Apush Dbq Industrial Revolution

The Industrial revolution contributed to better living conditions and better economic status. It sparked many cultural, social, and economic changes throughout the United States and Europe from the 18th to the 19th century. Vital inventions that contributed to modern technology can be seen emerging like the steam engine, light bulb, and the telegraph. More jobs opened up for the poor helping the economy boom, and living conditions overall were improved. The industrial revolution had a good effect on the typical worker at this time. Despite the risky components of the new machinery, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Technology developed rapidly throughout the industrial revolution, resulting in new factory machinery that increased production.

After analyzing the documents it is safe to say that it was less common to find a factory with harsh working conditions and more common to find a factory with adequate conditions for the working class. Document 3 describes an excerpt from Andrew Ure’s book about manufacturing from 1835. It mentions how “I [Andrew] have visited many factories… and I never saw a single instance of corporal chastisement [beating] inflicted on a child. They seemed to be always cheerful and alert… they saw no trace of it [exhaustion]’. The factories that Andrew Ure visited did not have okay conditions for working children, they had great ones. He even goes on to describe how it is better for children to be working than to be stuffed into their tiny apartment homes. With both the children and parents working in factories, more income was able to go into the families and this improved the quality of life. Document 5 is a description from a pamphlet from 1979 by the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor. “The village contains about 15000 inhabitants… of these, there are 500 children who are entirely fed, clothed, and educated…”. This quote describes a description of mills and factories and how they are

Document 1 describes the working conditions of British factories. In this excerpt, a testimony is given by a 28-year-old worker who began working in the mills at the age of 10. During that time he would work 16 hours straight with only one 40-minute break for lunch at noon. This left no time for school and resulted in the man being able to read but not write. And at times the children were even whipped to keep them awake. These harsh conditions were also described by another worker who testified in Document 2. The man (Joseph Hebergam) talks about how he is only expected to live another year because of his damaged lungs and leg muscles which cannot hold him up any longer. His doctor said that the cause of his injuries was due to the dust in the factories, overwork, and an insufficient diet. His brother even died from being cut by a machine. Joseph even witnessed two deaths in the factory that resulted from faulty machinery but overall he witnessed 12 deaths in the factory. The use of child labor in factories prompted concern by the 1830s, resulting in legal limits on labor. This also led to the eventual installation of the child education system. These harsh environments are undeniable but did cause necessary changes in the way the social structure was built in early Europe and the United