not necessarily near to rivers. By 1880 all of the spinning and weaving
processes had become fully mechanised . The
machines took a lot less effort to power than when the Domestic System was in
use. Before the Industrial Revolution hand power and sometimes water power were
used in the textile industry. Another
way in which steam power was used was to develop the transport system. In 1750
most people travelled by foot, heavy loads being transported by horse. In 1830
horses were used to pull boats along the newly made man-made rivers, canals.
Between 1830 and 1900 transport developed hugely. A network of canals was in
operation all over the country. Steam was used to operate trains and trams were
also used. The rocky, muddy and dangerous roads changed to a network of fast,
safe roads throughout Britain. The
claims that the working conditions in the factories and mines were poor were
only partly true. There were many reforms in working conditions in the early
1800?s. There were some dangerous jobs, although the statement about 855 out of
every 1000 fork grinders between the ages of 20 and 40 dying was probably an
exaggerated claim. Also, sources of information written by journalists at the
time may exaggerate and not tell the full truth about working conditions.? In 1842
Parliament appointed a Royal Commission to find out about working conditions.
In the mines the commission discovered the bad working conditions and did
something about them. The Mines Act of 1842 stated that no females could be
employed in mines and neither could boys under 10 years of age. The Factories
Act of 1833 stated that no child under the age of 9 must work in a textile mill
and that those up to thirteen must work for no longer than 48 hours each week
and must attend school for 12 hours each week. The 1842
Mines and Collieries Act banned underground work for women and children under
10 years old and no winding gear was to be operated by those under 15. Mine
inspectors were appointed to check that nobody was breaking the laws or working
in dangerous conditions. The 1874 Factories and Workshops Act made a maximum of
a 56 and a half hour week for all factory workers. This meant a ten-hour day
Mondays to Fridays and 6 and a half hours on Saturdays. The 1878 Factories and
Workshops Act applied all previous laws and sent inspectors to every workplace
with machinery, so all workers in industry were protected. Working conditions
were quite pleasant after these acts had taken place and the government
inspectors had inspected all of the mines and factories. These reforms had
improved the quality of work for nearly everybody. There
were also important reforms in living conditions. The problem of the disposal
of human waste was solved by the 1875 Public Health Act. That act stated that
there must be drains, toilets and underground sewage systems in all streets.
The problem about the filthy water supply was solved in 1848, by the Public
Health Act that stated that home owners could receive piped water in their
houses for a small charge. The other main problem was the poor quality housing.
This was solved by the 1875 Artisans Dwellings Act that stated that slums must
be cleared, there should be thicker walls on houses and that all houses must
have a sewage system. There
were fewer open spaces in towns in 1900, than there had been in 1750. This
problem was about the lack of recreational space and was solved by the 1875
Public Health Act. New parks then opened. Parks were great for the children and
the adults to have fun. There were fields, lakes and bandstands?a great place
to spend the time that they had off work. The 1875
Public Health Act also solved the problem of poor personal hygiene. Public Baths
were opened, which gave the public a place to wash. All of
these reforms that took place during the Industrial Revolution were for the
better and helped to make Britain a better and healthier place to live. Before
the Industrial Revolution most families stayed at home for most of the day
working, some even spent their leisure time at home. During the Industrial
Revolution, mainly in the late 19th century, there was a growth in
new entertainment. This was partly because of the working people who were beginning
to get more time off work. Another reason why so many people began to travel
away from their home towns and cities was because of the excellent railway
network, with its? cheap fares. This was ideal for travelling easily and
quickly all around the country. It became common for factory workers to be
given the Saturday afternoon off and in 1871 Bank Holidays were introduced.
Many people visited their local pub and drank heavily. Others discovered new
forms of entertainment including day excursions, football matches, music halls
and circuses. Some
popular resorts that developed in the late 19th century were
Blackpool and Brighton. They are still popular resorts today. People enjoyed
going to them because they were near the sea, to get away from the towns and
cities and to the seaside to get some fresh air. Another
very popular form of entertainment was the music halls. All of the major cities
had one, Birmingham and Liverpool had six each and London had 50. A variety of
shows were on including singers, comedians, magicians and acrobats. The
audience had great fun at the music halls and often joined in with the songs.
