Industrial Revolution DBQ Essay

The Industrial Revolution made a huge impact on the people back in the 1700’s and 1800’s. This time period set the pace for products and food to be made easier than before, safer than before, and also more efficient than before. All the inventions that came about during this time period would greatly influence how things are made today. With the industrial revolution there came a lot of job opportunities for both men and more importantly women. The argument now is if the industrial revolution led to a sexual revolution. Historians such as Edward Shorter, who believes that new employment opportunities for unmarried women led to an increase in freedom sexually and caused a rise in illegitimacy rate. Other historians, Till, Scott, and Cohen disagreed with Shorter and argued that the unmarried women of that time period worked to put food on the table and not to gain personal freedom. Their opinions on the rise
One of the reasons for this sexual revolution, according to Shorter, is egoism. Egoism is self-interest and Shorter said that the system of the free-market place would only succeed if the buyers and sellers acted in ways that would only promote themselves. Shorter’s description of the “teeter-totter” relationship is when one has a balance between self-interest and obligation to the community. Earlier in the industrial revolution the “teeter-totter” went towards family obligation, but towards the end it “tottered” towards the self-interest end. He also believed that because individualization occurred that sexual experimentation came along as well. Men and women in the lower class had no obligations; therefore, they experimented with each other, leading to the rise of illegitimacy. “Look out for number one attitude,” is another phrase Shorter used to describe women’s role as going from powerlessness and dependency to full