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The Assembly of an Industrialized Culture By Student

History Professor Writing Assignment Date

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The Assembly of an Industrialized Culture Before the beginning of the 19th century Industrialization was a concept that was not often thought of. Most economies around the globe were centered and mainly reliant upon agriculture. However, ideas of industrialization were beginning to stir, making the 19th century a peak period for development. Moving work outside the home and transforming from an agrarian economy to an economy based on mechanization and industry was in the near future for the United States and other countries across the globe. New inventions and new means of production were crucial to the success of industrialization. New modes of transportation along with increased urbanization were also important factors. The creation of new cities and jobs caused many families to relocate and even stimulated migration from other countries (Sanders, Nelson and Morillo 197). Beginning in the mid-1700s the agrarian economies of the United States, Great Britain, China, and Japan, along with others, were experiencing an increase in population which encouraged a search for jobs and employment outside of agriculture (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 517). By the late 1700s Industrialization was just beginning to expand worldwide. Organizational and technological changes were being made that transformed manufacturing and increased productivity. Technological developments such as machines and factory production allowed for goods to be produced quicker and in mass quantities. Expensive machinery was in high demand and allowed for the formation of big businesses later on. The process of industrialization required that a country be willing to take risks, invest money, and innovate (Martin and Poston 84). Innovation was essential to industrialized success and rapid technological advancements were encouraged. By the end of the eighteenth century many inventions for industry had already been created. Due to the increase in demand for cotton, many new spinning and weaving machines

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were invented in an effort to speed up the process. The first of many of these machines was the flying shuttle, used to speed up the weaving process, invented in 1733 by Manchester mechanic, John Kay. Later, in 1779, Samuel Crompton invented a mechanical spinning device known as the spinning mule (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 517). In 1790, the mule was adapted for steam power making it more productive and easier to use. Weaving machines were also updated and improved; by the 1820s hand weavers were almost obsolete. The cotton gin, invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, was also a very important advancement. Whitney would also soon create interchangeable parts for certain machines, such as firearms. His method would reduce production time and create jobs for unskilled workers. Whitneys method became increasingly popular and was soon applied to all types of manufacturing. Steam power also played a very important role during this time period. The first steam engine was invented in 1765 by James Watt, an instrument maker in Scotland (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 518). Watts invention was a crucial technological breakthrough for the industrial era (Sanders, Nelson and Morillo 198). Iron and steel industries also profited from the progress of industrialization. Production of iron in Great Britain skyrocketed after 1709 when laborers began using a purified and less expensive form of coal called coke as fuel to produce iron. Transportation was also a vital part of the constructing of an industrial society. Advancements in steam power and metal manufacturing both contributed to success in transportation technology. The first steam-powered locomotive was invented in 1815 by George Stephenson (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 518). Within the next several years, steam engines became more refined and efficient. All of these inventions and ideas along with many others would lead to major success of global industrialization in the 1800s.

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The industrial era also introduced some new forms of capitalism to the growing modern society. Mass production, mainly in the textile industry, was becoming a part of industrial societies by the middle nineteenth century. Eli Whitneys method of using interchangeable parts increased production of many standardized articles as well as the manufacturing techniques introduced by Henry Ford in 1913 (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 521). Ford presented the assembly line to automobile production by designing a conveyor system that allowed for each worker to perform a specialized task at a fixed point on the line. Increases in productivity made cars less expensive and affordable for ordinary people. As mass production evolved the factory system, businesses progressed also. The new machinery and factories developed during the industrial period were expensive investments that encouraged the organization of large scale businesses, also called corporations. A corporation was known as a private business owned by many investors who financed the business through the purchase of stocks representing shares in the company. During the mid to late 1800s, the British and French governments constructed a plan for the development of modern corporations that would quickly become the most common form of business in industrial organizations (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 521). When corporations profited, investors received payments in proportion to the amount of shares they held in the company. Another advantage to being an investor, in case a corporation went bankrupt, were the laws established by government officials to protect shareholders from financial loss greater than the amount of their investment. Monopolies, trusts, and cartels were also introduced to the capitalist marketplace (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 521). At the time, many corporations wanted to form associations to establish monopolies and restrict specific markets in their industries. Some businesses formed trusts and cartels in an effort to control supply of a product and its price. Trusts specifically sought to control all aspects of a single

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industry. One corporation that demonstrated this concept very well was John D. Rockefellers Standard Oil Company and Trust in the United States (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 521). Rockefellers company controlled nearly all oil drilling, processing, refining, marketing, and distribution for the area. However, Cartels pursued to eliminate competition by uniting companies in the same industry. Cartels ensured prosperity by merging competitors, modifying prices, and regulating production. These industrial and capitalist practices continued to be observe throughout the 1900s. While there were many positive aspects of the industrial period, there were also some negative effects. As industries rose, so did the anger of groups against industrialization. One group who demonstrated their disapproval of the industrial movement, for example, was the Luddites. Luddites were artisans who opposed new machinery and mainly all other industrial developments. Many workers felt that new industrial jobs were boring and separated them from their skills. The Luddite Movement, 1811-1816, consisted of protests, acts of violence, and other hostilities against industrialization. In 1812, Framebreaking emerged as a popular activity Luddites and other opposition groups chose to take part in (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 519). This consisted of the Luddites breaking into factories at night and destroying machinery and other equipment. More specifically, in one case the Luddites were allegedly said to have destroyed power looms with sledgehammers on more than one occasion. However, in 1814 an act was passed to end the Framebreaking riots and destruction, known as the Framebreaking Act (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 519). Fourteen Luddites were executed in an effort by the British Government to show the opposition groups that their behavior would no longer be tolerated. Other negative aspects of industrialization included poor working conditions, child labor, and sexual harassment. New, but not justified, work discipline and the pace of work were

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hard for workers to adjust to. Individuals were forced to work long hours with little pay doing very dangerous jobs. Children were also over worked in these same conditions and also forced to do very risky tasks that larger adults were unable to do. Small children were an advantage in factories because their small hands and bodies were more efficient for reaching and accessing things than the larger adults. Women and children were most commonly victims of sexual harassment on the job. Betty Harris, a woman who worked retrieving coal out of a mine in Manchester, England recalled her horrible working conditions in which she had to labor twelve hour shifts with only a small break (Bentley, Zeigler, and Streets-Salter 515). She was also overworked considering her job required her to do daunting tasks for a woman, even for a man. She was also sexually harassed on the job and remembers many other women were also. Her experiences along with many others demonstrate the drastic and damaging changes that the industrial era created in work and family life. Overall these factors along with many others created during the period of industrialization in the 19th century were very controversial. Urbanization and migration also played influential roles in the making of an industrial society. Many negative aspects arose leading to the industrialized society we live in today. Many countries did not embrace industrialization but rather saw it as their only option to avoid being controlled by other capitalist nations. Some of the negative aspects of the industrial era were terrible at the time but they led to better conditions and workers rights in the future. The changes made during this time period such as manufacturing and technological advances along with the establishment of big business corporations and their regulations, have forever altered our civilization. The industrialization period led to profound changes in societies and economies all across the globe.

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Works Cited Bentley, Jerry H, Herbert F Zeigler and Heather E Streets-Salter. Second Edition Traditions and Encounters, Volume II. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Martin, Walter T and Dudley L. Poston. The Pacific Sociological Review, JSTOR. January 1976. Sanders, Thomas, et al. Encounters in World History, Volume II. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.