Hist 1C: Lecture 2-3

The Industrial Revolution

Introduction:North versus South

Each of us in this room, by the mere fact of being Americans and being in college, number among the wealthiest people on the planet. Fully 80% of those alive today cannot expect ever to live lives that compare, in material comfort, to what we take for granted every day.

Has anyone here ever visited a Third World country? What was that like? What was it like coming back? My last such experience occurred last summer, on a trip to India. The relative poverty of the area was striking, but I quickly got used to it. What really astonished me -- and what made an enduring impression on me -- was the sight of the United States upon my return.

Inside the terminal at SF International were vast carpetted concourses, moving sidewalks, long banks of televisions whose sole functions was to display flight schedules, etc. In the various stores an astonishing assortment of goods -- unlike anything available in India or Myanmar (Burma) or Russia -- was casually on display. Outside, eight-lane superhighways filled with gleaming automobiles swept past the airport, and on the skyline in the distance posh hotels rose thirty or more stories.

By contrast, in Burma the main highway across the entire country had two lanes. The highest building in Yangoon, the capital, was no more than eight stories, and it was an American-style hotel intended for foreigners. Most of the country's roads were unpaved.

What had occurred to create such a contrast? Was the United States rich in resources and fertile ground and Burma not? Were Americans hard-working and Burmese lazy? No. The chief difference was that one country was developed and the other was not. One country -- ours -- reaped the benefits of industrialization. The other was still trying to develop; its primary acquaintance with industrialization had come when it was exploited by the developed countries in search of raw materials.

Today we'll be discussing the Industrial Revolution. The fact that that revolution took place in our country a century and a half ago explains, in no small measure, the standard of living we enjoy today. In Myanmar, by contrast, industrialization, to the limited extent that it has yet occurred, currently stands at a point we passed many decades ago.

The Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution defined.

Replacement of human and animal power with machines.

but also development of new production techniques.

utilization of new forms of energy; esp. steam power.

most distinctive characteristic of economic development during this period: the increasingly systematic application of scientific theories to technological processes.

Systematic and deliberate apllication of theories of natural science to processes of economic production.

A misnomer?

early industrialization occurred in limited regions and with limited kinds of businesses. Spread gradually -- started in Great Britain, spread to Belgium, France, Germany, US, Russia, Japan and is still spreading into Third World.

changes gradual, and affected different regions at different times. Some historians prefer not to recognize such a thing as the Industrial Revolution. Still, if one takes a longer view, one can think of it as a revolution that began about 1780 in Britain and continues today. Certainly in its impact if not in its time span it fully deserves the name Industrial Revolution.

Why Did It Begin in Great Britain? And Why Ca. 1750?

Relative freedom from external threats.

Inquiring cast of mind.

Religious restraints on freedom of speculation and free flow of knowledge were conspicuous by their absence.

Decline of feudalism; rights to property very strong.

"Open aristocracy" interested in, even based on, wealth.

Pre-existing rich commercial economy.

7. "Financial Rev." -- excellent ability to mobilize capital:

Geography - seas provided easy lines of communication to move goods, raw materials around England and to export goods abroad.

Background: The Demographic, Agricultural, and Industrial Revolutions

During the 18th century we can see three important developments:

a large, sustained increase in Europe's population.

a large, sustained increase in the agricultural output of many areas.

a tremendous increase, in Great Britain, in the output of certain goods, characterized by the development of the factory system and the use of machinery. We call this development "the Industrial Revolution" -- a term coined in the 1880s by a British historian who first called attention to it. Similar in this respect to the Renaissance: it's a historian's invention. Nobody at the time thought, in so many words, that they were living through such a revolution, although many noted and pondered the changes.

We know the demographic, agricultural and industrial revolutions are related. We are not entirely sure in what way. We think it probably worked in the fashion described below.

The Demographics Revolution

Sustained population growth after about 1750.

Population in past had sometimes increased, but had eventually been checked by disease, famine.

Also seems to have been self-regulating; people married later in less prosperous times, had fewer children; therefore population grew at a lesser rate. In more prosperous times, more children.

Obviously some sort of birth control going on; not sure what; probably coitus interruptus.

Not sure what caused ca. 1750. Most likely a change in the weather patterns -- land could support more people.

The agricultural and industrial revolutions made possible a continuation of growth, by providing ways to feed and employ an unprecedented number of people.

Hence, the "leveling off" didn't occur until much later and at a much higher population level.

Agricultural Revolution

Situation before the revolution

80% of Europeans lived and worked on farms.

Yields, in rich areas: 5-6 bushels per bushel sown.

Versus 40:1 modern yields.

Scarcely better than yields in 13th century.

Chronic shortages: famines every 8-9 years.

In such times, people gathered chestnuts, stripped bark from trees, cut dandelions and grass.

In Norway in early 1700s people were forced to wash dung from straw in old manure piles to bake a pathetic substitute for bread.

