Women During The Industrial Revolution

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which had begun in the late 1700s in Britain, manufacturing was often done in people’s homes, using hand tools and elementary machines. However, during the eighteenth century, the United States had entered into a period of urbanization and industrialization. Areas that had once been predominantly rural and agrarian, soon evolved into giant cities filled with large buildings and towering factories. Industrialization marked the shift from simple hand made tools to extraordinarily complex machines, as well as the establishment of manufacturing plants and their large scale production of goods. The enormous growth in the iron and textile industries, as well as the advancement of the steam engine, resulted in

During this time, many women entered the work force, typically working in textile mills, where fabric was made. In these mills, men tended to assume the authoritative role, and with that sometimes came sexual harassment and abuse. On top of harassment and abuse, women were usually discriminated upon, being seen as inferior to men and therefore, they were not treated as equals. As a result of the male superiority presented in the work force, women were paid less then men. Yet, for many women, earning livable wages brought with it a newfound sense of independence and

For example, factories and machines allowed for a better efficiency in the manufacturing process, by reducing the time and labor that was involved in the production goods, resulting in cheaper goods. Another benefit of the Industrial Revolution had on the West was the improvement of transportation and communication. Transportation of raw materials and finished goods over long distances became easier due to the development of waterways, roads, and railroads. Communication was also greatly improved during the Industrial Revolution because of the creation of the Telegraph in the mid 1840s. By 5875, telegraph cables had stretched across thousands of miles of ocean and as a result, the Universal Postal Union had been able to facilitate the transmission of mail between foreign countries. The Labor Union was also another beneficial product of the Industrial Revolution. Because of the huge surge of new workers during the Industrial Revolution, labor unions were created in order to help represent the workers when it came to work-related difficulties such as low pay, unsafe or unsanitary working conditions, long hours, and other situations as a result of the terrible working conditions that the poor and working classes experienced during