What made the Industrial Revolution revolutionary?
“What made the Industrial revolution a revolution or revolutionary?”
According to Dictionary.com, one definition of a revolution is “a sudden, complete or marked change of something.” Another definition provided on the site is “an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.” Both of these definitions can be applied, at least in part, to the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution was quite different from the other revolutions mentioned in the textbook (Chapter 28), however. The American Revolution took place in the 1770’s and 1780’s when colonists finally dissociated from British rule. The colonists were being taxed due to British debt. They were unhappy with the taxes and trade regulations and boycotted British goods. Lives were lost in battles such as the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and in Lexington in 1775. The Constitution was established granting the new Americans with the rights and freedoms they felt they were not getting from British Parliament. They ultimately made a change by fighting to end the British rule over the colonies so that a new government could be established. The industrial revolution was not about battling a government to overthrow it. The industrial revolution was a massive change that had global effects.
The industrial revolution ultimately began as Britain switched from wood power to coal power. Deforestation resulted in dwindling resources of wood and the British found that coal was much more abundant. Many inventions of the time impacted the industrial revolution positively. As coal became the ideal source of energy, more coal powered machines were invented. The steam engine, which was designed by James Watt in 1765, burned coal. Ultimately, the use of it became widespread and efficiency was increased. This lead to the invention of the steam powered locomotive in 1815 by George Stephenson. Transportation of goods was suddenly much more practical.
According to Dictionary.com, one definition of a revolution is “a sudden, complete or marked change of something.” Another definition provided on the site is “an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.” Both of these definitions can be applied, at least in part, to the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution was quite different from the other revolutions mentioned in the textbook (Chapter 28), however. The American Revolution took place in the 1770’s and 1780’s when colonists finally dissociated from British rule. The colonists were being taxed due to British debt. They were unhappy with the taxes and trade regulations and boycotted British goods. Lives were lost in battles such as the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and in Lexington in 1775. The Constitution was established granting the new Americans with the rights and freedoms they felt they were not getting from British Parliament. They ultimately made a change by fighting to end the British rule over the colonies so that a new government could be established. The industrial revolution was not about battling a government to overthrow it. The industrial revolution was a massive change that had global effects.
The industrial revolution ultimately began as Britain switched from wood power to coal power. Deforestation resulted in dwindling resources of wood and the British found that coal was much more abundant. Many inventions of the time impacted the industrial revolution positively. As coal became the ideal source of energy, more coal powered machines were invented. The steam engine, which was designed by James Watt in 1765, burned coal. Ultimately, the use of it became widespread and efficiency was increased. This lead to the invention of the steam powered locomotive in 1815 by George Stephenson. Transportation of goods was suddenly much more practical.