The Industrial Revolution: Industries and the SSPs

1. The Industrial Revolution:Industries and the SSPs

2. The Textile Industry • Production of cloth had traditionally taken place in people’s homes or workshops on their property • By the late 1700s new factories were being built that employed thousands of workers • Factory towns grew into cities almost overnight • The new cities were centered around the textile mills

3. The Textile Industry, cont’d. • The cities’ populations were clearly divided into new social groups: the mill owners and the workers • The mill owners were ruthless businessmen, focused on turning their investments into fortunes • Became the most wealthy and powerful within the cities • The workers made up the majority of the population • Often owned next to nothing • Lived in the poorest sections of the cities • Struggled to survive in spite of working 14 – 16 hour days

4. The Textile Industry, cont’d. • The manufacturers (factory owners and/or the people who bought the textiles to sell) found many people to buy their goods outside of England • With the increase in textile production, England’s international trade skyrocketed • China • India • Africa

5. The Agriculture Industry • Large landowners controlled the vast majority of farmland in England, and they were willing to try new methods, leaving behind the traditional farming methods that had been used since the medieval period • Encouraged the introduction of new crops, like potatoes and turnips instead of the traditional English crops • Developed new breeds of cattle and sheep that produced more meat and were more resistant to disease • Horses replaced oxen to pull field equipment, like plows • The use of manure as fertilizer and crop rotation allowed greater production of crops • Swamps and marshes were drained with new techniques to allow them to be farmed as well

6. The Agriculture Industry, cont’d. • Chemical fertilizers were developed in the 1850s and increased the land’s fertility • More iron and steel were used in tools and equipment • Wooden plows were replaced by iron and steel plows that broke less frequently and turned the soil more easily • Steam powered equipment was invented to make farming easier • Thresher • Reaper • Tractors began to replace horses for field work by 1900

7. The Transportation Industry • The first efficient steam engine was produced in 1769, and by the early 1800s, the steam engine had been adapted for railroad transportation • Primitive railroad tracks had been used for mining operations for many years before the Industrial Revolution • Carts were pushed along the tracks by men or pulled by horses • Railroads were rarely used to travel long distances, people preferred canals or rivers • Rivers don’t always flow where people needed to deliver or receive goods, and during the winter many rivers froze • Railroads made goods transportable anywhere for a reasonable price

8. The Transportation Industry, cont’d. • The first steam locomotive was called the “Rocket” in 1829 • The railroad boom exploded across Europe and the U.S. • The use of railroads around the world created never before seen demand for coal to fuel the locomotives and iron to make the tracks • Engineers were needed to build bridges, dig tunnels, and plan routs

9. The Transportation Industry, cont’d. • Cities with rail traffic experienced economic prosperity • Towns bypassed by the railroads sometimes struggled to survive, depending on whether or not they had alternative connections to other cities • Railroads transported commuters who worked in the city • You no longer had to live in the city in order to work there • This was really only an option for people in the middle or upper class

10. The Transportation Industry, cont’d. • Other industries benefitted from reduced transportation costs that resulted from the railroads • Raw materials were less expensive to bring to the factories • Finished products were easily shipped to the appropriate market • Networks of railroads developed around the world

11. The Coal Industry • Coal was the fuel of the Industrial Revolution • It was used to build the fires that created steam to power steam engines and tools • It was used to heat homes and workshops • Coal and coke (a by-product of coal) were a major part of the steelmaking process • Coal derivatives (breaking coal down chemically and using its most basic parts separately) were important to the chemical industries

12. The Coal Industry, cont’d. • Factories were typically built near coal deposits in order to make sure there was a cheap and available source of fuel • The railroads, advances in iron, and advances in steelmaking made coal the most valuable resource on earth for industrial use • In 1800, England used 11 million tons of coal per year • In 1870, England needed 100 million tons of coal, and the demand continued to increase

13. The Coal Industry, cont’d. • Coal mining has always been dangerous and difficult • Even after the Industrial Revolution (all the way up until today), the coal industry relied on manual labor to get the product • Coal miners face (and face) a variety of dangers • Cave-ins that trap miners • Flooded mines when tunnels are dug under natural water sources • The threat of underground gases igniting and causing a massive explosion • The threat of black lung from breathing coal dust

14. The Coal Industry, cont’d. • Carelessness led to many mine accidents • Accidents became more frequent when mine bosses bypassed safety precautions to speed up production • Miners needed to be good at a variety of jobs • Using explosions to blow the coal from the walls and to form tunnels • Carpenters and engineers were needed to brace the tunnels • Miner’s helpers gathered the coal and filled carts • Small boys were often employed to lead the donkeys and ponies used to pull the carts full of coal