The Industrial Revolution of England

A detailed Summary of The Industrial Revolution of England

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION OF ENGLAND

The Industrial Revolution met the financial expectations of the bourgeoisie; however, it fell short of meeting the financial goals of the large working class. The Industrial Revolution, though it had numerous positive effects on England and the rest of the world, was a highly detrimental force that acted against the immense working class.

The Industrial Revolution suppressed an already poor working class; people who wanted to simply make an honest living. Low factory wages caused living conditions to be almost unbearable. After the Enclosure Acts had been passed, there was a very large and available work force. Because of the Enclosure Acts, farmers were forced to sell their farm in order to pay taxes. Thus, they ended up moving to the city where they became apart of the working class since they could no longer provide for themselves. This resulted in a very large and growing working class. With such a large working class labor was cheap, and as a result the people were poverty stricken. "They have no place or refuge from calamity; they cannot seek safety in a lower station; they are already so low that they can fall no lower." (p.139, AWC). The people were so poor, as a result

The working conditions in the factories were very physically demanding and often resulted in severe health problems. People were forced to do very inhumane jobs, such as pulling heavy loads of coal; a job that a animal such as a horse would normally be used for. If the workers did not comply with their jobs or did not think they were being paid enough, it was just too bad. For they were not an absolute necessity to the factory. A worker could easily be replaced due to the large supply of a work force. Therefore, conditions got worse along with the health of the employees. "Did it affect your health? -Yes; it was so dusty, the dust got upon my lungs, and the work was so hard; I was middling strong when I went there, but the work was so bad; I got so bad in health, that when I pulled the baskets down, I pulled my bones out of their places." (p.127, AWC). This just shows how the intensity of the labor caused health problems. Children were also subjected to this cruel and grueling labor. The injuries that they suffered lasted for the rest of their lives. Often children were assigned duties that required their quick, nimble little fingers. It was these fingers that were often cut off or smashed in the machinery. But other injuries also occurred. "How heavy was it?-I cannot say; it was a very large one, that was full of weights up-heaped, and pulling the basket pulled my shoulders outs of its place, and my ribs have grown over it." (p.127, AWC). This is talking about a young girl who became deformed from lifting heavy baskets over her shoulders. She was forced to carry these heavy things on her shoulder while she was young and still growing. Now her ribs have actually grown over her shoulders. This type of injury was not uncommon with children. When children were not working very fast or when they broke something, they were

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Approximate Word count = 1245
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History