Industrial Revolution Essay Example for Free

Industrial Revolution Essay Friederich Engels), The Sadler Commission Testimonies, and the selections from Elizabeth Gaskells novel North and South we are able to witness how the Industrial Revolution impacted both economic and social aspects of life during that time. No one can doubt that the Industrial Revolution provided advantages that ultimately helped mold our society into the modern world that we know and love. However, the disadvantages were way more detrimental to those that lived through the Industrial Revolution. Harsh polluted living and working conditions, social class tension and cruel child and family labor ere all drawbacks that can not be ignored and overlooked by the Industrial Revolutions now present successes. The Industrial Revolution brought about Emigration and Urbanization. Prior to the Industrial Revolution many families resided in rural farming areas on the countryside. They were considered peasants that used farming and agriculture as a means for money and stability. Although many families stayed in the life of farming, many other families decided to move into the cities to look for Jobs doing industrial work in the coalmines and cotton mills. Living conditions in the urban cities were definitely a dramatic change. Instead of rural wide-open fresh-aired land, they were cramped up in overpopulated and polluted cities. Overall the cities were not exactly the cleanest places to live. They were also filled with both air and water pollution. The factories expelled harmful toxins likes soot and ashes into the air, causing the quality of air to be terrible. Many families that worked in these factories lived in tenement housing, which were very cramp, crowded and all stuck together. These housed did not have indoor plumbing or sewage, so waste and trash would be thrown into the streets. That would then run into the water supply to be used. Overall families had to endure very harsh living conditions Just to be able to work in these also harsh factories. Most of todays children have the luxury of going to school and having their parents work to support the household. However, most times in the days of the Industrial Revolution everyone in the family had to work to support life. Men, women and children as young as six did work in the factories. This was because parents alone could not earn enough money and needed their childrens help as well. In the Sadler Commission Testimonies, Michael Sadler interviews individuals to gain information and shed light on the troubles from the Industrial Revolution. He records Why do you allow your children to go to work at those places where they are ill-treated or over-worked? † Necessity compels a man that has children to let them work. Then asks Then you would not allow your children to go to those factories under the present system, if it as not from necessity? † No. (Sadler) This explains how it was absolute necessary to kids to work and help out in most tamilies. Also, unlike the stereotypical social gender norm that men are more useful and suitable for labor working Jobs, women and children were more desired by factory owners to work for them because of their ability to be more nimble and petite in size was more helpful to operate the machinery. FromFactory System: Two Views (Dr. Andrew Ure vs. Friederich Engels),Friederich Engels explains When spinning or weaving machinery isinstalled ractically all that is left to bedone by the hand is the piecing togetherof broken threads, and the machinedoes the rest. This task calls for nimblefingers rather than muscular strength. The labour of grown men is not merelyunnecessary but actually unsuitable. (Engels 457) . This ultimately lead into women and children being exploited the most in the work place. Not to be confused, everyone that worked in factories were taken advantaged of by their wealthier factory owning bosses, Those who owned factories were called the Bourgeois which developed as a new middle lass and those who worked in those factories were called Proletanats, which were the working low class laborers.