Chapter 21: Industrial Revolution

Industrialization in Europe (1780-1850)

Introduction

This blog consists of the contents in Chapter 21 in my APEH book. This section of the book follows the Napoleonic Era. The industrial revolution began in Great Britain in 1780 but did not spread to the rest of Europe until about 1815. Due to all the inventions, technological advancements and new ideas in government and society, everyday life also endured a change. Class structure transformed with a new attitude of class from the standard of living increasing, which eventually led to the balance of power. How people worked and the patterns they followed were also altered by the industrial revolution due to all the new technology.

Chapter Objectives

• inform on various inventions and how they impacted society
• make connection to how the Industrial Revolution has impacted modern society
• explain why the revolution occurred in Great Britain and not anywhere else
• discuss important people of this time period
• give a global perspective to the era

Essential Question

The Industrial Revolution originated in Great Britain. Why did it happen there and not any other country?

Great Britain was the wealthiest and most dominant part of Europe at the time. They had a growing Atlantic market for manufactured goods by adopting new method from the Dutch. In turn, their domestic market for raw materials was forced to grow to meet their high demands. England had a central bank and well developed credit markets which also strengthened their economy. Lastly, Britain had many agricultural workers to keep up with the growing technology.

Individuals in Society

James Hargreaves

James Hargreaves, a carpenter and a weaver, was born in Oswaldtwistle, England. Although he never received any formal education, he managed to invent one of the most important machines of the industrial revolution: the spinning jenny. He lived in a town known for the spinning of Blackburn Greys. These were cloths of linen wrap and cotton weft that were sent to London to be printed. The one-thread spinning wheel could not keep up with the high demand.


The legend is that Hargreaves' daughter, Jenny, knocked a one-thread spinning wheel on the floor and Hargreaves watched the spindle roll around the floor, where he got the idea for the spinning jenny. Others say that Hargreaves wife was named Jenny and he named his invention after her.

Despite how the invention came about, the spinning jenny was a genius idea. The first model used eight spindles instead of one. Later models had up to one hundred and twenty spindles. Originally, Hargreaves only created the spinning jenny for himself but eventually started selling them.

Machines, like the spinning jenny, did threaten the workers of the time. A group of angry spinners broke into Hargreaves house in 1768 and destroyed his spinning machines in fear that they might put them out of work. Eventually, the spinning jenny did decrease the need for spinners but in turn, increased production greatly.

George Stephenson

George Stephenson had an interest in machines ever since he was a young boy. He started working at the Dewley Colliery with his father when he was only fourteen. He eventually worked at the Killingworth Colliery where on his free time would take apart engines to understand how they worked.

After years of working with engines and railways, Stephenson became somewhat of an expert. He began constructing his own engines by learning from other's mistakes and successes, such as Thomas Newcomen and James Watt, the inventors of the steam engine. Eventually, Stephenson built his first locomotive called the Blutcher. This locomotive was different than any made before because  the gears did not drive the rack pinions but the flanged wheels. Stephenson continued to improve and alter his locomotive throughout the years.

Stephenson eventually became chief engineer of the proposed Liverpool and Manchester Railway. There were serious problems building this railways due to geographical interferences such as Sankey Valley. The directors of the Liverpool and Manchester company decided to hold a competition to find the best locomotive that could handle their tracks. Stephenson built a model to enter the competition called the Rocket. Naturally, the Rocket won, making it the official locomotive of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, running at 16 miles per hour.

The effects of Stephenson's locomotive were amazing. It made shipping freight much cheaper and also made the delivery certain it would arrive. The markets began to grow outside of the local area with the new opportunity to transport things through the locomotive. These larger markets in turn, encouraged the factories to grow and advance their machinery, which lowered the price of goods. The most important effect railways had were the new demand for unskilled labor. People without an artisan skill now had an easy way of making money. All of these factors helped better the economy as a whole.

Richard Arkwright

Arkwright was born in 1732 in Preston. His family was very poor so he had no proper schooling. However, his cousin informally taught him how to read and write. From the time Arkwright was young he wanted to have his own business. He ended up supporting himself with his own wig business, which was a very popular product among men of the time.

Arkwright had to travel a lot for his wig business. During his travels, he heard a lot about the new machines being produced, especially in the textile industry. Arkwright suddenly decided to give up his wig business and joined John Key and Thomas Highs to construct a new spinning machine.

After a lot of work Arkwright created what is known as the water frame. It involved three sets of paired rollers that went at different speeds. The rollers produced a good thick yarn while a set of spindles twisted the yarn together. The water frame could hold several hundred spindles due to the powerful water wheel used to run the machine. This machine was an improvement from James Hargreaves's spinning jenny.

The water frame made cotton goods much cheaper, which benefitted all classes. Before, only the rich could afford cotton apparel but now everyone could afford it. The water frame was a very large machine. That called for the factories to be more common because one could not fit a water frame in their living room. This opened up a lot of  factory jobs for people. However, the working conditions were not so great so one had to decide if a factory job was worth it. Despite the bad conditions of the factories water frames called for, the invention led to great advancements in the textile industry.

What was happening the US?

Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney was an American man who invented the cotton gin in 1793. Before his invention, it would take hundred of hours to separate the cotton seed from the raw cotton fibers. Whitney created a machine that automatically conducted this separation process. It could come up with fifty pounds of cotton in only one day. This made cotton production popular in the southern states due all the slavery. It actually made slavery worse because their owners wanted his slaves to pick as much cotton as possible so it could be sold to make a profit. With this new invention, the amount of cotton that could be produced had no end, so there were no limits for the slaves.

This connects with the industrial revolution in Europe in many ways. The cotton gin, like many machines being invented in Europe, helped increase production of a certain product. For example, the locomotive helped ship goods around Europe so more could be sold. American inventors, as well as European inventors, had ideas in regards to ways to increase production to better the economy.

New Orleans Steamboat

The New Orleans was a steamboat build by Nicholas Roosevelt and designed by Robert Fulton. It was the first steamboat to travel the Ohio and Mississippi River to New Orleans. It left Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in October of 1811 with Roosevelt as the captain. The steamboat reached New Orleans in January of 1812, making the voyage a long four months. This trip began an era of commercial steamboat navigation in America.

 

 

The New Orleans Steamboat and its voyage was very similar to Rocket, the locomotive that traveled from Liverpool to Manchester. Both were the first of their kind of machine to make such a journey. Not to mention, they both brought about a new way of transportation, and an era to follow where both were crucial to society.

Picturing the Past

The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace, as pictured here, was built in Hyde Park, London in 1851. The initial purpose of this palace was to hold the Great Exhibition where thousands of exhibitors came to display the latest technology of the Industrial Revolution. The one third mile long and 800,000 square feet structure was built to show off England's military and economic power.  In turn, in increased the economy of Great Britain greatly.

Looking at this painting, you can see that the grounds of the palace were filled with wondrous fountains, the finest trees and shrubs and life size models of prehistoric animals. Clearly, showing off the wealth of Great Britain.

Self Reflection

I thought this chapter was very interesting. I especially liked learning about all the "Isms" that exists in our world. Because we live in a mainly capitalist country we don't realize how different foreign governments can be. While we were discussing them I found it weird to think about living in a type of government that was not capitalist because that is the way of life I am used to.

What I found to think about the most while studying this chapter was how much our current society is impacted from this period in time. Every invention and idea developed during the industrial revolution is either still used today or has been further improved to a modern version which is used today. For example, Volta invented the electric battery which we still use today to operate several things on a daily basis. It is just astonishing that the advancements made during the years 1780-1850 are still being used in our very modern society. Overall, I enjoyed this chapter because I could see how the industrial revolution evolved into the society we have today with all its technological advancements.

Chapter 22: Ideologies and Upheavals

New Ideas and Conflicts in Europe (1815-1850)

Introduction

This blog is about chapter 22. During this time period, we will see a similar rebellion as the first French Revolution. The people and government will collide and new opinions and ideas will form. Before this time, the economic and political aspects of development have been kept separate. However, in this chapter, they fuse together. Liberalism, socialism and nationalism became popular beliefs as well with leading thinkers who advocated their beliefs. Not to mention, the great cultural rise of Romanticism that also defined the era.

Chapter Objectives

• define romanticism and describe its characteristics
• explain the new beliefs of socialism and liberalism
• show how the second revolution was similar to the first revolution
• describe various events from the second revolution

Essential Question

What were the main ideas of socialism, liberalism and nationalism and how did their leaders get people to accept their beliefs?

These beliefs were basically all radical by the rejection of conservatism. In all of these ideas, they developed new visions of how things should be run and who should run them then tried to get the people to agree with them to start a movement. Leaders of this movement often tried to touch emotion to get followers, but ultimately just wanted success.

Individuals in Society

William Wordsworth

Poetry was a major factor in the Romantic literary period. William Wordsworth was a leader in English Romanticism, specializing in poetry. He got his influence from Rousseau and the early French Revolution. Ironically, Wordsworth rejected the classical rules of poetry, creating a whole new viewpoint on prose. 


Romanticism focused very much on nature and its power toward an individual. Wordsworth helped set that specific tenant of Romanticism. He wrote a lot on nature, always paying close attention to detail in the physical environment around him. He also described in his poems the ability of nature to speak to him and receive some sort of intellectual message or symbol from nature. 

One example of Wordsworth use of nature is in his poem "Daffodils". He describes how wonderful his experience is walking around in nothing else than a field of flowers. Wordsworth depicts simplicity and the love of nature trough out this poem, which are both reflections of the Romantic period. 


Wordsworth set the scene for other writers in Romantic England. He did this through his genius poems where nature and individualism were his focus. Wordsworth used a lot of emotion and feeling in his work which helped bring out his unique style. Overall, Romantic Literature would not be the same without Wordsworth's contribution. 

Count Henri de Saint-Simon

Socialism emerged
in France after 1815. It went against individualism and the fragmentation of society, moving toward cooperation and a sense of community. Economic planning and equality and state regulation of property were it's main goals. Count Henri de Saint-Simon was the most influential socialist thinker of that time. He was born into an aristocratic family who gave him an education through private tutors. At the age of seventeen, Saint-Simon enlisted in the military. Therefore, his socialist ideas came from his high profile background.

