Industrial Revolution (jun 30, 1750 – sep 14, 1850)
Description:
Transition to a new manufacturing processes. Changes in social and living conditions. Brought about significant social changes. Industrialization resulted in an increase in population and urbanization, as an increasing number of people moved to urban areas in search of employment. The industrial revolution began in Europe in Great Britain. The agricultural Revolution of the 18th century created a favorable climate for industrialization. The British population could be fed at lower prices with less effort than ever before. This surplus of food meant that British people could use the money they saved to purchase manufactured goods. The number of people moving to urban areas created a huge pool of workers for the new factories and mines being constructed. The resources they were centered on where Britain's vast supply of mineral resources used to run industrial machines, such as coal. The British government passed laws that protected private property and placed few restrictions on private business owners, which reflected their limited government/laissez-faire capitalism. During the course of the Industrial Revolution most European Nations made the movement from a feudal system to a laissez-faire liberal democratic system with class mobility; along with a more capitalistic economy. Your class was no longer focused on whether or not you had land or if you were born into nobility, but instead focused on the amount of wealth you had. So people born into the most impoverished class could still have a chance of attaining wealth for themselves. This resistance to feudalism was necessary for liberalism to improve. It is because of this resistance that brought about class mobility and a new manufacturing process, which transitioned society to a more modern age.
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Related Issue 2 Part 1
Origins of Liberalism and Early Responses
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