Physical or Mental?
The industrial revolution was a physical revolution. Using David S. Landes’ Wealth and Poverty of Nations and various internet sources including wikipedia.com, wsu.com, and dictionary.com I will prove how the industrial revolution physically transformed the world from an agricultural perspective to an industrial.
A revolution is "a dramatic and wide-reaching change in the way something works or is organized or in people's ideas about it." stated by Dictionary.com. The movement of inventions throughout the world creating new industries, and changing the lives of the world is in fact a very dramatic and wide-reaching change. The industrial revolution changed the family based economy to an industrial economy. This changed the worlds appearance from small towns and family structured to urban with cities and factories. The industrial revolution was a physical change, it change the physical world by physical actions from one perspective to another.
The industrial revolution had a major effect on the economy. As new inventions were being made industries and manufacturers were picking up speed and making profits. New farm equipment was being established which increased the need for workers. The industries were getting workers and were able to make products and pay less for labor. Having new inventions to help produce products faster than people did, and having people to run the devices efficiently was very effective. It raised the economy because industries were making lots of money. Individual countries started to make loads of money, and the countries that continued to work and progress rose to the top. Other countries that lived in wealth and didn’t work, like Spain fell behind.
Not only did it effect the economy but it effected the social aspect of P.E.R.S.I.A also. Households changed dramatically during the industrial revolution. Families weren’t making profits off of household labor anymore. They had to move to the big cities to find work, and there money source went from agricultural and workshop based to urban and industrially based. As people moved the population in the cities grew and population in the country diminished. “The industrial revolution brought the world closer together, made it smaller and more homogenous.” Said by Landes in Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Goods were in surplus and there was a more variety to choose from. This helped the families and the people of the world. People did not have to wait a week for a pair of socks to be made because clothing was not made in the household anymore. All they would have to do is go to a store and pick them up, thanks to the textile industries. That is a revolution.
As the industrial revolution grew people were becoming more familiar with the technology around them. To every invention that came out, just as fast there was a way to improve it. This effected peoples intellect. People were constantly learning at dramatic speeds to keep up with the technology being produced. They needed to know how to use the machinery to be effective in the work force. As people learned, the efficiency in the industries kept rising and more and more products were being made. Goods could not be made in the household anymore, they took to long to make and they wouldn’t sell. This changed the way people thought. Shifting from farming to big industries effected the way people thought of the world. However more importantly, not only the way they thought it changed peoples actions and how they lived their lives to get by in this new world.
The creation of new devices and machinery was the driving force in the industrial revolution. An invention according to Dictionary.com is "The action of inventing something, typically a process or device." An invention is not an idea or motive, it is taking action on those ideas and coming up with physical work. This is what happened in the 18th and 19th centuries. If you have all these machines and factories you need a power source. The stream engine created by James Watt was that power source invented during the industrial revolution. This was one of the most important inventions in the time period. Before that they used iron and coal however steam was more efficient and it was later used for steam boats and railroads as well.
America was gaining a wealthier economy as well. However they were shipping materials to Britain, and the British would ship back products for American consumers. America wanted there own manufacturing industries. Eventually we copied what the British had and developed our own factories. The first one being in Rhoad Island. This increased economy even more in America and changed the work force as well as everything else just like in Britain.
The industrial revolution had negative effects as well. It had a huge impact on farmers and the agricultural part of the world. When the world went from agriculturally based to industrially based, farms had to shut down. They run without a fence enclosing their grazing land, and some farmers couldn’t even afford fencing. Farmers had to sell and find work elsewhere. It also had a huge effect on pollution. Industries and the large urban cities caused massive amounts of air pollution the world wasn’t used to. In an agricultural society you don’t see pollution. Land is being used and the world uses replenish able natural resources. However the industrial revolution changed the agricultural society to an industrial one, and that caused pollution, deforestation and destruction to the natural habitats to plants and animals.
The industrial revolution was a physical revolution. The mental parts of it happened at the beginning, all of the ideas and thoughts. However, after that the ideas and thoughts had to be put to action. That is when the physical started, and it never stopped. The change in economy, the change in work force, changes in the household and family structure, population shift, industrial trade between Britain and other countries. These are all physical changes. A revolution is a dramatic and wide-reaching change, and all of the change over time was physical.