He believed strongly that a planned society would help the poor by improving their living conditions due to industrial development. He had a strict plan where the court, aristocracy, lawyers and churchman would give all the power to the leading scientists, engineers, and industrialists. With this power they would plan the economy toward success by not allowing the public to have their own projects and also establishing a controlled banking system. Saint-Simon was a strong moralist so his ideal society would have every social institution working to improve the conditions of the poor.

Saint-Simon's influence did not take off until after his death, but when it did it was tremendous. By 1826 a movement supporting his ideas began to grow. Eventually, his followers called themselves "Saint-Simonians" and held meetings in and around France. They demanded the common ownership of goods, called for the abolition of the right to inheritance, and advocated women's rights. Saint-Simon's ideas carried on throughout the years and eventually influenced Karl Marx and his socialist thinking.

Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin

Amanda Aurore Lucie Dupin is better know by her pen name, George Sand. She was a French novelist and memoirist, known for her independence and shocking subjects written in her books. Dauphin was married, but eight years and two children later she got divorced moved to Paris to be a writer. Dupin had many sexual and personal relations after her first marriage with both men and women, some formal and some informal. She is known for her quote, "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved".

Dupin decided to become a women writer in a time when that was almost unheard of, Thus, explaining her pen name being a man's name. However, she did prefer to wear men's clothing and was known for her lesbian affairs. She wrote a lot about her childhood experiences yet also took her writing to the next level by writing about the quest for sexual and personal freedom. Not to mention, all her criticism of the political and literary scene of her society. Dupin proved that women could be successful writers in a time of male dominance even with her writing consisting of unaccepted topics.

 

What Happened in the US?

Building of the Erie Canal

The Erie Canal in New York state opened officially in 1825. It was 363 miles long, running from the capital, Albany down the Hudson to Buffalo, linking the Hudson River with Lake Erie. The cost is estimated at seven million dollars for total building expenses. This canal became the most effective way to ship bulk goods in recorded history. The Erie canal was also responsible for the growth of New York City, making it the largest city in the country, just passing Philadelphia. Eventually, New York City became the main US port. This was mainly due to the fact that the canal was the first transportation system from New York City to the Great Lakes without ports. Transportation costs were cut dramatically with the canal because carts pulled by animals were used previously.



The Erie Canal connects to the time period from 1815 to 1850 in Europe, and Great Britain especially, for a few reasons. First of all, the Erie Canal opened Eastern markets to crops raised by western farmers. That kept the trade and exchange of goods more nationwide instead of international. The Corn Law of 1815 reduced the importation of foreign grain immensely. Although the Erie Canal did not bring about any formal restrictions to foreign goods it did naturally cut back in foreign grain due to the connection to the east and west. The other connection bring in the Reform Bill of 1832, which bought about free trade in Great Britain. America already was practicing free trade but the building of the Erie Canal broadened it even more with the port in New York City. In those ways, Great Britain took on a few characteristics from America although in most other aspects in history, it is the other way around.

 

 

 

Indian Removal Act

The Indian Removal Act was an act, passed by President Andrew Jackson in 1830, forced the native American people to leave their homelands, which were spread throughout the east cost of America. This act was passed so Jackson would have complete control over the land they occupied. Although the removal was intended to be voluntary, the natives did resist. Eventually, they were all forced to leave in what is called the trail of tears. This was the name given to the process of making the Indians relocate to the west part of the country. The conditions of the journey were not good for many got sick or even died.

While trying to find an American history event that would relate to Chapter 22, I thought of this for a somewhat interesting connection. It reminded me of the Peterloo Massacre which was meant to eliminate "rotten boroughs". Although the circumstances of each event are somewhat different, both were meant to remove a group of people, in the way. The Indian people were not massacred but their way of life was due to the forced removal they endured.

Picturing the Past

The Irish Great Famine

The picture above depicts the Irish potato famine. The people here are rushing to take the potato crop of someone who has been evicted from their property. People were so desperate during the famine that they were willing to take such drastic measures to get a good meal. The potato was a staple item in the diets of the Irish people so the famine came a lot of hard times. Children, especially suffered without the proper nutrients needed to grow. Therefore, it is very likely the adults collecting the "used" potato crops above are parents trying to get a good meal for their under-fed children

Self Reflection

Chapter 22 was not the most exciting chapter for me. I think studying the first French Revolution previously, helped me get interested in this section because there was a lot of French history. That was neat to study because I was able to see how France progressed after such a dramatic era. However, I was interested in the culture aspect of this chapter when Romanticism was brought in. I do have some background of the literature, music and art of this time so it was fun to read and learn more about that aspect. Also, I like that I could relate the textbook history lessons to the types of music, art and writings done in this time. The characteristics of this time period are greatly reflected in the culture, which is cool to see.

Another thing I noticed while we were studying this chapter was how similar the revolutions of this time were to the first France Revolution. In both times the people went against the King for better conditions for themselves. It really does seem that history repeats itself and this is a prime example.