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The Industrial Revolution in

England (1760 - 1840)

What were the effects of the industrial revolution in britain?

Reason Notes / Explanation

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The Emerging Middle Class

Gradually, very gradually, a middle class, or “middling sort”, did emerge in industrial cities, mostly toward the end of the 19th century. Until then, there had been only two major classes in society: aristocrats born into their lives of wealth and privilege, and low-income commoners born in the working classes. However new urban industries gradually required more of what we call today “white collar” jobs, such as business people, shopkeepers, bank clerks, insurance agents, merchants, accountants, managers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers. [Middle-class people tended to have monthly or yearly salaries rather than hourly wages.] One piece of evidence of this emerging middle class was the rise of retail shops in England that increased from 300 in 1875 to 2,600 by 1890. Another mark of distinction of the middle class was their ability to hire servants to cook and clean the house from time to time. Not surprisingly, from 1851 to 1871, the number of domestic servants increased from 900,000 to 1.4 million. This is proof of a small but rising middle class that prided themselves on taking responsibility for themselves and their families. They viewed professional success as the result of a person’s energy, perseverance, and hard work.

In this new middle class, families became a sanctuary from stressful industrial life. Home remained separate from work and took on the role of emotional support, where women of the house created a moral and spiritual safe harbor away from the rough-and-tumble industrial world outside. Most middle-class adult women were discouraged from working outside the home. They could afford to send their children to school. As children became more of an economic burden, and better health care decreased infant mortality, middle-class women gave birth to fewer children.

Claim: The industrial revolution helped society

The industrial revolution hurt society

Evidence:

Analysis:

uRbanization Document one: friedrich engels describes living conditions in manchester, england (1844)

First of all, there is the old town of Manchester, which lies between the northern boundary of the commercial district and the Irk. Here the streets, even the better ones, are narrow and winding, the houses dirty, old, and tumble-down, and the construction of the side streets utterly horrible. But all this is nothing in comparison with the courts and lanes which lie behind, to which access can be gained only through covered passages, in which no two human beings can pass at the same time. Of the irregular cramming together of dwellings in ways which defy all rational plan, of the tangle in which they are crowded literally one upon the other, it is impossible to convey an idea. And it is not the buildings surviving from the old times of Manchester which are to blame for this; the confusion has only recently reached its height when every scrap of space left by the old way of building has been filled up and patched over until not a foot of land is left to be further occupied.

Below it on the river there are several tanneries which fill the whole neighbourhood with the stench of animal putrefaction. Below Ducie Bridge the only entrance to most of the houses is by means of narrow, dirty stairs and over heaps of refuse and filth. The first court below Ducie Bridge, known as Allen’s Court, was in such a state at the time of the cholera that the sanitary police ordered it evacuated, swept, and disinfected with chloride of lime. . . . At the bottom flows, or rather stagnates, the Irk, a narrow, coal-black, foul-smelling stream, full of debris and refuse, which it deposits on the shallower right bank.

Everywhere heaps of debris, refuse, and offal; standing pools for gutters, and a stench which alone would make it impossible for a human being in any degree civilised to live in such a district. . . . Passing along a rough bank, among stakes and washing-lines, one penetrates into this chaos of small one-storied, one-roomed huts, in most of which there is no artificial floor; kitchen, living and sleeping-room all in one.

Friedrich Engels, The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844  

Directions:

1) annotate the text above using the professional pathways annotation guide

2) hypothesize what could have been a cause of these living conditions (be specific).

3) hypothesize what you think could be an effect of these living conditions.Child laborDirections: Analyze the images below. Provide an observation and a prediction in the space below.

observation:

Hypothesize what a cause for this could be:

Hypothesize what an effect of this might be:

Pollution

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the 1700′s, and spread to the rest of the world, beginning with the United States. The use of machinery and factories led to mass production, which in turn led to the development of numerous environmental hazards. The effects on the environment would only be seen clearly years later.

The use of factories and mass production has led to a depletion of certain natural resources, leaving the environment permanently damaged. One example of this depletion is deforestation, which is the clearing of forest trees for use in production. When the trees are cleared, the wildlife in the forest also becomes uprooted.

The lack of trees is only compounded by the problem of carbon emissions. Whereas forests would help emit oxygen and refresh the levels of healthy gases in the air, factories are emitting poisonous emissions and eliminating the source of oxygen. The pollution that has resulted from factories involves not only airborne emissions but land and water pollution as well. The primary issue resulting from pollution and carbon emissions is that of global warming. As the temperature rises, the glaciers are melting and oceans are rising. More animal species are becoming endangered or extinct as a result of global warming.

The upside of the Industrial Revolution has certainly been the mass production of food for the world population. The population has grown by leaps and bounds due to the availability of food, yet at the same time the mass production of man-made and chemically altered food has also contributed to worldwide obesity and health problems. Obesity may also be linked to the sedentary lifestyle made possible by the use of factory-made home appliances which have made life easier for homemakers (i.e. washing machines, dishwashers) and recreational appliances (namely televisions).

While the Industrial Revolution was the cause of positive change for the industrial world, there is no question that it has wreaked havoc on the environment. The depletion of natural resources, the carbon emissions, pollution and human health problems that have resulted directly from the Industrial Revolution’s accomplishments have only been disastrous for the world environment.

Directions: after reading the previous passage on pol lution, fill in the table below.

Negative effects of the industrial revolution Positive effects of the industrial revolution

AnalySis: taking into account all the good the industrial revolution has done for mankind

(mass food production, growth in population, consumer goods, rise in technology), do you think it has been worth it for all the destruction it has caused the planet? Why? Explain your answer.

HYPOTHESIS: formulate a hypothesis on what you think will happen in the future as it pertains to increasing industrialization and global enviornmental problems.