AP World History. Chapter 29. The Making of Industrial Society. THE CHAPTER
IN PERSPECTIVE. Beginning in Britain in the eighteenth century, and then ...
AP World History Chapter 29 The Making of Industrial Society
THE CHAPTER IN PERSPECTIVE Beginning in Britain in the eighteenth century, and then moving to western Europe, North America, Russia, and Japan, the Industrial Revolution transformed life in an almost unprecedented manner. Machines driven by new inanimate sources of power replaced traditional animal or human power. The developing machine-age devices increased worker productivity, economic specialization, and large-scale enterprise. While industrialization raised the material standards for much of the world in the long run, it also led to immense social and economic dislocation as well as tremendous short-term suffering. Socialists such as the Utopians and the more influential Karl Marx dreamed of transforming or destroying the new industrial world.
OVERVIEW Patterns of Industrialization Several factors allowed Britain to gain the early lead in industrialization: high agricultural productivity, numerous skilled artisans, abundant coal and iron ore, navigable rivers and canals, advanced banking and financial institutions, and a supportive government. The increasingly capitalist world of early modern Europe also provided an inspiration by expanding consumer demand. Events in the British cotton industry display how one technological innovation led to market pressures that in turn fueled more inventions. John Kay’s flying shuttle dramatically increased the speed of the weaving process, and this increased speed supplied pressure for a faster means of spinning thread. In 1779 the invention of Samuel Crompton’s “mule” turned the tables by producing thread faster than weavers could use. Balance was restored with Edmund Cartwright’s invention of the power loom in 1785. James Watt’s invention of a general purpose steam engine in 1765 provided a new power source for the industrial revolution. Advancements in iron and steel production supplied a foundation for this age. Eventually George Stephenson found a way to make use of Watt’s discovery, and in 1815 he invented the first steampowered locomotive. As the eighteenth century progressed the factory system replaced the putting-out system, a staple of early modern Europe. Factories allowed for a much greater amount of centralization and managerial supervision than ever before. At the same time, a great gulf developed between the owner class and the workers who had nothing more than their labor to offer. The pace and structure of factory work was dramatically different for the new urban laboring class than the more traditional agrarian set-up was. Many crafts workers, best represented by the Luddites, struck back when they feared that their livelihood and lifestyle was in jeopardy. Britain would eventually lose its early leadership in industrialization as western European nations such as Belgium, France, and Germany began to develop. The United States joined the competition and actively worked to lure British crafts workers to relocate to North America. By 1900 the United States, backed by a plentiful supply of raw materials and a growing population, became a major industrial power. Important innovations such as Eli Whitney’s interchangeable parts and Henry Ford’s assembly line sped U.S. advancement. Corporations and eventually monopolies, both vertical and horizontal, became staples of western European and North American industrialization.
Industrial Society The influence of industrialization spread far beyond the economic world. In fact, it might be argued that of all the “revolutions” in human history the Industrial Revolution ranks second only to the discovery of agriculture in its influence on every aspect of human life. In the long term industrialization increased material standards around the world. World population exploded from 1700 to 1900. During these years, for example, the European population rose from 105 to 390 million and the population of North and South America rose from 13 to 145 million. A dramatic decrease in the mortality rate keyed this population jump and made up for a slowing of the fertility rate. Rapid industrialization encouraged migration and urbanization. In the nineteenth century the urban British population increased from 20 percent to 75 percent. By 1900 the populations of London (6.5 million), New York (4.2 million), Paris (3.3 million) and Berlin (2.7 million) had grown exponentially. The conditions for the workers in these huge industrial cities were deplorable. Despite this, millions poured into the cities from internal and transcontinental migrations. Fifty million Europeans migrated to the Americas during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The transition to the industrial urban world and the crush of an extraordinary population explosion led to profound societal transformations. On the positive side it hastened the disappearance of slavery because the market favored wager earners with at least the potential to be consumers. New social classes came into existence. Wealthy businessmen and factory owners replaced the military aristocracy as leaders in society. A growing middle class benefited from industrialization. The urban proletariat formed the backbone of the industrial revolution. Home life was altered forever as the family was torn apart. Men were drawn away from the home and into the world of work while women increasingly had their economic role reduced. Domesticity became their universe. Many women and children from the lower classes, however, were driven into the industrial workforce, where they provided cheap and compliant labor. The excesses of industrialization led governments and regulatory organizations to pass laws limiting child labor. Other thinkers promoted more extreme answers to the problems of the modern industrial world. Early socialist thinkers such as the Utopians Charles Fourier and Robert Owen wanted to restructure society in a more equitable fashion. Karl Marx along with Friedrich Engels wished to do far more than simply restructure society. Every aspect of the capitalist world had to be destroyed through revolution and replaced by a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” More moderate socialists worked to bring about fundamental change through the system. Trade unions, although attacked by factory owners, eventually worked to reduce the possibility of a Marxian-type class revolution by improving the conditions of the working class. Global Effects of Industrialization Industrialization eventually spread beyond western Europe and North America. Russia, under the influence of finance minister Count Sergei Witte, made great strides. By 1900 Russia was the world’s fourth largest steel producer, trailing only the United States, Germany, and Great Britain. In a continuing effort to compete with the Europeans and maintain national sovereignty, the Japanese also industrialized. The Japanese zaibatsu was similar to western European or North American monopolies. Not every nation in the world shared equally in this period of industrial expansion though. Countries like Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand acted initially as sources for raw material but also eventually underwent economic development and industrialization. Other countries in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and southeast Asia remained economically dependent on the industrialized nations.
AP World History Chapter 29 Study Questions Patterns of Industrialization
Name: ____________________________
IDENTIFICATION: PEOPLE What is the contribution of each of the following individuals to world history? Identification should include answers to the questions who, what, where, when, how, and why is this person important? 1. James Watt
2. Eli Wbitney
3. Henry Ford
4. J D Rockefeller
IDENTIFICATION: TERMSICONCEPTS State in your own words what each of the following terms means and why it is significant to a study of world history. (Terms with an asterisk are defined in the glossary) 1. Bessemer converter
2. Luddites*
STUDY QUESTIONS 1. What inventions led to the mechanization of the cotton industry after 1750? Why was the textile industry so prominent at this time?
2. Explain how Great Britain took such a commanding lead in the Industrial Revolution.
3. Summarize the changes in iron and steel production and in transportation in the nineteenth century.
4. When and how did industrialization spread to the European continent and to the United States? What factors in those countries tended to support industry?
5. What are some of the characteristics of "industrial capitalism"? How did industrial giants like J. D. Rockefeller achieve such dominance over the marketplace?
AP World History Chapter 29 Study Questions Industrial Society IDENTIFICATION: PEOPLE 1. Thomas Malthus
2. Robert Owen
3.
Karl Marx
4.
Sergei Witte
IDENTIFICATION: TERMSICONCEPTS 1. Crystal Palace
2.
Demographic transition
3. Socialism*
4. Communism*
Name: ____________________________
5. Proletariat*
6. Trade unions
7.
Zaibatsu*
8.
Economic dependency
STUDY QUESTIONS 1. What was the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the material standard of living in Europe and America? Who benefited the most from this?
2. What are the significant demographic (population) trends of the nineteenth century in Europe and America? What factors account for these changes?
3. What was the impact of the industrial revolution on working-class families? Consider the changes for working-class men, women, and children.
4. In what ways did the major industrial nations of the west become more responsive to the needs and interests of working people?
5. Compare the process of industrialization in Russia and Japan in the late nineteenth century.
6. What was the impact of western industrialism on the nonindustrial countries of Asia and South America?
