Ap World History Dbq Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution brought abundant material benefits at the expense of humans.

Mechanisation had improved accuracy and speed in production of items. It was free from human error and business owners did not have to pay for employees. They did not have to worry about sick employees that would reduce the output of items. The more items produced lead to higher profits and potential to employ more workers. Company owners achieved maximum efficiency by adapting tools, machines and work positions to the goods produced.

Not only did mass production benefit companies but it benefited the consumers. Some goods produced such as tableware and manchester became more affordable to the inhabitants. Existing economic practices such as agriculture,

People could now travel for leisure, see more of the world and travel a greater distance daily. This linked cities and increased size of industries which allowed a more robust economy. Workers were able to live further away from the factory that they worked at. The importance of transportation increased as the employment in manufacturing sky rocketed to 60%. Examples of new transportation can be seen in Source 1(a), horse drawn carts.

The movement of people increased and sparked the maritime trade which became an important part of the economy. Costal towns became wealthier as employment became more prevalent. Machines had created a more advanced ship design and made ship transport more reliable.

Pollution is not a modern phenomena as it was widely relevant during the industrial revolution. Manufacturing factories created smoke, fumes and toxins as seen in source 1(a). Many workers would have to endure these conditions. The demand of natural resources increased as many machines ran on wood and coal. Deforestation began and carbon emissions rose; pollution (water and air) was the result. London was only able to see one-sixth of sunshine in a few country towns. “Two great groups of nineteenth century urban killers – air pollution and water pollution or respiratory and intestinal disease.” - Industry and Empire, Hobsbawm, 1969, p.

For example, a basic handloom cost 25 pounds however a textiles mill would cost 4,000 pounds. Due to this factory and mine owners cut corners with safety conditions to achieve higher profits. This was legally obtained by exploiting women and children. Children were seen as ideal workers as they were small and cheap to employ and could do unskilled jobs. They were also easier to discipline in comparison to adults.

Source 1(b) states that both adults and children were subjected to long hours of work, “those who have wished for the hours of labour to be less for all ages than the legislature would even sanction”. Children worked most days of the week for an average of 14 hours a day. Due to the lack of sleep children were more prone to accidents and injuries. ‘Children are quite tired out’; that ‘the long hours exhaust the workers, especially the younger ones, to such a degree that they can hardly walk home’” - P.P 1833, vol XX, pp.