The Industrial Revolution: Manufacturing, Transport & Society

Introduction: A World Transformed

The nineteenth century was a period in which great changes were undertaken by human society. This period of change became known as the Industrial Revolution — a time of rapid transformation in manufacturing, transportation, and society. These developments led to a rapid increase in human population, which in turn accelerated the transformative process further. Artisan craftsmanship, located in small isolated villages, developed into an urban, factory-based manufacturing process. Agricultural production increased from subsistence farming to the exportation of vast quantities of food. From a time when people and goods took weeks to travel small distances, whole continents — and indeed the entire world — became connected as never before. As a result of these changes in manufacturing and transportation, the population increased and society shifted from small, rural communities to urban centers. In short, the Industrial Revolution transformed human society and created the modern world.

Origins in British Textile Manufacturing

The Industrial Revolution had its origins in Great Britain in the late 1700s with the invention of a few simple, primitive machines to aid in the production of textiles. The combination of these machines and water power created a system by which a machine was powered not by human or animal effort, but by water — and thus never tired. It was this concept — machines powered by non-living energy sources — that laid the foundation of the Industrial Revolution. Textile machines like the spinning jenny and the power loom allowed factories to increase production at a much lower cost. This increase in productivity meant that "early mechanical looms had already potentially transformed the material framework of the society involved" (Stearns, p. 8). Workers had to be concentrated around the factories where they worked, rather than living on isolated farms, causing urban populations to grow in the cities where textile manufacturing was concentrated.

It was not only textile manufacturing that was affected by the increased use of machines. Other industries benefited as well. For instance, "new machines and procedures were introduced into beer brewing; the big factories established included the great Guinness brewery in Dublin…" (Stearns, p. 30). Industries such as pottery manufacture, iron production, and mining were all transformed by the increased use of machines. The introduction of coke instead of charcoal allowed for improvements in furnace design and iron production, resulting in larger furnaces capable of producing far more, and better-quality, iron at a lower cost. This increase in iron production subsequently drove growth in the mining industry, as new foundries required ever-greater quantities of coal to make coke for iron production, along with an ever-increasing number of new iron machines. These new machines, and the rising demand for them, inspired a wide range of further improvements and inventions aimed at increasing production and efficiency.

The Spread of Industrialization to America

It was not long before these technological advances spread to other parts of the world, including continental Europe and America. In America, the introduction of the steam engine transformed the United States into an industrialized country (Lampard). Steam engines were used in a variety of industries, beginning with textiles, and as costs decreased they transformed everything from iron-making to sawmills, which have been described as "the largest single user of steam power in 1838" (Temin, 1966). Steam power also transformed the entire practice of manufacturing and led to what became known as the division of labor — a process in which different workers contribute to different aspects of the same product, then combine their work to complete it. This was the precursor to the assembly line. "In large establishments particularly, use of steam appears to have enhanced total factor productivity" (Atack, 2006).

For example, through the introduction of steam-powered looms, the textile industry — originally a labor-intensive operation — was transformed into a model of modernization allowing for greater production of more products, at a cheaper cost, and in a shorter time. By 1880, just over half of all manufacturing workers were employed in establishments using steam power (Atack, 2006).

Conclusion

The Industrial Revolution of the first half of the nineteenth century, as well as the Second Industrial Revolution of the second half of that century, represented a fundamental transformation of the processes by which manufacturing and agriculture were conducted. New machines allowed for increased production of both manufactured goods and agricultural output, which spurred population growth and necessitated improvements in transportation. It was the development of the steam engine that literally powered the Industrial Revolution and led to the emergence of an urban, industrialized society. Manufacturing was completely transformed, and the society that grew up around it changed accordingly. Both agricultural production and the steam-powered engines of ships and locomotives allowed an ever-growing population to be fed, and to travel and communicate far more easily. In other words, the Industrial Revolution transformed manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation, enabling population growth and giving rise to a new urban-based society.