Blog Topic 3

Did the Industrial Revolution change the way people lived and worked in the 19th century for the better or worse?Explain your answer by providing examples.

In my opinion,it changed the way people lived and worked for the better,but there were also a few minorities where the people were worse off then they were before.

The invention of new machines and the discovery of new sources of power to drive these machines brought about changes that led to the Industrial Revolution.

In the 18th century,making cloth by hand was a long and tedious process in Britian.The workers were also only able to produce enough cloth for themselves.Thus,when new machines such as the spinning machine were invented,it changed the way people worked and lived.The quality of the fabrics produced was much better and the time taken was shorter.

When new machines were produced, a new source of power was needed.The steam-engine was then invented.The pressure from the steam produced by the coal burning provided the energy for machines to produce goods in great quantities.Very soon the use of machines spread to the rest of Europe.

As those machines were located in factories,workers began to worked in factories instead of working at home.However,working conditions were unsanitary as no one governed the factories.The work was often dangerous and many freak accidents involving workers happened.Education also suffered because of the demands of work.Children as young as 8 were forced to work in the factories.Home life suffered as women had to face a double burden of factory work as well as household chores.

Thus, I think it did change people's lives for the better majorically.