Beginning the Industrialization
How did merchants organize cottage industry by supplying wool or cotton, collecting finished cloth, and paying families?
Merchants organized their process in the cottage industry by first supplying raw materials to families, allowing them to make goods out of the materials, and then paying them for their work and repeating the process.
How did the Spinning Jenny change the amount of thread one worker could produce?
The Spinning Jenny allowed one worker to spin multiple threads at once rather than just one by connecting the worker’s spinning to more than one thread.
At what young ages did some children begin working, and what kinds of work did children do in mills and mines?
Some children as young as 5 to 6 started working to support their families in places such as mills and mines. In the mills, they spun and hauled loads, and they utilized their small bodies in mines to crawl through narrow tunnels.
What kinds of pollution came from coal smoke, soot, and industrial waste in rivers?
The different forms of waste from urbanization such as coal smoke, soot, and industrial waste in rivers caused multiple forms of pollution. They caused air and water pollution.
Double Questions, Double Points!
1. How did the Public Health Acts seek to improve conditions in growing cities?
2. How did industrialization affect women’s roles?
1. The Public Health Acts attempted to improve the conditions in expanding cities by promoting better sanitation and therefore improving the health of the people.
2. Industrialization raised the amount of available jobs, so women began to work in the same factories as men rather than only addressing home duties.
What limits of cottage industry encouraged the growth of factories?
The cottage industry was limited by the need of merchants to deliver individually to each family for the goods to be created, along with the limits of manufacturing goods by hand rather than the much more efficient use of machines. As a result, people started to shift into factories and they grew.
How did James Watt’s improvements to the steam engine free factories from needing to be near rivers?
James Watt’s improvements to the steam engine allowed factories to rely on the energy from the engine rather than a wheel at the edge of a river, freeing them from such locations by no longer utilizing flowing water for energy.
What dangers or difficult conditions did workers face in factories?
In factories, workers were endangered by unguarded machines that could cause crushing injuries. Also, they carried the risk of dust harming lungs and there were few protections if they were in an accident.
Double Questions, Double Points!
1. What were unions and strikes, and how could workers use them to seek change?
2. Why were factory reforms needed, and how did enforcement affect whether the Factory Acts protected workers?
1. Unions were organizations that workers formed so they could fight for the change of their working conditions together, and strikes were planned events where workers refused to continue working to pressure their employers for better work.
2. Factory reforms were necessary, as the conditions in factories were very poor and workers faced various dangers in their daily work. The enforcement of the Factory Acts determined whether the rules they proposed were actually followed, as factory owners saw benefit in breaking the law when they weren’t always under supervision.
Why did education become an important issue during the Industrial Revolution?
Education became an important issue in the Industrial Revolution, as being educated and literate grew as a priority for multiple reasons. Employers sought for workers who were able to read and write because they were better able to understand instructions and perform their tasks more effectively. As a result, education became a priority that quickly spread through the development of public schools.
Which resources and advantages—including coal, iron, capital, colonies, rivers, ports, and canals—helped Britain industrialize first?
Britain was the first* country to industrialize because of its vast natural resources that included coal to fuel machines and iron for both tools and the machinery itself. Along with the benefits of materials, they also had methods to gather funds such as capital and colonies to grow their industrialization. Lastly, they had rivers, ports, and canals that connected their markets and therefore boosted their economy.
How did railroads help move goods and support trade?
Railroads were able to support locomotives (trains) that could load and carry goods over long distances in shorter time than before, improving the flow of trade.
What were tenements, and why did many people live in them?
Tenements were small, crowded rooms that workers lived in, and they were usually used to live nearby the factory. Though the living conditions were poor, many people saw the advantages of being near where they worked. Living in a tenement was also inexpensive.
How did the working class become a political force and press for change?
The working class became a political force by uniting together to dispute their issues and protest for better conditions, as they were able to influence law by putting the pressure on the people responsible for changing it.
Double Questions, Double Points!
