The Industrial Revolution

First it changed the face of England. Areas that for centuries had been cultivated as open fields or had lain untended as common pasture were hedged and fenced. Chimney stacks from factories began to dot the horizon. Roads were built and made stronger, straighter and wider. In the north, great railways were laid down to give way to the new locomotives. Steamboats began to float the narrow seas. Changes in society mirrored the changes in the landscape. The number of people increased. The growth of the population shifted new communities to the North and the Midlands. Immigrants poured in from Scotland and Ireland. People born and raised in the traditional countryside came

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system based on mobilizing capital and labor in a much larger scaleö (Industrial, p. 670). Factory workers sometimes faced an increase in poverty, as wages were kept low and prices of some goods rose. The new working class had little margin over subsistence, and various crises such as illness, a recession, or old age had potential to bring extreme misery. Job conditions imposed many hardships. Factory life subverted the traditional work rhythm the labor force brought from craft or agricultural backgrounds. Because the new machines worked quickly employers thought that hard work was the stuff of life. Work was meant to be steady as well as fast with no interruptions, for if one worker stopped a whole machine might shut down. The life of the worker underwent an incredible social change. Most workers saw themselves as separate from the employing class, and many resented this, ôBy mid-century, various experiences were beginning to make working people conscious of themselves as different from and in opposition to the middle classesö (Industrial, p. 701). The employing class had a hard time grasping what was troubling the rest. Their lives of course had changed the least and they benefited most from the Industrial Revolution.
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Approximate Word count = 1266
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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