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Essays on the impact of the industrial revolution
Essays of industrial revolution
Essays on the impact of the industrial revolution
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In the film Working Lives, we learn of the history of the working class during the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution started the social structure of working classes in society and technology opened many doors for skilled and unskilled labor. In the 18th and 19th centuries unskilled laborers could find jobs in factories, mines, and mills, thanks to technological advances. In today’s world, technological advances are taking over the unskilled labor positions.
The Working Lives film covers the history of the working class from pre Industrial Revolution to its time during the Industrial Revolution, and some of its developments. The short movie breaks the time period down to segments in a chronological order. It begins with discussing
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the agricultural period and works into machines entering the period, which replaced many workers, and how it changed the work force. From there it discusses how technology changed the agricultural work force to that of an industrial one and how many moved to cities to work in factories. Working Lives also discusses how children and women became relied upon in the work force, as cheap labor and also income earners for families. The film then talks about how harsh conditions led to reforms for women and children and the laws created to enforce them.. It also discusses the movements created by the working class which led to unions and organizations like them. The film is basically a history of the modern work force and how the Industrial Revolution helped to create it. I relate the technological advances changing the work force during the Industrial Revolution to today’s technological advances.
In the past unskilled workers could find jobs working on assembly lines, fast food industry, and even apprenticeships to learn skills. Jobs with apprenticeships are declining because many businesses want skilled workers or workers with some kind of post-secondary education (Olinsky and Ayres, 2013). Much of this is due to technological advances and needing to keep up with them. As for assembly lines and fast food, workers were needed to assemble parts or order food and cook. Now machines can do all these tasks which can be cheaper than hiring someone to do it. Some of this even relates back to the industrial revolution. Machines took over the jobs of agricultural workers and caused them to look elsewhere for employment. It is happening again. Harsh conditions and low wages also led to organizations like unions and others to support the workers. Now some unskilled laborers are trying to use these same principals and tactics to get higher pay, but it turning against them. For instance Wendy’s fast food chains are now laying off employees and replacing them with kiosks to order from. This is to help keep from raising the prices of products because of the demands of labor costs (Graham, 2016). The work force during the Industrial Revolution was forced to change because of technology, the same is happening today. Even some of the practices that developed during the Industrial Revolution, that are practiced today, are causing some changes in the work force
also. The film Working Lives was actually a surprise to me. I knew women and children worked during that time period, and under harsh conditions. What I did not realize, is how industries relied on their labor to operate. I also did not realize how much they were part of the labor force. The film opened my eyes to fact that women and children were a significant part of the work force during that time period. It actually helped to see that there is a fluctuating view of women in the work force throughout time. The film also helped me realize how important labor unions were back then. Although I do not believe current labor unions are to be trusted, during the Industrial Revolution they were an important figure. The unions helped to create a stable work force that could be relied on, so much has changed from then to now. I was also surprised to see some of the negative actions to the advancements in technology due to the Industrial Revolution. As a current society that usually celebrates its technological advances, during the 18th century many people feared them. They did not like the social changes it created and loss of income caused by it, so they actually rioted and destroyed things. Over all it was a pretty interesting film, especially to a history buff like I consider myself to be. The Industrial Revolution caused many changes in society, especially the work force. It led from an agrarian society to and industrial one. Many of the changes opened the path for today’s working class. Things like labor reforms and unions helped to create a safer workplace and better work force. The film Working Lives showed us this creation and its effects. It also showed us how technology can affect the working lives of yesterday and today.
Before the industrialization movement began, there was more of a blend between the classes, and now there is a distinct separation between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Because of the industrialization of the countries, the replacement of manual labor with the use of machinery and the division of labor, the work of the proletarian has become homogeneous. It does not contain the individuality or charm of the laborer as handmade goods do. The worker instead becomes part of the machine and is reduced to performing menial, repetitive tasks. Thus, the workman's pay rate reflects his work, and is reduced to minimum amount needed to barely sustain them. Therefore, as the skill needed to perform the job reduced, so does the amount of the wages. Also, as industrialization increases, so does drudge and toil. The worker become, in the eyes of the bourgeois in control, a part of the machine and as expendable and as easily replaced as any part of the machine. This is in the forms of prolonged work hours, amount of work done in a certain time, or by the increase of the speed of the machinery, which wears down and drains the workers.
