The Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century

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The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century, opening doors of unlimited production possibilities. The inventors of this time created a new look on life and the eager society of the century never looked back. Industrialization is an on-going process that is central to understanding humans. With inventions from such dedicated people as James Watt, Benjamin Franklin, and Eli White, the Industrial Revolution was made possible. Although many industries produce their work in factories, which are located in cities, the industry that pioneered the Industrial Revolution began in the countryside. This industry was the production of textiles for clothing. Rather than factory workers, it was a peasant family living in a one or two room house, who provided production. The demand for cotton textiles was growing faster than production could produce. Under the organized system, which was now becoming out dated, agents of urban textile merchants would take wool or other unfinished fibers to peasants for them to spin it into thread. The agent would take the thread to another peasants home, where the thread was woven into a finished product, which was sold by the merchant. The textile business was a main feature of the economic status for many families. Thousands of peasant homes included some sort of spinning wheel or handloom. This process was taking too long to meet the growing demands of textiles.(1) Due to James Kay’s invention of the flying shuttle, there was a great imbalance in the 1730’s between weavers and spinners. Kay made it possible for weavers to quickly produce the amount of fabric that was demanded, but the spinners were still unable to make thread t... ... middle of paper ... ...y, allowing plantation owners to meet the demands of the textile manufacturers.(6) The Industrial Revolution changed the lives for many people. Although the fast paced life is often now looked down upon, it is something that inventors of the 17th century eagerly welcomed. Everyday tasks are now easier and more efficient than any time period before. This is all possible with the hard work of the earliest inventors of the Industrial Revolution. Endnotes 1. Weible, Robert. The World of the Industrial Revolution. (U.S.A.: Museum of the American Textile History, 1986) 145. 2. Weible, 35 3. Weible, 55 4. http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Timeline/Transportation19/develop.html 5. http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsA-H/franklin.html http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsR-Z/whitney.html

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