People weakened, susceptible to disease.

Documented instance of English counties with 28% population loss in a 2-year period.

Medieval system

Open field system

Farmed as a community -- each person held scattered strips within a common area

nobility too

farmed according to traditional methods and customs.

3-crop system -- 1/3 of land stood idle in a given year.

Very inefficient; often subsistence-level only.

Note: worked against urbanization. Where would city dwellers get food if rural areas could not produce a surplus?

Serfs v. free peasants.

Agricultural Revolution

Elimination of fallow land; hence, automatic increase of 33%

Soil exhaustion occurs because grains strip soil of nitrogen.

Fallow lands slowly regain nitrogen. Certain crops replenish nitrogen better than fallow.

peas, beans, root crops like turnips and potatoes, clovers and grasses.

Peas and beans old; others new.

Improvements meant higher yields, more fodder for animals, build-up of herds.

The First Industrial Revolution

Three key industries

Cotton, Coal, Iron

Mechanization of Cotton/Textile Industry

Factories, power looms

Initially used water power, found this limited power that could be developed, placement of factories.

Coal and Steam Engine

Coal first used as a fuel in 17th c., as supplies of wood and charcoal grew depleted.

coal mining becomes a major industry. Very dangerous, grueling for miners.

cave-ins, "black lung disease." Contention of Brian Bond that WWI was, for miners, something of an improvement over ordinary life.

Coal production triples, 1815-48.

Energy revolution accompanies wide-spread use of coal.

Greater and more flexible power than water power.

Iron

Originally mostly military use

Grew cheaper with metallurgical discoveries, availability of coal.

Iron production doubles, 1835-1848.

Put to new uses; especially construction and railroads.

Major change in mid-1800s: cheapening and consequent widened use of steel.

The Transportation Revolution

Improved infrastructure

Previously, costs of transporting goods very high. Made it unprofitable to move them very far except by sea.

turnpikes, canals

eased transfer of raw materials, finished goods, created larger market areas, permitted various regions to specialize. Helped economies of scale.

Third World countries frequently lack transportation infrastructure, works against economic development.

Later: railroads (esp. 1830s and after)

able to move large quantities of goods inexpensively.

required large, well-organized companies able to mobilize lots of capital.

also close business-gov't relations.

Steamships: speed, size enabled faster transfer of greater volume of goods.

The Second Industrial Revolution

Followers: Belgium, France, Germany, U.S., Russia, Japan

Lasted into 1900s

These countries, unlike Great Britain, consciously industrialized.

able to avoid some of the social problems, but more especially, to adopt most efficient procedures at once.

Used protective tariffs, English talent to get started.

Key elements in Second Industrial Revolution

Greater organization of production

e.g., "robber barons" of US, huge corporations.

Greater amounts of capital

Close connection with science

Created a true world economy

evidenced by world-wide economic crises, 1857, 1873.

New industries: chemicals, electricity

Rise of chemical industry

Rise of electrical industry

improvements to electrical engine made it a major source of power by 1870s.

invention of incandescent light bulb by T.A. Edison, 1879.

Social and Human Consequences

England was the first to experience the benefits of industrialization, but also the attendant social problems.

For a time, the drawbacks of industrialization seemed to outweigh the benefits.

Standard of living, life expectancy

initially went down, but was up by 1840s.

Location and occupations

urbanization and emigration as rural persons moved to industrial jobs in cities or in other countries.

laborers: increase in size of industrial wage-earning class.

took time to create a work force attuned to demands of industry.

regime of clock

repetitive work

wages generally quite low - more on that tomorrow.

housing bad: dirty, overcrowded, poorly ventilated

existing sewage systems could not handle the volume of waste generated by so many people.

3 feet of human excrement found in basement of one tenement from effects of chronic sewage overflow. Situation not uncommon.

Structure of social hierarchy

rapid rise of new business elite undermined nobility more than 1789.

expansion of middle class: entrepreneurs, managers, professional class to support and administer the legal and accounting affairs of big companies.

creation of a working class: people with no property, no skills that could be used independently; utterly dependent on wages.

social lines initially fluid, but hardened as century wore on.

initially an ordinary man with a knack for machinery could go quite far. But the creation of formal schooling and the large-scale acquisition of technical skills, also the increasing capital investment required to create a business, made it less likely a working man could cross into entrepreneurial class.

Family structure

From traditional extended to nuclear family.

Significance of the Industrial Revolution

Helped create modern society (along with mass politics)

Ultimately created a relatively affluent, "consumer" society; economic pie became much larger. Rich got richer, to be sure, but pretty much everyone benefitted.

Rise of large businesses, corporations

Interdependent economic organization, both nationally and internationally.

Harnessed to concept of nation in arms and nationalism, industrialization brought modern total warfare.

Gave rise to new ideologies, esp. new ways of understanding and coping with the new society. More on that next time.