During the
period of the early 18th century until the late 19th
century, the world was hurrying along a path that brought improvements to most
aspects of their lives. The inventions and factories created more employment
options. Other inventions improved the quality of life: medical, clothing,
transportation and food. The Industrial Revolution changed everything about the
way the people of the world lived. With the constant inventions and the
never-ending improvements and ideas of the inventors, people’s lives became
both easier and sometimes, more difficult. More items became available for a
cheaper price, due to the ability to mass produce these items, allowing people
with less income more access to these goods. Food was available in more
quantities and at cheaper prices, as well. However, with these improvements came
new hardships. The social classes evolved into a new system, the growth in
population created hardships for living quarters and conditions, workers were
often exploited, and the environment suffered irreparable damages due to
pollution. In spite of all the negatives, the Industrial Revolution has left
humanity in a better place that it would be in if the Industrial Revolution had
never happened.
As the
landslide of inventions began, machines were created that allowed for that
faster production of raw materials needed by skilled workers to create finished
goods. The textile industry was one of the first areas impacted by this. In
approximately 1764 or 1765, James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny,
allowing spinners to create large quantities of spun thread in one sitting1.
The spinning jenny was followed by the spinning frame in 1768 and the power
loom in 17852. These machines allowed for the textile industry to
move forward in leaps and bounds. Factories began opening that allowed for the
mass production of clothing. As clothing began to be mass produced so quickly,
it became easier for people to be able to afford clothing.
The
Industrial Revolution also brought about advances in the medical world. These
advances and inventions allowed people to live longer, healthier lives. With
the new machines and materials being produced, items like bifocals were created
in 17803. The flushing toilet was invented in 1775 and while at
first this was a luxury, it would eventually lead to better sanitation,
allowing for less contact with harmful bacteria4. The stethoscope
was invented in 1819 and antiseptics were used in the late 1840s5.
Without
the Industrial Revolution, travelling long distances would take long periods of
time. The main methods of transportation used today – automobile, airplane,
train, and boats – would not exist in the way that they do now. Before the Industrial
Revolution and during its early stages, people traveled by horse, carriage,
boats that required wind or man power, and by foot. Because the poor were not
always able to afford the first three options, they traveled by foot, making
long distance travel time consuming and difficult. When traveling by foot, they
could not carry much of their positions, and were often limited by weather. If
not for certain inventions during the 18th century, people would
still travel this way. The initial invention that changed the way of
transportation was the steam engine. In its earliest stages, the steam engine
was not very efficient; however, in 1769, James Watt created the basis of the
modern steam engine; this engine worked much more efficiently than the previous
models6. Using this new steam engine, the steam locomotive would go
into effect in 18147. Later inventions that had a large impact on
transportation today are: vulcanized pneumatic tires in 1845 and the internal
combustion engine and in 1858 and refinement in 18768. These
inventions led the way for the invention of the first automobile in 1885 by Karl Benz9. These
inventions allowed people to travel farther and more efficiently. If the
Industrial Revolution had not happened, people would not be able to travel so
freely. Only the very wealthy could travel long distances with their
belongings. The rest of society would be forced to stick to the area
surrounding them to use for food, employment, and to purchase goods. A 15 mile
trip to the store wouldn’t take the twenty or so minutes that it takes now – it
would be a walk of over 5 hours and if a person could not afford a horse or had
a cart to carry belongings in, they could only bring back what they could carry
back10. So, instead of walking 5 hours one way to the store, people
would be forced to shop close to home or make their own clothes and grow their
own food.
Communication
without the Industrial Revolution would consist of written letters. During the
Industrial Revolution, the methods that are used to communicate were invented:
the electric telegraph, typewriters, the telephone, and photography11.
These methods of communication are taken for granted in the modern world.
Almost everyone has a mobile phone and a camera, or in many cases, one device
that works as both. Without the advances of the first inventions, the
technological advances that brought us mobile phone, computers, the internet,
and wifi would not exist. Without the communication and interaction with other
people, communities would be very self-oriented. Having little exposure with
people other than the population of that area would lead to a lack of new ideas
and prevent the growth of intellect that comes from exposure to other
civilizations. Also, along with this growth came the ability to better educate
the children12.
