Ch 18- The Industrial Revolution

The next sentence might sound like the biggest cliché ever, but it holds a lot of truth. The Industrial Revolution was literally the start of something new. I think that before the Revolution life was generally a lot slower and more relaxed. Once the Industrial Revolution began life began to pick up at pace that people were waiting for. Countries went from Agricultural societies to Industrials one's. Life went from small farming cultures, which were very family oriented, to fast pace factory, city life.  I think the Revolution had its benefits but at the same time it had many drawbacks. For starters, some of the positives that came out of the revolution would be that everyday items became easier to attain. Through inventions like the assembly line, and mass production, Items like cars became more affordable. People also had a better chance at living a more fulfilling life. Rather then spending their days working in the fields, people were able to find jobs in an easier manner, because many jobs were available and needed filling. Through working outside the family farms, people were becoming more independent. With independence come many responsibilities, another clichéd sentence, though nonetheless proven true during the industrial revolution. When people left the confines of their home, they had to find work, a place to live, food, and the basic essentials of life on their own. If something to were to go wrong they did not have their family right by their side in order to help and support them. Other drawbacks were more serious to one’s health. The factories didn’t have health and safety codes at this time, and factory owners did not care about the safety of their workers, since they were easy jobs to fill, and many were willing to take over these jobs. Factory owners did not know the concept of excessive work, some people worked for 10-14 hours. These terrible working conditions were in no way healthy or safe. Reports have even proven that some women would have go through labor in the factories, because they would not want to miss work and lose their jobs. Also, once these children were able to start working, they would. Another very concerning situation to many, young children working in these unsafe conditions is just heartbreaking. Its one thing for adults to go through this, but to think of children having to go through all of these terrible things is just depressing. Luckily, people came to their senses and made health and safety codes, and legal working ages.