Industrial Revolution DBQ Essay

In the 18th century began a great movement called the Industrial Revolution. While the Industrial Revolution was a great turning point in the history of mankind, it had both positive and negative effects. The Industrial Revolution led our civilization to great technological advancements as well as great losses.
During the Industrial Revolutions, many inventions were made. These inventions were created to make the work around farms easier and faster. For example, in 1764, James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny. This machine was invented as an easier and a faster way to make cloth. The spinning jenny spins more than one ball of thread at a time. In the 1830’s, Samuel Moore invented the telegraph. Telegraphs were the first form of communication

Immigrants began to move into cities in search of a better life than the one they had. Many immigrants migrated to New York looking to make more money so they wouldn’t have to suffer and starve but what they didn’t know was that the life in New York wasn’t much better. Many families were forced lived in tenements, an over-crowded apartment building because factories provided low wages and the tenements were cheap. In these tenements, there was poor sanitation. Diseases spread quickly in these housing environments. People died from common sickness like the flu because they lacked medication and health care. Toilets were only able to be flushed once a day, which was bad for the health of the citizen’s and just disgusting. Since everyone was so jam-packed and crowded, crime rates increased tremendously. Tenements lacked running water, electricity, proper ventilation and indoor plumbing. These buildings had no windows. People were forced to live in these conditions because they had nowhere else to go. Tenements were nowhere near safe. Constructers built new tenements often using cheap materials and construction shortcuts. (Tenements) Tragedy struck in 1849 when a cholera epidemic struck and took about five thousand lives. The majority of the people who died from this epidemic lived in congested housing like tenements. Tuberculosis was also very popular in tenements. Doctors credited eight to

People had many opportunities to work during this time. Before the Industrial Revolution children usually grew up and had the same profession as their parents because that’s what their parents taught them. Once the revolution started however, children were able to work in factories, as servants, on farms and etc. During this time, a lot of technology was created but jobs were also cut down. Machines like the spinning jenny were invented, which gave factories the option to cut down on their employees. These inventions were good for factory owners since machines did the same job as the employees at a faster rate and machines don’t get paid. By using machines, factory owners don’t have to worry about anyone getting hurt nor do they have to worry about how crowded their factory is. The Industrial Revolution didn’t only occur in the United States, it also occurred in Britain and Western Europe as well. The First Industrial Revolution merged into the Second Industrial Revolution around the 1850’s, when technological and economic development gained momentum. (Industrial Revolution) From the 1870’s to the 1890’s, millions of people were put out of work or received reduced pay. In the course of the second Industrial Revolution, the average pay per day was one dollar and twenty-five cents. Skilled workers received double that amount. Women and children weren’t paid as much as men. Women and children were paid about a