Essay on “Industrial Revolution” Complete Essay for Class 9, Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution proved very beneficial for the progress of the world from the 1800’s onwards till the present date, Technological progress during the Industrial Revolution created happiness, life opportunities and betterment of life. Industrial Revolution was term first used in the early 19th century to describe major changes in modes of production in Britain since the mid-18th century and their social consequences. However, it was quickly recognized outside as well as inside Britain that the consequences of the introduction of machinery, driven by steam power, would be felt worldwide.

At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, many hardships had to be overcome, causing great misery to most of the population. Faith was lost, patience was tired, and a blanket of repression 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, hard-working citizens were faced with. The aftershock of these new inventions caused a dramatic drop 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 labour that could cause serious injury, like carrying extremely heavy loads. For their work, they were paid unreasonable wages, women around 5 shillings per week, and children about 1. One can easily recognize the negative aspects of such a dramatic event.

The revolution started when inventors introduced their creations to improve the way people were producing goods. Machines such as the cotton gin, water frame, power loom, and spinning jenny allowed textile products to be produced in huge quantities. These techniques of mass-production made other methods such as cottage industry, where families produce items  by hand, old-fashioned. As a result of this, people began to work in factories with these machines. Factories became so dominant that eventually the cottage industry no longer played a part in people’s lives. This significantly changed people’s lifestyles, and for a long period of time, there were terrible work conditions. These factories had its positive and negative aspects. The work conditions were very dangerous, there were no safety devices, and many had to work long hours. However, due to the mass production, many jobs were available, and the prices of goods considerably decreased because of the extreme availability.

As the revolution progressed, people began to realize that there were solutions to the problems that they battled every day. The people went to the Parliament with an answer and that were unions. A union is an organized group of people working for a common cause. In 1824, the right to form unions was established. These unions formed laws and regulations that made working less dangerous and cruel, and more sanitary. Consecutive acts were formed that lessened the amount of hours women and children could work in the factories, and safety and sanitary regulations were enforced. One act that really benefited the rules of labour for children was the Factory Act of 1833. This act stated that children had to be over 9 years old to work in factories, and children 9-13 years old couldn’t work more than 9 hours, and children 13-18 years old could not work more than 12 hours. Eventually, personal insurance developed which led to social security. These are the positive outcomes that derived from the industrial revolution that affects the workers. Due to this mass-production, the goods also dropped in price, which significantly 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.

There is still one more portion of this revolution and that is the effects of it on present day. Without the inventions and changes that took place to form a more ideal society, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Without labour laws and health benefits, the life expectancy of a human would drop at least 20 years. Our lives would not be featured with the technology that helps us learn and grow such as computers, cars and airplanes. How people have interpreted the Industrial Revolution depends in large part on their  vantage points in space and time. Like most historical transformations, the Industrial Revolution has not only encouraged investigation and analysis but has provoked controversy. The first British social historians to popularize the term “industrial revolution”, following in the wake of earlier critics of industry such as John Ruskin, claimed that while changes in methods of production had increased wealth they had not increased “well being”. They dwelt more on the “victims” of industrialization than on those who benefited from it. Some later economic historians focused instead on inventors and entrepreneurs, some of them treating the Industrial Revolution as a success story.