Unit 4: The Industrial Revolution in England
The Industrial Revolution began in England, which was by 1750 one of the wealthiest capitalist states in the world. The Industrial Revolution began in England's textile industry, which was struggling to produce goods cheaper and faster for growing consumer markets. Businessmen and factory workers, rather than scientists, developed key inventions that solved major bottlenecks in textile production. As the scale of production grew, the factory emerged as a centralized location where wage laborers could work on machines and raw material provided by capitalist entrepreneurs. By the late 18th century, steam power was adapted to power factory machinery, sparking an even bigger surge in the size, speed, and productivity of industrial machines. Heavy industries like ironworking were also revolutionized by new ideas, and new transportation technologies were developed to move products farther and faster.
Growing businesses soon outstripped the financial abilities of individuals and their families, leading to legal reforms that allowed corporations to own and operate businesses. While England initially tried to protect its industrial technologies, the major ideas of the Industrial Revolution quickly spread to continental Europe and North America.
In this unit, we will examine the major ideas and events of the Industrial Revolution, study the effects the Industrial Revolution had on the economy of England, and see how the process of economic change spread to other parts of the world.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- describe how new technology increased industrialization;
- interpret primary source documents to understand why some workers opposed industrialization;
- identify major developments in transportation technology; and
- explain how knowledge about industrialization spread within and beyond Europe.
4.1: The Steam Engine
4.1.1: Coal Mining in England
Watch this lecture by John Merriman to learn about the general course of the Industrial Revolution in Europe.
Read this excerpt from Capital and Steam Power to learn about the early history of coal in industry.
4.1.2: The Steam Engine
Read these nine pages. Watch the media scenes on each page, which describe the function and evolution of early steam engines.
4.2: Textile Manufacturing and the Factory System
4.2.1: Revolutionizing Wool and Cotton Spinning
Read this two-page article to learn about the rapid changes in textile technology that occurred in England in the late 18th century.
Read this article to learn how how new technology changed people's lives. Along with the next article, note that each side tries to make an argument for the common good.
Read this article to learn how how new technology changed people's lives. Along with the previous article, note that each side tries to make an argument for the common good.
4.2.2: Resistance to Mechanization
Read this introduction and explore the five original sources about machine-breaking movements.
- Receive a grade
In this exercise, you will first answer some questions about the primary sources you have read. Then, you will use your understanding of these primary sources to critically analyze the two secondary source articles you read. This exercise will help your practice an essential aspect of the historian's craft: using primary sources to reflect upon and add to what other people wrote about the past.
This assignment is ungraded, and will not affect your final course grade.
4.2.3: The Factory System
Read these thirteen pages, which compare domestic to factory production. Review each of the "Rich Media Scenes" to learn how factories emerged as sites of production and how they differed from earlier forms of work.
Read this excerpt of Ure's 1835 book, which gives a contemporary account of the benefits of the factory system in England.
4.3: Heavy Industry and Transportation
4.3.1: Iron
Read this article to learn how iron and steel manufacturing became leading sectors in the Industrial Revolution.
Read this page, which describes the Bessemer process and the impact it had on steel manufacturing.
4.3.2: Railroads
Read this article to learn about the origins of railroads and their effect on industrialization.
Read these pages to see how early railroads were constructed and how people reacted to new industrial developments. You may wish to explore the other pages under "Opposing Voices" and "Illustrated London News".
4.3.3: Steamships
Read pages 1–12 of this article.
4.4: The Spread of Industrial Ideas
4.4.1: Protection of Trade Secrets
Read this article about Eli Whitney to learn about an American case of patent law and industrialization.
4.4.2: Economic Espionage and Trade Missions
Read this article to learn how industrial knowledge was transferred from England to the United States.
4.4.3: Migrations of Workers
Read this four-page article to learn how workers carried industrial knowledge away from England.
