Industrial Revolution Causes and Effects

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Causes

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the 1760s, largely with new developments in the textile industry.

spinning jennyThe spinning jenny invented by James Hargreaves could spin eight threads at the same time; it greatly improved the textile industry.
© Photos.com/Getty Images

Before that time making cloth was a slow process. After wool was gathered it had to be spun into yarn and then woven into fabric by hand. A machine called a spinning jenny, first conceived by James Hargreaves in 1764, made it easier to spin yarn. In 1793 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which helped clean cotton after it was picked. These and other devices permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy.

Whitney also came up with the idea of interchangeable parts. Before a worker would spend a great deal of time making a single product by hand. Whitney discovered that a machine could make many copies of the individual parts of a product at once. The parts could then be assembled by any worker. This meant that many goods could be produced quickly.

Other changes that helped bring about the Industrial Revolution included the use of steam, and later of other kinds of power, in place of the muscles of human beings and of animals.

glass factoryWorkers make bottles at a glass factory in Lancashire, England, in the mid-1800s.
Wellcome Library, London (cc-by-4.0)

Another key development was the adoption of the factory system. This system of manufacturing is based on the concentration of industry into specialized—and often large—establishments. The use of waterpower and then the steam engine to mechanize processes such as cloth weaving in Britain in the second half of the 18th century marked the beginning of the factory system.

Effects

The Industrial Revolution brought about sweeping changes in economic and social organization.

These changes included a wider distribution of wealth and increased international trade.

Managerial hierarchies also developed to oversee the division of labor.

By the late 1700s many people could no longer earn their living in the countryside. Increasingly, people moved from farms and villages into bigger towns and cities to find work in factories.

Cities grew larger, but they were often dirty, crowded, and unhealthy.

Machines greatly increased production. This meant that products were cheaper to make and also cheaper to buy. Many factory owners became rich.

Although the machines made work easier in some ways, factory work created many problems for the laborers. Factory employees did not earn much, and the work was often dangerous. Many worked 14 to 16 hours per day six days per week. Men, women, and even small children worked in factories.

Labor Day paradeLabor Day parade in New York, New York, 1909.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. cph 3a34038)

Workers sought to win improved conditions and wages through labor unions. These organizations helped establish laws to protect workers. Such laws, for instance, limited the number of work hours for employees and guaranteed they would be paid a certain amount.

The process of industrialization continues around the world, as do struggles against many of its negative effects, such as industrial pollution and urban crowding.

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