The Effects of Industrialization Social, public health, and environmental issues

Urbanization One of the defining and most lasting features of the Industrial Revolution was the rise of cities. In pre-industrial society, over 80% of people lived in rural areas. As migrants moved from the countryside, small towns became large cities. By 1850, for the first time in world history, more people in a country—Great Britain—lived in cities than in rural areas. The city of London grew from a population of two million in 1840 to five million forty years later

Social Impact of Industrialization A growing population resulted in a large labor force and low wages. Widespread poverty Women moved in to live in factory living quarters Child labor In order to pay the rent and buy food, every member of the family had to work. Governments did not have laws protecting children. Education was not mandatory!

Poor working conditions Many children as young as six were forced to work for 1/10 the pay of an adult. Some of these machines were so easy to operate that a small child could perform the simple, repetitive tasks Under such dangerous conditions, accidents on the job occurred regularly. A report commissioned by the British House of Commons in 1832 known as the Sadler Report commented that workers were often "abandoned from the moment that an accident occurs; their wages are stopped, no medical attendance is provided, and whatever the extent of the injury, no compensation is afforded"  

Poor working conditions In textile mills, as new power looms and spinning mules took the place of skilled workers, factory owners used cheap, unskilled labor to decrease the cost of production. And, child labor was the cheapest labor of all. Poor working conditions. Hot, poor air- ventilation. Dangerous (lots of accidents) Low pay 12-14 hours a day 6 days a week

Child Miners

Consequences of working under hazardous conditions

Poor Living Conditions Working in new industrial cities had an effect on people’s lives outside of the factories as well. As workers migrated from the country to the city, their lives and the lives of their families were utterly and permanently transformed.  

Poor Living Conditions Cities became more densely packed, creating dead- ends and foul alleys, and damp cellars offered miserable living spaces. In Liverpool, many lived in tenements and courts in the early 1840s, and about 10% lived in cellars.

Poor Living Conditions The Public Health Act of 1875 required local authorities to implement building regulations, or bye-laws, which insisted that each house should be self-contained, with its own sanitation and water.

Environmental Impact Any society experiencing industrial growth must strike a balance between creating jobs and degrading the environment. These issues were most pressing in cities where factories producing chemicals and metals; where the 'noxious vapors' killed plants and animals and undermined the health of residents.  

Environmental Impact The problem was not simply these heavy industries. As the standard of living rose, so more people burned more coal in their hearths. A prosperous economy, with factories and houses pumping smoke into the air, contributed to a high death rate from respiratory diseases, especially among the elderly and the very young

Public Health Impact Large towns were desperately unhealthy, new epidemics were stalking the cities – typhoid fever: --carried by polluted water, was spread by lice Cholera: or 'summer diarrhea' was caused by swarms of flies feeding on horse manure and human waste.

Industrialization Today In a situation that some may think has many parallels today, the paradox of the economic growth experienced during this period was that, in many ways, it created as many problems for society as it found solutions to help people in their daily lives. 1800 2016