Spread of Industrialization

The Spread of Industrialization Great Britain 1st and richest nation in the world Industrialization spread at different times and speeds Governments encouraged industrial growth Helped pay for roads, railways, and canals Belgium German France

U.S. Industrial Revolution Occurred in 1st half of 19th century 30 million by 1860; 50% were farmers More people living in cities New railways and canals built to improve trade Steam boats in the U.S. Mississippi linked North and South

Social Impact of Industrialization

Population Growth and urbanization Population almost doubled 1750-1850 Lower death rates; more food

Effects of Population Growth Famine and Poverty Irish Potato Famine = 1 million deaths Immigrants migrate to the U.S More people move to cities London (1850) had 2.5 million citizens Led to terrible living conditions Important Question: What must be done to fix this?

New Social Classes Industrial Capitalism An economic system based on industrial production Created two new classes Industrial Middle-Class Industrial Working-Class

Industrial Middle-Class Also called the Bourgeois Who were they? Factory owners, machine buyers, entrepreneurs Description Ambitious, visionaries, greedy

Industrial Working Class Also called the Proletariat Who were they? Factory workers and miners Major issues Terrible working conditions No minimum wage or regulations

Industrial Working conditions Harsh mining conditions Injury and death were realities Child labor preferred

Cotton Mills had worst conditions Children and women were 2/3 the work force Factory Act of 1833 Minimum age of employment Reduced work hours for children (eventually women) Effect: Men become “breadwinners” Women expected to care for family

“Provided a child should be drowsy, the overlooker walks round the room…and he touches the child on the shoulder, and says, ‘Come here.’ In the corner of the room there is an iron cistern; it is filled with water…he takes this boy, and holding him up by the legs, dips him over head in the cistern, and sends him to work for the remainder of the day…” -from a British Parliament report, quoted in The History of the Factory Movement, Vol I, 1857 Why might the British Parliament have examined the conditions of child factory workers?

Socialism Reaction against terrible living and working conditions Society controls some means of production in economy Factories and utilities

Rise of Socialism Socialist believed capitalism was to blame Early socialism was “utopian” Robert Owens created a successful cooperative community Others were failures