1. What protections did the Factory Act of 1833 provide for children aged 9 to 12, children aged 13 to 17, and children under 9 in textile factories?
2. What did the Mines Act of 1842 prohibit or restrict?
1. The Factory Act of 1833 established protections that limited children aged 9 to 12 from working over 8 hours a day, children aged 13 to 17 from working over 12 hours a day, and banned children under 9 from working in textile factories entirely.
2. The Mines Act of 1842 banned girls, women, and boys under the age of 10 from working underground in mines.
How did Britain’s access to capital, colonies, and transportation routes support industrial growth?
Britain’s access to capital, colonies, and routes of transportation fueled their industrial growth because it boosted their economy and allowed them to gather the wealth necessary to construct the machinery used in factories. For example,colonies allowed Britain to grow wealth by creating and selling goods from materials reaped in the colonies.
Double Questions, Double Points!
1. What did the power loom do, and why is it incorrect to assume weaving continued to take place mainly at home?
2. How were coal mining, coke, and iron production connected to the growth of industry and railroads?
1. The power loom was an invention that improved the rate of weaving and weaved much faster than a human with basic tools could. It’s incorrect to assume that weaving continued to be based at home, as the power loom opened an opportunity to power weaving and perform the process much faster with the use of machinery, which would be placed in factories rather than homes.
2. Coal mining provided fuel for smelting iron in the form of coke, which allowed industry to grow with more materials to create machinery. Iron could also be used to build upon railroads and the trains that utilized them in order to transport goods through long distances.
How did urbanization contribute to overcrowding and poor living conditions?
The rapid expansion of cities, or urbanization, contributed to poor living conditions and overcrowding because the population of cities was growing at a quick rate. As a result, there weren’t enough living areas for the new people and they were forced to crowd together in small rooms, raising the spread of disease.
How did industrialization contribute to the growth of a new middle class?
The rise of industrialization and factories contributed to the growth of a new middle class by enabling people to grow wealthier by owning factories rather than special circumstance, and this newfound status allowed the middle class to gain more power.
Double Questions, Double Points!
1. What change to working hours did the Ten Hours Act of 1847 introduce?
2. How did laws such as the Factory Acts address problems caused by industrial working conditions?
1. The Ten Hours Act of 1847 specifically changed the limit of work hours a day to 10 for women and young people.
2. Laws such as the Factory Acts addressed the issues caused by industrial working conditions by preventing many accidents with safety requirements and setting a system of inspectors to curb child labor and therefore (partially) protect children from being injured in these conditions.
Bonus Question: Worth 750 Points
What successful businessman allowed another struggling man to rise to the top of the oil industry and eventually lose against him commercially? (via death)
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Double Questions, Double Points!
1. What is division of labor, and how could it lead to deskilling?
2. How did factory bells, clocks, and fixed shifts change workers' days, and how long could a factory workday last?
1. The division of labor is the act of splitting tasks among multiple workers rather than one worker performing multiple parts, and this could lead to deskilling because each worker needed less skills for their job.
2. Factory bells, clocks, and fixed shifts constricted workers’ days and set a specific work schedule rather than the more flexible schedule of previous work such as on a farm. A factory workday could last 12-16 hours.
How did overcrowded cities and inadequate sewers contribute to disease outbreaks such as cholera?
Overcrowded cities contributed to the outbreak of disease by crowding people into living areas, effectively spreading disease between them. Inadequate sewers lead to the contamination of supplies of drinking water, which also caused disease as people in the city drank it.
How did property rules affect suffrage and demands for political influence?
Property rules limited many workers from being able to vote, or having the right of suffrage, and this oppression caused reformers to demand for political change in the laws to allow more people to vote.
Special Critical Thinking Question...
Why did people seek laws to protect workers and improve public health during the Industrial Revolution?
People sought laws to protect workers and improve public health in the hopes of bettering the poor conditions that many of the population dealt with daily, as their conditions were unlikely to improve without any pressure towards the higher people responsible for the laws.