Today we see the labor reforms put in place along with organizations that hold business to safety precautions like OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Association. Today, worker’s fight for higher minimum wage but outside of America, there are worker’s fighting for the same rights we did back in the 1900’s. Back in 2013, in Bangladesh, a series of fires occurred. This raised questions about safety and treatment of workers. Within a few months, the government allowed the garment workers to form trade unions along with a plan to raise the minimum wage. And soon after, the United States pushed for Bangladesh to improve their labor standards. All of this happened within half a year, where back in the 1900’s it took over 50 years, starting with the coal miners. Without the workers as a sturdy base for the business, the company with crumble and fall. And without those businesses to help the economy grow, the government will cease to
In 1800s, the industrial revolution spread across the United States, which significantly change the way of manufacturing and labor society function. More and more Europeans were transferred to America, which increased the population of America. In addition, the larger transportation and communication made the old type of labor conventions and household manufactory became outdated. At that time, the “Artisan Republicanism” was extraordinary popular in the United States, people work depended on their workmanships, and people were also able to be their own boss on the job. However, factory based workplaces replaced the traditional patterns of work, which significantly increased the efficiency of manufactory industry, but on the other hand, labors met big problem, not only on the status of a master in their field, but also on the lower wages and longer working hours. American workers found that they had become “wage slaves”. In response of these changes, laborers started protesting the new revolution, resisted changes of older traditions of work,
happening in the world, with more and more people just accepting the new social classes and not protesting their unfairness. This source not only helps us understand the living conditions of the time but also the change in society that occurred during the Industrial
Industrial capitalism transformed greatly in a century; however work continued to decline with the advancement of time. Therefore, work was better in 1750 then it was in 1850. " The worker therefore only feels himself outside his work, and in his work feels outside himself" (134.).
Since factories started to incorporate machines through industrialization, the required long hours were not needed anymore. The working class wanted to have more freedom away from their jobs. “They also desired more free time to rest, eat their dinners, enjoy conversations and drink beer” (Green 162). Since the rest of America was enjoying freedom, the working class wanted to have a part in it as well. The idea of not being dependent on their wages, was extremely important to the working class at this time. Also with factories mainly supplying unskilled work, skilled workers started to feel degraded in their proud craft. “By the same token, proud American and European craftsmen viewed other forms of unskilled or menial labor as degrading” (Green 107). Although factories allowed their skilled workers to keep their jobs, they expected them to take a pay cut. Also with the pay cut, the skilled workers were forced to give up the skilled work that they took pride in. With workers becoming frustrated with not having freedom and, skilled workers not being treated fairly unions were
An industrial society has many unique and definitive characteristics that separate it from a post-industrial one. Some of these characteristics include the heavy use of machinery in large factories; the use of fossil fuels to power the machinery; the specialization of jobs allowing for increased productivity, which led to urban expansion. In regards to class dynamics, there are/were few people at the” top”, who own the factors of production, and many front-line, blue-collar workers at the “bottom.” The huge gaps in income, status, and control between these two groups produced an imbalance of power; considered a negative aspect of industrialism. With Industrialism, work is specialized, and it has been said that these workers were alienated from the goods they helped produce as a result. In contrast, a post-industrial society marks a shift from a society based on the mass production of goods to one that hinges on the provision of services. In this type of society, capital switches from bodies and heavy machinery to knowledge, as with knowledge comes creativity, a force seemingly responsible for economic growth in a post-industrial society. As far as creativity is concerned, it can flow from the skills of an engineer, a scientist, an artist, etc. Much emphasis is placed on the upgrading of human capital and of attaining some form of specialized education. This type of knowledge-based economy logically offers more opportunity to those with a high-level education, creat...
