 25 and 30 years. This was a lot lower than is the countryside, were in the village of Colton the life expectancy was 41 years. There were many reasons for this. The crowded living spaces meant that disease spread fast and were often fatal, especially for children. The infant mortality rate for labourers in Manchester was one in every two children. Another reason for the poor health was that people in the cities had less access to fresh fruit and vegetables, causing malnutrition which lead to …show more content…
a lower immune system and a high chance of catching a disease. The last reason for poorer health was the pollution. Air pollution caused thick smogs to hang above the cities increasing the risk of lung disease. Water pollution from the chemicals dumped in the rivers made the drinking water dangerous. Though cities may have been more advanced than villages, they certainly weren’t healthier.
One of the most known reasons the industrial revolution made life harder for most people is that factory worker’s wages were low.
On average a factory worker would be payed oe schilling (5 pence in today’s money) a day. This was caused by competition with other factories. Buyers wanted the lowest price for their goods, and the easiest way a factory owner could lower the prices was to lower the wages. So the wages went lower and lower until eventually the workers would revolt. But the factory owner could easily sack the workers and hire new ones. There was also a lot of conflict between the factory owners who wanted low wages, and the factory workers who wanted higher. This constant conflict did not create a very nice working environment. The low income made sustaining the family more difficult and made life harder for the working
class.
Though industrial revolution brought many good things it made life harder for most people because of poorer health and low wages. The huge amount of unhappy laborers eventually lead to the idea of Communism and laws protecting people’s rights. The industrial revolution was a time the western world was getting used to the capitalist system.
While some may argue that living in the cities meant access to better health care the evidence supports the idea that the health of working people during the industrial revolution was dramatically worse than before. By the mid 1800s the life expectancy in cities averaged between 25 and 30 years. This was a lot lower than is the countryside, were in the village of Colton the life expectancy was 41 years. There were many reasons for this. The crowded living spaces meant that disease spread fast and were often fatal, especially for children. The infant mortality rate for labourers in Manchester was one in every two children. Another reason for the poor health was that people in the cities had less access to fresh fruit and vegetables, causing malnutrition which lead to …show more content…
a lower immune system and a high chance of catching a disease. The last reason for poorer health was the pollution. Air pollution caused thick smogs to hang above the cities increasing the risk of lung disease. Water pollution from the chemicals dumped in the rivers made the drinking water dangerous. Though cities may have been more advanced than villages, they certainly weren’t healthier.
One of the most known reasons the industrial revolution made life harder for most people is that factory worker’s wages were low.
On average a factory worker would be payed oe schilling (5 pence in today’s money) a day. This was caused by competition with other factories. Buyers wanted the lowest price for their goods, and the easiest way a factory owner could lower the prices was to lower the wages. So the wages went lower and lower until eventually the workers would revolt. But the factory owner could easily sack the workers and hire new ones. There was also a lot of conflict between the factory owners who wanted low wages, and the factory workers who wanted higher. This constant conflict did not create a very nice working environment. The low income made sustaining the family more difficult and made life harder for the working
class.
Though industrial revolution brought many good things it made life harder for most people because of poorer health and low wages. The huge amount of unhappy laborers eventually lead to the idea of Communism and laws protecting people’s rights. The industrial revolution was a time the western world was getting used to the capitalist system.