Industrial Revolution’s Legacy

The Industrial Revolution brought about profound changes. Mass production made goods cheaper, more abundant, and more easily accessible to a greater number of people than ever before. Growth of factories attracted people to move, both from rural areas to cities and from agrarian countries to industrial ones. Both low-skilled workers and high-skilled professionals moved to take advantage of new opportunities provided by industrialization.

However, the natural by-products of industrial production polluted air and water supplies. Industry forever changed the nature of work and the lives of workers. Working populations became concentrated in urban centers, as opposed to being spread among rural areas. The workplace shifted from homes to factories, dramatically altering family life. The Industrial Revolution created a new—and many said unequal—working relationship between workers and owners. More crowding and more poverty brought more crime.

Global inequalities also increased because of industrialization. States that industrialized early desired more raw materials to power their production. They searched the world for items such as cotton and rubber. By exploiting overseas natural resources, they undercut early industrialization in Egypt, China, and India, and ushered in a second wave of colonization.

KEY TERMS BY THEME

ECONOMICS:

CULTURE: City Life

SOCIETY: Hierarchy

Industrialization

tenement

working class mass production

slums

white-collar