The fruits of Industry and industry and society
By: Laura Taylor
The Fruits of Industry
- Industrialization gave markets affordable manufactured goods. In 1851 in London's Crystal Palace, examples of industry products went on display for the public's viewing.
- Industry raised the standard of living for example, there was a reduction in the cost of clothing so everyone but the highly poor were able to afford several changes of clothes. Industry created more agricultural goods which created more food which created a cheaper cost in food with more steam-powered locomotives from industry, food could be moved faster between places. People were able to afford more items for their house like furniture.
- Population Growth
- In Europe and in the Americas there was a huge increase in population from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century. From 1700 to 1800 the population of Europe went from 105 million people to 180 million people. By the end of the nineteenth century there were 390 million people living in Europe. In the Americas, from 1700 to 1800 the population increased from 13 million people to 24 million people. In 1900 there were 145 million people living in the Americas. The growth in population was mainly in the tropical regions.
- Population growth was due to in part by an increase in intensive agricultural techniques and movement of food but mainly it was the change in patterns of birth and death rates. Before industry the fertility rate was high but famines and epidemics created a high mortality rate especially in young children. During and after industry there was still the high birth rate but the death rate in children lowed due to better diets and improved disease control. In the late nineteenth century these better diets and sanitation caused a decrease in adult deaths. From 1800 to 1900 Britain's population increased from 10.5 million people to 37.5 million people while Germany's population increased from 18 million people to 43 million people.
- The Demographic Transition
- Industrial lands had a high demographic transition which means shifting patterns of fertility and mortality. Fertility rates began to decline but the mortality rate fell faster than it. There was a lower population growth which caused relative demographic stability. This decline in fertility was caused by voluntary birth control through contraception. Married couples wouldn't have as many kids because they costed too much.
Industry and Society
- Before industry the majority of the people worked in rural areas as cultivators or herders, a few were rulers, aristocrats, or priests, and a small number lived in cities as artisans, bureaucrats, or professionals. There was also a slave labor force. After industry there was a disappearance of slavery because the economies couldn't have slave labor but the slaves became part of the highly poor.
- New Social Classes
- Upper class consisted of industry and enterprising businessmen because they became wealthy and powerful enough to over throw the military and the traditionally privileged classes. The middle class consisted of small business owners, factory managers, engineers, accountants, skilled employees, and professionals. The working class consisted of laborers in factories and mines who tended the machines or provided heavy labor for low wages. The working class was influential in political affairs.
- Industrial Families
- Before industry the family was the basic productive unit and they all worked together to contribute to the welfare of the larger group. When industry came around, economic production went outside of the home and there became a separation between work and family life. The family members in turn led separate lives.
- Men at Work and Play
- Men gained increased stature and responsibility. A few men were owners or factory managers while the majority were workers of the owners or factory managers. Industrial work was considered more important than domestic work and agricultural and light industrial work which was done by women and children. The family income was mainly from the men's wages so upper and middle class men had increased prestige at home.
- Professional men would read books and attend lectures about business or cultural themes. The men would try to put their values into the industrial work force and try to discipline the workers. The men would fine, beat, or fire the workers if they swore, were late, or were absent a lot.
- Workers resisted these discipline standards. They would take a "Holy Monday" which means they would not go to work on Monday to lengthen the Sunday worship break. In their leisure time, workers went to sporting events (European soccer or American baseball), gambled, socialized at bars and pubs, and did dog and chicken fights. Middle and upper class tried to suppress this but it didn't work.
- Women at Home and Work
- Before industry women also worked long hours in agricultural or domestic manufacturing because it was close or at home so they could work and be a mother at the same time. When the industry came along women couldn't work at home or nearby so if they wanted to work they would have to leave their children in another person's care.
- Women in the middle class didn't work outside of home and were confined to a domestic space. Women authors described the perfect British woman by saying they should know that domestic work is their life, know that independence in unfeminine, and know that women are lesser than men and should take pride in it.
- There was an increase in need for domestic servants in the middle class. One in every three European women became a servant at least for a short period of time. Rural women would travel long distances to find work and would experience an independence from home. Some of these women sent money home but many keep the money for personal uses like creating a dowry or funds for a better job.
- Child Labor
- Before industry children worked with the family in and around the house but with the industry, kids were ripped away from their homes. Child labor had huge abuse in it but the families needed the money to survive. In the 1840s the British Parliament passed child labor limitation laws and eventually removed child labor.