What is the Industrial Revolution

By Paul

Picture From Microsoft Clipart

The industrial revolution was a time in England when people started to industrialize.  What I mean is that scientist made machines that made everything easier for people.  You didn't have to pull a plow because a tractor did it for you.  Some people call the Industrial Revolution the agricultural revolution.  But the agricultural revolution did not have a direct impact on the industrial revolution and the agricultural revolution happened much sooner. 

"Industrial Revolution."  Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia 2005.  Enclyclopedia Brittanica Online School Edition.  13 October,2005 <http://school.eb.com>

Why Was it Started  By Paul

Picture From Microsoft Clipart

Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005 describes the Industrial Revolution as,"a widespread replacement of manual labor by machines that began in Britain in the 18th century and is still continuing in some parts around the world."

     People did not want to do their work manually for the rest of their lives. Somewhere around 75% of the British made their money farming. In the winter when they couldn't farm they worked with the wool from their sheep to make cloth. This was called the cottage industry. This was one thing that caused the Industrial Revolution. The British had modern ideas and attitudes about change for themselves and their country and were smart enough to do it. Their government was also in favor of change.

What Was the Effect on Agriculture

By Paul

     Picture From Microsoft Clipart

With all of the change brought on by the Industrial Revolution, agriculture and farming families changed too.

     Farmers that had always done everything by hand were now using machines in their fields. Farmers now could plow and plant with machines.

     With all of the machines not as many farm workers were needed so they had to move to cities to find work. As stated by Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition 2005,"By the late 1700's many people could no longer make their living in the countryside . Large industrial towns sprang up and the building of factories attracted more and more people to those towns to find work. The towns were often dirty, crowded, and unhealthy."

"Industrial Revolution." Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. 2006. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. 18  Feb.  2006 <http://www.school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=353290>.

Effect On People                By: Paul

Picture From Microsoft Clipart

    Before the Industrial Revolution about 75% of British people lived in the country and farmed. Some were skilled craftsman doing all their work by hand. But with the Industrial Revolution and the inventions  of machines,  many farm families went broke. Families had to move to factory cities and the whole family had to work in factories, even kids. Because kids had to work they weren't going to school and getting an education, and they weren't healthy. They had to work about 18 hours a day.

The Industrial Revolution." 2 2003. sea.ca. 26 Jan. 2006 <http://industrialrevolution.sea.ca/impact.html>

Effect on Transportation                     

By: Paul

Picture From Microsoft Clipart

    Improvements to bridges and roads were made early in the 1700's. Roads and rivers carried the factory made products to the world markets. Canal building came next, and a network of canals soon joined important cities. Railroads were made when George Stephenson made a steam engine that could transport on rails. In the 1830's the Liverpool going to Manchester opened, then within 20 years connecting railroads connected all of Britain's towns. After that they connected cities all over the world.

    During the mid 19th century wooden steam powered ships took over sailing ships. After that the iron ships came in and became the new way of shipping things across the ocean.

"Industrial Revolution." Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. 2006. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. 3  Feb.  2006 <http://www.school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=353290>.

Labor Movements During the Industrial Revolution

By Paul

Picture From Microsoft Clipart

  During the time of the Industrial Revolution the men, women, and children who worked in factories stayed poor while the people that owned the factories became rich.

     The people working in the factories wanted better working conditions and more money so labor unions were started. According to Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition 2005,"  These organizations helped create laws that protected the workers in such ways as limiting the numbers of hours they had to work and establishing a minimum wage."

Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. 2006. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. 3  Feb.  2006 http://school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=0

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Who Was the First to Industrialize?

By Paul

Picture From Microsoft Clipart

The first to industrialize was Britain because people in Britain used wood to heat there homes, not coal. So, Britain had a lot of coal to use for their good ideas. Any supplies Britain didn't have they got from their many colonies. These colonies were also good customers to sell to.

     Cotton was one of the first crop to be used in the Industrial Revolution. Everyone wanted it and it was cheap. The need for cotton caused many new inventions at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution like John Kay's "flying shuttle" which led the worker to make twice as much cloth as before the invention. This was known as the textile industry.

Why was Britain First." 17 Feb. 2003. sea.ca. 03 Feb. 2006 <http://industrialrevolution.sea.ca/causes.html>

Is The Whole World Industrialized?

By Paul

Picture From Microsoft Clipart

According to MSN Encarta-The Industrial Revolution, "Mechanized production and modern economic growth continue to spread to new areas of the world, and much of humankind has yet to experience the changes typical of the Industrial Revolution."

     It's hard to believe that the whole world hasn't had an Industrial Revolution and that  changes are still being done the way they were in England in the early 1700's. The Industrial Revolution reached other parts of Europe and the United States in the 1800's.  In the 1900's,  it reached Asia.

"Industrial Revolution," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005                                                                  http://encarta.msn.com1997-2005microsoftcorporation.AllRightsReserved

The 2nd Industrial Revolution     

 By Paul

Picture From Microsoft Clipart

Some news reporters and real estate agents say that there is a 2nd Industrial Revolution in China.  They are comparing China's big increase in buildings to Brittan's Industrial Revolution.  People are moving from the country side to cities just like during the Industrial Revolution.  A real estate agent named Guy Hollis told the BBC World Service Global Businesses Program that, "in the next 25 years 345 million people are going to move from rural areas to urban ones." 

Industrial revolution. (2004). Retrieved Feb. 18, 2006, from BBC News Web site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/21hi/asia-pacific/3701581.stm

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http://industrialrevolution.sea.ca/impact.html

Cited in a few of the paragraphs above, this site is very kid-friendly.