Jack Wardlaw September 13, 2024 Was the Industrial Revolution a ‘Good’ Thing? The Industrial Revolution (circa 1760-1840) produced greater opportunities for adult men to improve their lives than any century prior. Barriers of entry into the skilled labor market, namely that of formal apprenticeships, began to lift, allowing for new methods of entry into the workforce. Furthermore, factories born in the industrial sectors offered lucrative and feasible alternatives for unskilled laborers. The factory system even allowed wage-earners to save large sums of money while extending a more comfortable and secure quality of life to a large portion of men who had not experienced that luxury prior. The autobiographies examined in chapter two, Men at Work, …show more content…
Sykes describes these men as wearing coverings to conceal their faces as they destroyed the shears and brushing machine of the establishment. Not only did these men break the necessary equipment of the drapery, but they also threatened to “blow up the premises” should any of the machinery be fixed or replaced. This demonstration from these masked assailants represents the fear with which the Luddites viewed the Industrial Revolution, a fear which is best contextualized in the wake of the Napoleonic War (1802-1812). Trade between countries was disrupted, food shortages led to an increased price for wheat, and staple industries collapsed. This agitated the Luddites, who were already fearful of the potential loss of their jobs, into action that disturbed the textile industries. Uncertainty in the job market and the potential for diminished quality of life compelled the Luddites to riot, clearly demonstrating their disdain for the Industrial …show more content…
Still, these careers would not support him. Lovett then made the trek to London, a city which was booming largely due to the Industrial Revolution. Lovett found work with the cabinetmakers, and despite a period of hazing, he was able to profess real skill for the trade without having a formal apprenticeship. His experience demonstrates the gradual movement away from apprenticeships towards alternative routes to learning the trade. Furthermore, large-scale factory work offered competitive wages to workers that lacked formal training in a specific trade. Benjamin Shaw took up employment with a factory that offered “good work and wages.” Shaw was able to save £20 in his two years working as a machine grinder, and he was later able to retire from manual labor. Shaw’s case is certainly not a unique experience. Many other autobiographers report similar increases in wages and available work. From these accounts, it can be inferred that there were many improvements because of the Industrial Revolution for the unskilled and semi-skilled working classes. Historians, drawing conclusions from this sample of personal accounts, would concede that the Industrial Revolution was a good