From Farms to Factories

Imagine not having cell phones, the internet, heated homes, or even electricity. Thats, what life would be like if it weren't for the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution was a big turning point in history, that changed the world, and still to this day affects everyone’s lives. If it had not taken place our lives and the world around us would be very different. In class we read about many different factors of the revolution, and took notes on our essential question, what is so revolutionary about industrialization? We also watched a video by John Green titled, “Coal, Steam, and the Industrial Revolution” which talked about how the revolution led to the inventions of many of the things that we use in our everyday lives, and it created the foundation for our modern technology. Two main components of industrialization that made it is revolutionary were people, and technology.  

The first ingredient to industrialization was people. Many people contributes to the revolution with their inventions and innovations. Improved farming was a big part of the revolution. Lord Charles Townshend came up with the idea of planting turnips to restore the soil, which helped to harvest better crops. Jethro Tull also contributed to the industrialization. because of his invention of the seed drill, planting could be done more efficiently and less people were needed to work on farms. The lack of need for farmers caused people to need to find jobs elsewhere, in the city working in factories. Another big part of the revolution was enclosure. Rich landowners were taking over and fencing off land formerly owned by peasant farmers. Therefore, the farmers being pushed off of their land were forced to work in factories. Lastly, declining death rates was an ingredient to the revolution. Because of the improvements in agriculture, more food was available, decreasing the risk of famines. Now that people were stronger and healthier, the population increased, leaving more people to need jobs in the factories. People were a big part of industrialization because they decreased the amount of farmers needed, and increased the amount of people available to work in factories.

The second ingredient to industrialization was technology. Many new technological advances and discoveries were part of the reason that industrialization was so revolutionary. The steam engine was the first big component. In 1712, Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine to pump water out of mines. Steam engines were later used for various purposes, such as powering trains and boats, which led to the faster transportation, and transferring of goods. Another big big part of the revolution was improved iron. Coal played a large role in the production of iron, and because they found a way to take out impurities within the coal, they were able to create higher quality and less expensive iron.  This higher quality iron was then used all over the world especially in building railroads and textile machines. lastly, innovations in textiles was an ingredient to the revolution. John Kay’s invention of the flying shuttle allowed weavers to work at faster speeds. James Hargreaves then invented the spinning jenny which spun many threads at once. Richard Arkwright then created the water frame which used power to speed up the production even more. Now that these machines were no longer for household use, long seeds were built to house machines and workers. These machines were later powered by a steam engine and could produce what an entire industry of a district used to produce. Because of these new advances in technology, there were faster production speeds, and more available jobs in factories  the creation of revolutionary new machines. Overall, the industrialization was so revolutionary because of the huge advancements that were created, and people and technology were two key ingredients, that changed the lives of everyone, and evolved into the technology that we have today.