With the increasing amount of factories, nearly every citizen belonged in one, working away hours. Work in the factory was described as long, cramped, and monotonous. Workers were compelled to eat in the company lunchrooms provided with food that could be eaten by animals. As well as the fact that they were forced to live in the company houses, sleeping with complete strangers. Many factories initiated contracts, forcing people to maintain their jobs for at least two years (Bimba 67-70). It is evident that the increase of industrialization created the horrible working conditions. When farming was around, citizens were able to choose their own hours, stopping when the pain became too much. But now that factories were maintaining places of land, citizens were forced to join the more modern way of living, by enduring long hours in factories. Eventually citizens recognized the pain they suffered because of the factories, citizens of “all different classes and groups of people took part in the revolts” (Lawrence 248-249). Essentially, the owners of factories created the terrible environment for the citizens, further proving how industrialization caused the increase of horrible working
During the latter part of the 19th century, many laborers faced numerous problems. Some of these problems included, “mechanization of industry, emergence of giant corporations, nationalization of labor, public sentiment greatly admired the ‘Captains of Industry,’ and immigration” (Farless). After years of knowledge, man was introduced to machines. When machines played a part in the latter part of the 19th century, it caused trouble with the laborers. These new machines would replace laborers, which meant more laborers were remaining unemployed and that there were lower wages (Farless). Another problem laborers faced were the introduction to immigrants. Immigrants were coming to the United States of America from foreign land to work. With these immigrants, it kept the wages low because the immigrants were new inexpensive labor (Farless).
Economic changes in the nineteenth century increased the number of European industrial workers dramatically and transformed the conditions where they lived and worked. The Industrial Revolution brought advances in machinery, economics, and technology. What some may not know was that the conditions that workers faced led to many arguments on how to improve their insalubrious living conditions, poor working conditions, and long hours of very low pay.
The changes accompany the transition from one epoch to another. In the late nineteenth century labor has become a commodity to the merchants, and the formation of a new mode of production has risen which gave rise to a capitalist society. There is a new class distinction between the laborer and those who owned the means of production.
Industrial manufacturing technology is constantly changing. In the 1700's, we first really saw the concept of "specialization of labor" in which an individual specialized in one aspect of an item's production. With the Industrial Revolution the 1800's, people began using machines to do their work for them. Through the 1900's to today, we are seeing electronics make even more sophisticated machines possible. It seems with each new step of technology, industry is becoming more and more automated, completely changing the role people play in production. The average "worker" is nearly extinct, having been replaced by engineers, technicians, and the machines originally created to make their jobs easier.
Working shifts were beyond the control of the workers and the job was not necessarily stable because workers could be fired at any time for any reason (OI: “Working Conditions”). Moreover, the working environment was cramped and caused many problems to arise, such as the death of workers. The working class suffered greatly from the consequences of the Industrial Revolution. However, they also experienced many improvements in life, such as the decrease in prices of goods. The price of goods was able to decrease because of the increase in production.
The nature of work has been assumed to be indefinable by social theorists for centuries, due to the ever-changing organisation of work, and its' increasing power in the relationship between an individual and their society. The actual concept of work can be defined by Giddens as the "carrying out of tasks, involving the expenditure of mental and physical effort, which have as their objective the production of goods and services catering for human needs" - therefore, it does not solely involve occupational work, which is work completed in exchange for a wage. This also implies that other essential forms of work, such as housework and voluntary work do not receive due credit, and as seen as unequal next to an occupation. The changing nature of work, especially in the United Kingdom, is evident in the process of industrialisation – specifically the Industrial Revolution during the nineteenth century which saw a huge increase in standard of living as more moved to the cities for occupational work, and the creation of an “urban culture”. A second revolution occurred as automation increasingly occurs, as well as a change from manual into the service industry as other countries become more competitive in the field – this change has meant a huge increase in unemployment for people who previously been prospering in a country where manual labour like mining and manufacturing were the main industries.
Historically though, the impact of technology has been to increase productivity in specific areas and in the long-term, “release” workers thereby, creating opportunities for work expansion in other areas (Mokyr 1990, p.34). The early 19th Century was marked by a rapid increase in employment on this basis: machinery transformed many workers from craftsmen to machine minders and although numbers fell relative to output – work was replaced by employment in factories (Stewart 1996, p.13).