Effects of the Industrial Revolution
Uploaded by tyson_626 on Feb 02, 2005
The Effects of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was absolutely beneficial to the progress of the world from the 1800s all the way to present day. Sacrifices were made which allowed technological advancements during the Industrial Revolution, which in turn, created happiness, life opportunities, and an over-all, definite amelioration of life.
At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, many hardships had to be overcome, causing great grief to most of the population. Faith was lost, patience was tried, and a blanket of oppression covered the people of Europe. When new inventions arose to facilitate the producing and mass-producing of goods that supplied the people of Europe, nearly everyone was forced to begin a new career within a factory. These are just some of the hardships that many loyal, hardworking citizens were faced with. The reverberations of these new inventions caused a dramatic plummet of the life expectancy of an average citizen to an alarming 15 years of age. Women and children were expected to work up to 16 hours a day and doing labor that could cause serious injury, like carrying extremely heavy loads. For their work, they were paid ridiculous wages, women around 5 shillings per week, and children about 1. One can easily recognize the negative aspects of such a dramatic event. However, if one "steps back" to view the revolution as a whole, he will notice that the positive aspects completely outweigh the negative aspects.
The job opportunities and price decrease definitely improved the lives of the people, giving them a chance to be a part of the society and be able to purchase products at a price that wasn't too bad.
Many lives changed outside work. There were many national benefits of this revolution. One very important thing was that there became many more goods available because of the mass-production. Due to this mass-producing, the goods also dropped in price, which considerably benefited those who were financially struggling. Along with the mass-producing came more employment opportunities, which allowed some of the less fortunate people to have a chance of getting a job. The increase of new ideas and inventions led to an increase of the quality of life. Medicinal products became more plentiful, transportation improved, and free education was available. People began to find themselves with more leisure time. Wages were increased, health benefits became available, and eventually, pension became available to those who retired. These...