One of the best-loved music hall singers was Marie Lloyd. Lots of musicians and
singers were discovered through the music halls. Sheet music was available to
the public, so that they could play along to their favourite songs at home.
This was also a way of making extra money for the performer. Another
place that the whole family would enjoy visiting was the circus. People could
see amazing acts and things that they had never seen before. Some famous
circuses toured the whole of the country including the Barnum and Bailey?s
circus. Football
was a very popular game in the late 19th century. Youths and adults
liked playing and spectating the game. Manchester United and Arsenal, amongst
other teams started playing as works teams at this time. Other teams that are
still going today such as Aston Villa, Everton and Southampton were also formed
at this time. Football was watched by huge crowds. The 1901 Cup Final was
attended by a massive crowd of 110,000 people. The tickets for football matches
were a lot cheaper than today and football became known as ?The People?s Game.? All of
these changes to entertainment that happened in the Industrial Revolution were
good ones because they gave people something to do in their spare time. They
let people explore places that they?d never been before, enjoy themselves with
their family and friends and see unusual performances and shows, instead of
staying in their own town and not going out, apart from to their local pub. Also in
the cities and towns a lot of public facilities were built for the people
including shops, libraries, public baths, music halls and schools. Some of
these I have already mentioned. The public could go out and enjoy themselves
and again see things that they?d never seen before and find out more about the
world outside of their local environment. Another
problem that was solved during the Industrial Revolution was the poor
healthcare and lack of medicine and cures to diseases. In the 1840?s and 1850?s
x-rays began to be used to identify broken bones and also various scientists
invented anaesthetics and antiseptics that made operations safer and less
painful. These new inventions made health care lots better and are one of the
many improvements that took place in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. Now that
I have given evidence both for and against the effects of the Industrial
Revolution, I will do a conclusion to find out the answer to the question ?Was
the Industrial Revolution a good thing?" I will also try to make up my own
mind as to whether it was a good thing or not. There
were many arguments against the Industrial Revolution including that there were
very poor working and living conditions, environmental damage and pollution and
that generally people?s lifestyle?s changed for the worse. In my essay I used
the good points about the Domestic System to make the changes that took place
in the textile industry sound bad. There were many good points about the
Domestic System that were not true during and after the Industrial Revolution.
The working conditions were less strenuous, the children and the elderly could
be supervised and the hours were more convenient for the workers who worked at
home. There weren?t many bad points for the workers that worked in the Domestic
System apart from that the houses were crowded, with domestic chores going on
in the same room as spinning and weaving. So, the change in working conditions
didn?t benefit the workers very much, but it did benefit Great Britain as a
whole. Before the Industrial Revolution Britain didn?t have a lot of different
types of industry, whereas in 1900 there were many major industrial cities
producing iron, steel, pottery, silk, linen, ship building and engine making. The
cotton industry grew tremendously from 1750, when it produced 2 million tonnes
each year to 1900, where it produced 850 million tonnes each year. Lots of the
produce was exported and sold abroad making Britain become a very wealthy
country, compared to in 1750. Great
improvements in machinery made farming and mining become easier and quicker,
also helping to produce more, making Britain even wealthier. It was a good
thing that Britain became wealthier, but where exactly did all of the money go?
Britain brought in a lot of money, but living and working conditions were just
as bad as ever, or were they? There
were terrible reports on working conditions in the late 1700?s and early 1800?s.
