The Negative Effects Of Industrialization

The Industrial Revolution was a time in history that resulted in profound, far-reaching changes in the history of humanity. It took place between the eighteenth and nineteenth century and affected almost every aspect of people’s lives in some way. Industrialization led to a better quality of life for some people, but the changes to machine production also caused a great deal of human suffering. Many people left their homes in the rural in search for better life in the city, but often found even worse living conditions than what they anticipated. Although the Industrial Revolution had many negative effects, not all changes proved otherwise. Industrialization also brought about the rise of technological advancement and set the stage for many
In pre-industrial society, over eighty percent of people lived in rural areas. As migrants moved from the countryside, small towns became large cities. This shift was caused by the growth of the factory system in cities, where the manufacturing of goods was concentrated. Many people were seeking jobs for more money and better lifestyles; being able to afford heat in homes, dine on beef, wear better clothing, etc. By 1850, for the first time in world history, more people in a country—Great Britain—lived in cities than in rural areas. Most of Europe’s urban areas doubled in population, some even going so far as quadrupling; this was a period of rapid urbanization for
Many of the inventions during the Industrial Revolution paved the way for modern industrial societies today. Probably the most significant invention of all was the steam engine, which arose from the search for a cheap, convenient source of power. One of the first uses for steam engines was for boats. American inventor Robert Fulton built the very first successful steamboat in 1807, which ferried passengers up and down New York’s Hudson River. Trains were also a spinoff from the steam engine that greatly revolutionized ways of traveling. Railroads also spurred industrial growth by giving manufacturers a cheap way to transport materials, which created thousands of jobs for railroad workers and miners and boosted England’s agricultural and fishing industries. British roads improved, too, during the early 1800s. Scottish inventor John McAdams equipped road beds with a layer of large stones for drainage and on top he placed carefully smoothed layers of crushed rock so that even in rainy weather wagons could travel on the road without sinking in the mud. Other major inventions during this time period were the production of cloth in factories, dynamite by Alfred Noble, vaccines for diseases, the lightbulb, and the telephone by Alexander Graham