Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a time of drastic change and transformation from hand tools, and hand made items to machine manufactured and mass-produced goods. It first began in England and rapidly spread to many other countries, such as Germany, France, and the United States. It brought many positive changes to society but it also brought suffering, dissonance, and other social problems. Life generally improved, but the industrial revolution also proved harmful to the essence of the family. Although there was a great leap in technology, there was an overall downfall in the socioeconomic and cultural situations of the people. Working conditions worsened, and the number of women and children joining the ever-growing workforce increased. With the rise of the railway, people had to migrate from their small towns to the more urbanized areas of the country because their jobs normally done with hand were taken over by machines. The rapid influx of people caused serious overcrowding in the cities because housing expanded much more slowly than population growth. This resulted in a lack for housing and good sanitation conditions and added more misery to the pitiful condition of the working classes.

Factory work during the industrial revolution affected people's lives, as people would be forced to work their entire day everyday in order to make a living. Workdays of twelve to seventeen hours were typical, even for children, and for very little pay. Children and women labored in harsh conditions alongside men and heavy-duty machinery. Due to the lack of money that the family could generate, children had no choice but to work at the factories for as many hours as their parents which meant that children were deprived of proper schooling, if any at all, and what was probably the most important, their health.

The introduction of factories and the assembly line, new inventions, the development of electricity, and the railroads all contributed to faster, more efficient production of goods and materials. While the Industrial Revolution also contributed to such problems as child labor and urban overcrowding, even these resulted in such positive effects as the funding of schools and the passage of child labor laws. As a result, the Industrial Revolution enhanced both economic production and the way in which people lived. It brought great changes in areas such as agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transportation, economic policies and the social structure, and therefore affected the everyday life of most people.