The safety precautions were virtually non existent, the hours were terrible,
children as young as six were working in the mines and mills along with
pregnant women, children were beaten and exploited, the noise was deafening, the
dust from machines was deadly and the smell was sickening. These were
definitely not conditions that the workers found pleasant and were probably one
of the most terrible things about the Industrial Revolution. The working
conditions weren?t good for anybody, except maybe the bosses and employers. There
were lots of reforms in working conditions starting from the mid 1800?s. In
1842 Parliaments Royal Commission found out about the terrible working
conditions. They passed acts that helped the workers, including the Mines Act
of 1842 that banned females from working in the mines and the factories Act in
1833 which stated that no child under the age of nine must work in a textile
mill and those up to the age of thirteen must work for no longer than 48 hours
per week. These reforms were a good thing about the Industrial Revolution,
although some employers found ways around them. By the time the Industrial
Revolution I think that most of the working conditions were a lot better and
that the worst evils of child labour had ended, but nobody but the children and
employers themselves will ever know how much the children suffered. Also, if
these reforms hadn?t have taken place during the Industrial Revolution and if
the acts hadn?t been passed by Parliament, then terrible working conditions mat
have carried on for a lot longer and we may still have bad working conditions
today. Another good thing about the Industrial Revolution was that acts were
passed stating that children must go to school for 12 hours each week. This may
not seem like a lot compared to today, but it gave the children an opportunity
to learn about the world around them, unlike before the Industrial Revolution
when most people were uneducated. One of
the bad points about the Industrial Revolution was the poor living conditions
in towns and cities. The overcrowding was a big problem, with many people
living in slums. The water supply and sewage and waste disposal were also huge
problems. These terrible living conditions and polluted water supply caused
disease and infections including cholera, tuberculosis and typhoid. At first
many children and adults died from these diseases, but in the mid-1800?s x rays,
anaesthetic, antiseptics and other medicines and drugs made operations safer
and less painful. Like the
bad working conditions, the living conditions seemed to be more or less sorted
out by the late 19th century. Another good thing about the
Industrial Revolution was that Parliament took action to make people?s lives
more pleasant. In 1875 they passed the Artisans Dwellings Act stating that
slums should be cleared, thicker walls should be put on houses and all houses
must have a sewage system. The 1875 Public Health Act also improved living
conditions. As a result of this proper underground sewage systems were built
along with drains and proper toilets. Before this in 1848 the Public Health Act
half solved the water problem. It allowed all houses to have piped water for a
small charge. A lot of
pollution was caused during the Industrial Revolution, and is a serious threat
today, on a world wide scale. The factories gave off a lot of pollution. Today
people who live near factories are still affected by pollution. During the
Industrial Revolution pollution was also caused by trains. Now, pollution is
caused more widely by cars, which were not around in the Industrial Revolution.
During the Industrial Revolution was probably the first time that pollution
really became a threat. There
were many more good points about the Industrial Revolution, including great improvements
in travel. Railways, tram tracks and good roads made travelling quicker and
easier. Leisure
and entertainment was a good point. If the new entertainments hadn?t have been
discovered then, then nowadays we may not have popular seaside resorts, such as
Blackpool and Brighton, theatres, cinemas, circuses, sheet music for sale and
the most popular game in Britain may not be so popular. A lot of the football
teams that are popular today such as Aston Villa, Everton, Southampton,
Manchester United and Arsenal were started in the late 19th century
as works teams or teams to keep local youths out of trouble. Lots of the parks
that are around today were made in the late 19th century. Another
point that makes the Industrial Revolution a good thing is that many shops,
libraries, public baths and other public facilities were built. Some of the public
baths are still around today, although they have now changed into swimming
pools. Lots of
things that originated during the Industrial Revolution such as Bank Holidays,
are still in use today. I would
not have liked to live between 1750 and 1850, because the living and working
conditions were very poor. I would?ve hated to work long hours in the mills or
mines and then come home to a cellar shared with ten others with the foul
smells of sewage and other waste in the air. I think
that during the Industrial Revolution many important reforms took place, which
improved the quality of life for most people and that by 1900 Britain would
have been quite a nice place to live. The
changes that took place could mean different things to different people,
therefore people who are very concerned about pollution and environmental
damage will say that it is a bad thing. The people who are interested in health
care would say that the Industrial Revolution was a good thing because many new
treatments and cures to diseases were invented. I would
rather have lived in 1900 than in 1750, although people that prefer more
friendly, rural communities would probably rather have lived in 1750. I think
that the Industrial Revolution had more good points than bad points, because
most of the problems that were around at the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution ended up being solved by acts that were passed by Parliament. I
think that most of the changes that happened about 200 years ago still influence
our lives today. Overall the Industrial Revolution improved the bad living and
working conditions, made Britain wealthier and far more powerful, improved
entertainment, travel, education, public facilities and health care. Out of all
of the points that I?ve mentioned in my essay I can only think of one bad
effect that is long term and is still around. The problem has not yet been
solved ? that?s pollution.