Industrialization: The Pro’s and Con’s

Industrialization is a process in which changes in technology, society, medicine, economics, education, and culture occur. From 1750 to 1830, industrialization began in England during the Industrial Revolution where there were major changed in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport which also had a big effect on the social and economic conditions in Europe. The Industrial Revolution then spread throughout Europe, North America, and eventually, the whole world. The Industrial Revolution was a turning point in society because it influenced almost every aspect of daily life.

The Industrial Revolution started because there were harsh living conditions for agricultural workers and they couldn’t make much money, so new agricultural techniques were made which gave agricultural farmers the chance to produce more resources and make more money. Because more resources could be produced in a shorter period of time, less people were needed to work in agriculture so people moved to cities where there were factories with other job opportunities. Even though there were good and bad developments during the Industrial Revolution, it will always be one of the most important parts of history.

One immediate benefit because of industrialization was that people made more money. In the beginning of the industrial revolution, people made money by working in agriculture and sewing as well as selling clothing. Those jobs were the main jobs that people did but the problems were that they couldn’t make a lot of money. If people worked for agriculture, they wouldn’t get much money or benefits. And, when women sewed and sold clothing, they couldn’t earn much money as well because they had to do everything by hand and it took a long time to complete a product so they would sell fewer things. During the industrial revolution, more factories were made and there were more innovations. For example, one famous innovation from the industrial revolution was the spinning jenny.

The spinning jenny was used in the textile industry and it helped women make more clothes in a shorter period of time. The spinning jenny was an important invention because it was one of the first innovations to start the industrial revolution. Because of this innovation, people were able to earn more money because they were able to make more products in a shorter period of time while making more money, which was essential to starting the Industrial Revolution. And because of that and many more important innovations, it led to the urbanization of cities.

Since more money was made, the urbanization of cities began. Instead of the majority of the population living in farms and rural areas, more and more people started to migrate to urbanized areas to live. In the 19th century, the population rate of towns and cities jumped from 16% to 54%. People mostly moved to the cities because they wanted to work in factories and make more money, rather than staying in their farms and having a terrible life. The main reason why urbanization began was because factories were located closer to cities so, people from the countryside moved to the cities because they wanted to find work in factories and make more money. The Industrial Revolution was very important because it helped give more people a change to have a better life by working in cities and making more money than they usually do. As more people migrated to the cities, living conditions worsened because there was no proper plumbing, sewage, and the water was extremely dirty because of that which led to many people becoming sick. Governments noticed that so they installed better sanitation to all cities so people could have a better life.

In the beginning of the industrial revolution, after the urbanization of cities, there was no sanitation because governments thought that like in the countryside, people would be able to keep things clean without assistance from the government. However, they were wrong. As more people moved to the cities, living conditions worsened because there was not proper plumbing, sewage, and the water was extremely dirty. People would just leave trash on the streets as well. Most houses did not have toilets so people went to the bathroom outside. Some would collect their waste and then throw them outside. Because of that, the waste heaps seeped down into the earth and contaminated the water supplies.

The waste carried disease carrying germs into the water, so when people drank water, they would get infected with a disease. Also, because there was no plumbing at all, rats would get in the water and contaminate it as well which would then lead to people getting sick. In 1849, one scientist, Dr. John Snow, found out that people were getting sick from polluted water. After that discovery, health boards were set up to establish better standards of sanitation, government officials were told to clean up the towns and cities, they were instructed to provide for the removal of solid waste heaps and other household wastes, to clean the streets, and to whitewash houses wherever possible. The Industrial Revolution was extremely important because it helped people to have better living conditions and sanitation. Because measures were taken, it lead to the development of a better health care system.

After the industrial revolution, social conditions began to change. Working conditions improved and there were developments in agriculture, housing, sanitation, communication, and public health. People born in 1930 had a life expectancy of over 60 years. By the 1950’s, the life expectancy in Europe as well as the United States was over 70 years. The most important medical development during the industrial revolution was the development of antibiotics and widespread use of vaccines. Also, less babies and mothers died while giving birth because soon-to-be mothers were fed cleaner and healthier food since people were able to make more money from working in factories. And, after governments improved the plumbing and cleanliness of cities, there was less disease spreading so most people were quite healthy. Without the Industrial Revolution, many more people would have died from sickness caused by the contamination of water, so, the Industrial Revolution was very important. Overall, during the industrial revolution, several changes were made to ensure that people were healthier, such as decreasing the infant mortality rate.

One important medical improvement because of industrialization was that fewer babies died or in other words, the infant mortality rate went down. In the early stages of the industrial revolution, housing in factory cities were crowded, dirty, unheated, and unventilated. Food supplies were unreliable, impure, and so narrowly based as to cause nutrition problems. Diseases were untreatable, sometimes even unrecognized. Without a germ theory of disease, people did not take precautions to prevent the spread of infections. However, by the 1880s, it improved because sewers were being installed in the cities. By the early decades of the 1900s, a wide range of improvements began to lower the infant mortality rate.

Central heating meant that infants were no longer were exposed to icy climates, clean drinking water eliminated a common path of infection, more food meant healthier infants and mothers, better hygiene eliminated another path of infection, cheaper clothing meant better and warmer clothing on infants, and more babies were born in hospitals, which were suddenly being cleaned up as people understood the germ theory of disease. Later in the century, antibiotics and vaccinations were developed as well, which is why the Industrial Revolution was an important era in history. Because of all those innovations, fewer women died while giving birth as well.

There were many important innovations during the industrial revolution, such as medicine, education, culture, factories, etc. However, one extremely important and useful innovation was transportation, such as trains, cars, boats, and airplanes. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, inland transportation was by rivers and roads. Railways or wagon ways were used for conveying coal to rivers for further shipment, and canals were beginning to be cut for moving goods between larger towns and cities. The main reason why governments ordered more ways for transportation was because people wanted to trade their goods to other countries to sell. Because trade was one of the most important ways to earn more money, it helped develop countries, which is how the Industrial Revolution began.

Even though there were a lot of advancements because of the Industrial Revolution, there were also some bad things that happened because of it. First of all, since factories were built which relied on gas, pollution began to rise. Before the revolution, there was almost no pollution because there were no factories. However, with the rapid increase of urbanized areas and factories, Carbon Dioxide level raised since there was more pollution.

That event was very significant because still to this day, pollution levels keep rising. That event was also the commencement of a long-lasting problem that we still have today: Global Warming. If the Industrial Revolution never occurred, our Earth would still be a healthy planet. Or, in other words, people wouldn’t have as much environmental issues to think about and help resolve. Because of the rise of pollution, people were unhealthier because they breathed polluted air. Overall, the Industrial Revolution was a significant part of history, even though some bad things happened because of it.

Cited Sources

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/287204/industrializationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution