Ap Euro Dbq Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was the chain of events from the mid-1700s to the early 1900s that increased population, product output, and technology. During this period, many inventions that people use to this day, such as the radio, electric lightbulb, and the automobile were invented and put forward for public use. It also changed the way people lived, with urbanization causing more people to move into larger cities to work in factories. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily negative consequences for society because it brought suffering to the working class, it was actually a positive thing for society. Industrialization’s positive effects were improved transportation, production, and the introduction of labor laws and

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution bringing new forms of production, “America emerged as the world’s largest industrial power,” (Document 3). In becoming industrialized, America pulled ahead of the rest of the world in production exports. advancement led to America’s economy booming, which ultimately led to even more inventions and prosperity. The Industrial Revolution also introduced new production methods, such as the assembly line in Document 4. (Document 4). The assembly line, whose use in industry was spurred by Henry Ford in his automobile factories. The assembly line, interchangeable parts, and other inventions vastly increased the speed of production and lowered production costs. Because of these new manufacturing techniques speeding and cheapening production, “[People’s] clothes are cheaper, [People] have an infinite number of domestic utensils,” and [People are surrounded…with an infinite number of comforts and conveniences…within reach of almost all men,” (Document 9). Faster and cheaper production meant bountiful and cheaper products that could be sold to the public. Anybody could purchase a variety of products and comforts faster and far cheaper than ever before. As well as new production techniques, the Industrial Revolution also brought about better methods of

With new production methods like the assembly line, new methods of transportation such as the automobile were made inexpensive and accessible to more people (Document 4). With prices starting at $850 ($20-30 thousand today), the Ford Model-T was the first truly accessible and practical personal automobile. Accessibility encouraged the growth of the industry, which in turn led even more people to buy cars. Another new form of transportation, the railroad, “…was fast. Going to San Francisco from New York City took only six days. Before the railroads, the trip took months,” (Document 5). With the speed and power of the railroads, people and shipments of cargo could be moved quickly over land. People could travel to places that they couldn’t have before, and materials such as steel and coal could be transported between manufacturers and users in large quantities. These new forms of transportation allowed people to “travel cheaply from place to place, and not only travel at less expense, but travel ten times quicker than 200 years ago,” (Document 9). Not only was railroad travel much faster than previous methods, it was also much more efficient and cheap. The cost saved in transport allowed for goods to be sold cheaper. While the invention of production and transportation were mostly positive, the working and living conditions of the lower class