What was the Industrial Revolution?

     The Industrial Revolution: a time of change and innovation; an event that changed human history drastically. Compared to countless other human events that occurred throughout history, the Industrial Revolution happened in a shorter amount of time, and still had a profound affect on people even today. Without the Industrial Revolution, companies would not be able to thrive under large or mass production circumstances. Not only would we not have the technology that has become apart of society, but we would not have large quantities of certain items because of the loss of large factories and such. However, as we think back, would have it been better if this event hadn't occurred? Of course we would not have as much money in the bank nor would we acquire large amounts of goods yet is that a good thing? Problems that arise such as global warming, poverty, or in general, greed, could these all be avoided if the Industrious Revolution hadn't occurred? The question remains unanswered and unfound.

     Many inventions arose from the Industrious Revolution such as steam engines in 1712, still serve us today in society. Other innovative ideas such as the telegraph in 1884, or even dynamite in 1866 all contributed to the welfare and entire prospect of this important time in history.

The steam engine was first created by Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729), but later improved by James Watt (1736-1819).  The idea of using steam to power engines was one of the main key concepts of the Industrial Revolution. However, it wasn't until 1769 that steam engines were used for trains, large factories, and steamboats.




This telegraph writer is one of the few devices that made people capable of communicating from a far. Samuel Morse(1791-1872)  was the inventor of this marvelous creation. Composed with an electromagnet and a small power source, the telegraph writer was the means for long distance communication, and Morse Code soon accompanied this invention.


The Spinning Jenny was created by James Hargreaves (1720, 1778) and named after his daughter, Jenny. From this invention, creating yarn was less difficult for the worker operating the machine could have at least eight spools of the material, compared to creating the yarn all by hand. Even though the machine may have created a more efficient process, some cloth workers were outraged for this meant they were out of a job and would lose money.

     As in all events of history, different social classes have different points of view on their certain situation. For example, capitalists wanted the government to have less control over the decisions of consumers. However, the "trickle down theory" also derived from this where the more wealthy created more businesses and employed the poorer part of society. Unfortunately, corruption existed and this did not occur. Poverty and suffering out-of-work people flooded the nation so something had to be done. This was where socialists and marxists entered the picture, yet many things soon took a turn for the worst, just like capitalism. The numerous viewpoints from child laborers, middle-class citizens, and even upperclass men all differed in the Industrial Revolution due to the circumstances each and everyone was in. 

In conclusion, the Industrial Revolution played a critical role in the history of human kind, and created a variety of positive (and negative) setbacks to the futures of our kind. Without a doubt, the question that boggles and perplexes our mind is: would our world be better if the Industrial Revolution hadn't occurred? The answer remains unseen and inconclusive.