Agriculture
was also affected by the Industrial Revolution. The process of growing food was
hard work. Farmers labored long hours to often produce barely enough food to
keep their family fed after paying their rents. The family was an economic
structure in itself13. When crop failure happened, famine usually
followed due to the lack of extra food sources. Due to enclosure of public
lands, many farmers lost their common rights to the common pastures that they
had used14. These people needed jobs to keep themselves fed and
drifted towards the urban centers to find wages. The farmers that continued to
farm were pressured to provide more goods so that the landless citizens could
eat. Inventions in the field of agriculture, as well as interest in new sources
of food and methods provided farmers a way to keep up with the growing demands.
Inventions that aided farmers in the planting and harvesting of the much needed
crops were: seed drills in 1701, steel plows in 1819, and in 1837, the
threshing machine was patented15,16. These machines made it much
easier to produce the larger amounts of crops for the growing population.
Without these inventions in farming, food sources would still be limited.
Families would be forced to grow their own crops, planting and harvesting by
hand.
Daily life
in a world without the Industrial Revolution would consist of hard work. People
would stay within the surrounding area of their home, working as farmers to
feed their families and pay for any necessities they could not make themselves.
Travel would be limited to nearby locations and would only be done as needed.
Without travel, communications with others would be limited to writing letters,
if a person was able to read and write. If not, the only communication would be
word of mouth. Communities would not grow or expand into the bustling
commercial centers they are today and people would not be exposed to new ideas.
Medical treatments would not be as advanced, leaving more people to die from
illnesses and injuries that are easily treated today. We would not have
electricity, running water, or sanitary methods of waste removal, which in turn
would lead to illness and death, as well.
However, many feel that the environment would be in a better state. The
Industrial Revolution brought large scale pollution into existence. The many
factories polluted the air, water, and land that surrounding them. If the
Industrial Revolution had not happened, humanity would trade a world of easy
transportation, conveniences, medical treatment and widespread communication
for a world that did not suffer from pollution, global warming, or
deforestation.
Without
the Industrial Revolution, life as everyone knows it would be non-existent.
Humanity may, and probably would, have had small inventions that improved the
quality of life in little ways since the 17th century. The
inventions that completely changed the way the people of the world lived, such
as the steam engine, would not exist without the large period of creativity and
invention that made up the Industrial Revolution. We would not have access to
cheap clothes, cheap furniture, housing, communication, and transportation
without the initial inventions and the following years of new and exciting
improvements. In a world without the Industrial Revolution, we would still
exist much the same way we did in the late Renaissance – without electricity,
earning a living through farming or as merchants, communicating with others
sporadically. The world would not have become the place it was because of a
lack of communication and ideas, and people would not have had the ability to
grow and reach their full potential. The Industrial Revolution provided the
world with a means of creating a better place for the people on it.
Notes
1.
McKay, John P. A History of World Societies Vol. II: Since 1500 (New
York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009), 648.
2. Bellis, Mary., "18th Century Timeline
1700 - 1799." (2012).
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Bellis, Mary., "19th Century Timeline
1800 - 1899." (2012).
6. McKay, John P. A History of
World Societies 8th edition Vol. II: Since 1500, 650.
7. Bellis, Mary., "19th Century Timeline
1800 - 1899."
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. "Mapquest." (2012).
11. Bellis, Mary., "19th Century Timeline
1800 - 1899."
12. Amantea, Lindsay. "Was the
Industrial Revolution Necessary?." Politonomist. (2012)
13. Ibid.
14.
McKay, John P. A History of World Societies Vol. II: Since 1500, 645-646.
15. . Bellis, Mary., "18th Century Timeline
1700 - 1799."
Bibliography
Amantea,
Lindsay. "Was the Industrial Revolution Necessary?." Politonomist,
May 29, 2011, 1.
Bellis, Mary. About.com, "18th
Century Timeline 1700 - 1799." Accessed September 21, 2012. http://inventors.about.com/od/timelines/a/Eighteenth.htm.
Bellis, Mary. About.com, "19th
Century Timeline 1800 - 1899." Accessed September 21, 2012.
http://inventors.about.com/od/timelines/a/Nineteenth.htm.
"Mapquest."
Accessed September 23, 2012. http://www.mapquest.com.
McKay,
John P. A History of World Societies 8th edition Vol. II: Since 1500 (New
York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009)
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