When Everything Changed: the Industrial Revolution

 When Everything Changed: the Industrial Revolution3228975123825By Cynthia Stokes Brown, Big History Project, adapted by Newsela staff 06/21/2016TOP: The machines of the Industrial Revolution led to a period of rapid change. Illustration: Wikipedia. Other images:Fossil fuels like coal and oil allowed humans to build new machines in the 1700s. These machines led to a period of rapid change, the Industrial Revolution.The transformation of the world-438149333375At one time, humans used their own energy. They did work by hand. They ate plants and animals. The Earth depended on energy from the Sun.Everything changed around 1750. The Industrial Revolution began. Humans discovered fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. These were new sources of energy. Fossil fuels form deep underground. Trees or animals become buried in the Earth. Over hundreds of millions of years, they are pushed down. Eventually, some turn into coal, a dark rock that can be burned. Early steam engines3648075285750The story of the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the 1700s. People there had used up most of the trees to build houses and ships, and for cooking and heating. They began to burn coal. Soon, they were digging deep mines to find underground coal. These mines began to fill up with water. Horses pulled up buckets of water from the mines, but this was a slow process. James Watt (1736-1819) built an engine that burned coal to make steam. The steam moved a piston up and down. His steam engine pumped water out of coal mines. Soon, many other uses were found for it. Watt became a very rich man. Steam engines started to be used in North America around 1800. They spun cotton and wove it into cloth. Large factories powered by steam engines were built. People began to leave the countryside to work in these factories.The British invented steam locomotives and steamships in the early 1800s. These inventions revolutionized travel. In 1851, the British held the first world’s fair. They showed off telegraphs, sewing machines, and guns. This showed their skill in building machinery. They were now an industrial society.Why Britain?Britain wasn’t the only place that had coal. Why didn’t the Industrial Revolution begin in China, which also had coal? Did it start independently in Britain? Were there global forces at work? Did geography or culture matter more?Industrialization may have begun in Britain due to:? Little wood, but lots of coal? Rich business owners? A capitalist system? Government support for business projects? Cheap cotton from slaves in North America? High literacy rates? The rule of law? ImmigrantsHistorians believe industrialization did not begin in China due to:? China’s coal being far from the big cities? China’s large population, which made it cheaper to hire human workers? Confucian traditions that valued stability? Lack of Chinese government support for sea exploration? China’s focus on defending itself from outside attacksThese global forces influenced the development of industrialization in Britain:? Britain’s location on the Atlantic Ocean? British colonies in North America? Silver from the Americas? New thoughts about the economy that encouraged business risk-takingThe spread of the Industrial RevolutionBritain wanted to keep secret how its machines were made. But visitors soon learned about them. They took the techniques back to their home countries.Countries near Britain soon had factories and railroads. Building a national railroad system was important to industrialization.Industrialization came to the United States in 1789. Samuel Slater traveled to Rhode Island from Britain. He brought factory plans with him, in his head. He had memorized them.3552825209550The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the world’s first industrial war. The North had more factories. The South had more farms. The North won. Industrialization exploded after the war. By 1900, the United States was producing more than Britain. Americans were now making one-fourth of the world’s goods.Industrialized countries used their powerful armies and navies to take over many parts of the world that were not industrialized. They took raw materials from these places for their factories. This is known as imperialism. In 1800, Europeans controlled about 34 percent of the land surface of the world. By 1914, they controlled 84 percent.Consequences of the Industrial RevolutionThe effects of industrialization have been huge. In 1700, the world’s population was 670 million. It was 6.7 billion in 2011. This was a tenfold increase in only 300 years.During the 1900s, the world’s economy got 14 times bigger. The average person earned four times more. Humans used 13 times more energy. Growth like this has never been seen in human history.Many people today enjoy the benefits of industrialization. Many do less physical work than earlier generations. People today are able to raise more babies. Many people live in democratic countries. Many countries provide education and a safety net for their poor citizens. The benefits of industrialization include wealth, health, and education.-952491162050However, there are also negatives to industrialization. Change is happening incredibly fast. People and social systems cannot always keep up. The industrial system has become more complex, and more fragile. Industrialization needs many parts to work together smoothly. Any one part could fail.Many of the essential parts of the industrial system, and the natural resources it depends on, are at risk. The soil. The oceans. The atmosphere. Underground water levels. Plants. Animals. All these are in danger. Will uncontrolled growth continue? Are we approaching the end of an destructive industrial era? We will be dealing with the consequences of industrialization far into the future.Quiz:1. Read the section "The transformation of the world." Which sentence gives a reason why the world changed?(A) At one time, humans used their own energy.(B) Humans discovered fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas.(C) Fossil fuels form deep underground.(D) Eventually, some turn into coal, a dark rock that can be burned.2. Read the section "The spread of the Industrial Revolution." Which paragraph shows how industrialization changed the United States?3. Which answer choice BEST describes the structure of the section "Why Britain?"(A) description of a problem(B) compare and contrast(C) problem and solution(D) chronological series of events4. Read the section "Early steam engines." Which option BEST describes the purpose of the section?(A) to explain why many people became wealthy during industrialization(B) to describe the new inventions that helped industrialize society(C) to show why Britain was the most powerful industrialized country in the world(D) to compare industrialized machines with old ways of working ................
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