During the Industrial

During the Industrial, the world and future were changed but at what cost. The quote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (Dickens 1)”, represents the revolution for its ups and downs. The Industrial Revolution was a very good step forward in history but also includes many bad aspects. It was a great time because many businesses figured out how to use different machines and strategies to make production faster and different. But, because of this, they learned how to make more products for less, therefore, they also made many cheaper products.

Many of the machines helped business and production but there were also a large number of other inventions that made everyday life easier. The Industrial Revolution was a time where many new, life-changing inventions were invented and old ones were innovated. Alexander Graham Bell was one person that has changed the whole world. He invented the first telephone in 1876 and since then it has been changed into a whole new idea but it all started with his idea.

There were hundreds of people who tried to claim Bell’s invention and there were multiple lawsuits filed against him but none were ever successful (“Alexander Graham Bell”). His idea was so sought after by many people because everyone knew that this would become the most useful way to communicate. Bell started a telephone company and it was perfect because his invention immediately became a high-demand item. The telephone became so popular, so quick, that 100,000 people had telephones within 10 years of it becoming available to the people (“Alexander Graham Bell”).

The phone because so popular because everyone wanted to communicate the easiest way possible, and so they did that by getting a telephone. Trains were another big invention that changed the world. They made transportation for the whole country completly different. In 1801 Richard Trevithick made a carrige to 70 men and 10 tons of iorn using steam. Then in 1804, he invented the the never-invented locomotive that works on rail roads ("Model of Richard”). By him inventing the steam locomotive, with the help frome some othere peoples ideas, he made transportation easier for people and good during the industrial revolution and today. The locomotive could pull a 25-ton train and would normally have a speed of around 5 miles per hour.

But the locomotive could reach abut 16 miles per hour if it was not pulling a 25-ton train ("Model of Richard”). Throughout the Industrial Revolution, mass production became more popular led to more efficient production, cheaper prices, and faster transportation which was a large step in history. This helps us today because we still use that same core idea with some slight adjustments of how mass production was back then versus today. Henry Ford made the decision that his company would only produce Model Tees from 1908 and so on. Ford took the essence of the best features of his cars. The consumers that were buying his cars would not understand how simplified production is when they only manufacturer one model.

This production worked efficiently and Ford's company agreed that if they charged less for the cars then they would not be financially functional, so they worked to make the cars good quality. The Model T was a very popular car show Ford was correct with his idea. Many different Praises came from many different sources including praise from the US Board of Tax Appeals said it was a good car (DiBacco 126 and 127). Ford understood that making many, cheap cars needed updated production methods and that is why he became so successful. Ford was one of the few companies that took part in mass production many other companies would still manufacture cars in a workshop with a small group of people (Nardo United States 62 and 63).

The Model-T was the cheapest car that you could buy and was the best value. Because its price was so low, this car had such high demand. The great price and great value cause this to be a very popular and sought after product for most people (DiBacco 127). Mass production was still a fairly New Concept to many manufacturers, but Ford took much success out of mass production. Within one year Ford sold almost 800,000 Model T’s, and half of the cars in the US were Model T’s. This continued on for many years after with a similar success rate. In a little over 10 years, 15 million Model Ts were sold, and he changed the auto industry forever (Nardo United States 63). By Ford changing what car he sold, the design, the price, and how it was produced, he made transportation easier.

Also, many other people also started using his general idea which was very impactful. Although mass production was a positive aspect of the Industrial Revolution, child labor was one part of the process that was extremely unacceptable. As the revolution started, child labor became a main factor for sweatshops. It became normal and excepted by people almost everywhere. And there were few to no laws regarding, or preventing child labor (Woog 24). In sweatshops, children would perform a wide variety of tasks, something so simple and others being as complex as adults jobs. their jobs would include sorting buttons, running errands, and threading needles if they worked at it Shirtwaist Factory. Children were hired in the sweatshops for many reasons.

Children would not have to be paid as much as adult workers and also their small hands and enthusiastic energy would make the jobs much easier than if they were adults (Woog 24). Some of the children were physically abused which gave them some other physical problems. in the US and Britain, even if there was a small problem, there were very intense consequences for the workers. For example, some workers would get their head shoved in a bucket of water if they fell asleep. they would fall asleep because they were forced to work for long periods of time (Nardo Workers 61). In industrialized nations, the United States and Britain, the abuse is like long work days, fatigue, accidents, and punishments were not something that was hidden.

These abuses would continue to occur even when people would want to stop them (Nardo Workers 64). This treatment seems very extreme, and it, but this was very normal during the industrial revolution. This is why this time period was the worst of times from some perspectives. This harsh treatment was not only occurring towards children. It would happen to adults too. These adults were most likely new immigrants that came into the country and just wanted to make some money for their family. The “With Drops of Blood” campaign was written about the history of industrial workers of the world.

It says how since June 1905 people have been trying to stop the growth of industrial workers that are treated horribly and not paid enough. The campaign lists what the I.W.W. members have gone through such as murder, imprisonment, starvation, they have been beaten, deported, kidnapped and so on (Haywood). This continues on to list some more in-depth mistreatment experiences. People were murdered and so they wrote “Samuel Chinn was so brutally beaten at the county jail at Spokane, Washington, that he died from the injuries” or “Anna Lopeza, a textile worker, was shot and killed, and two other Fellow Workers were murdered during the strike at Lawerence, Massachusetts.”(Haywood) This campaign shows how so many workers were killed and treated horribly.

The I.W.W. was trying to stop this abuse with this campaign because it was not so dreadful that people were letting this happen. The fact that workking conditions were very horrible and there were long, draining hours is not ideal but the dicipline oof the workers definely intensified. I would not matter if they would work in a textile factory or a small sweatshot, they would still be worked more than they ever should have (Hopkins 52).

If someone was to work in one of the mines during the Revolution, you would work the day shit most likley everyday. The day shit would last 12 hours and you would have some time to eat your dinner. There was not a night shift for the miners and they would leave a bit earlier on saturdays, but those were the only reaonable parts of working a a miner (Hopkins 59). In conclusion, many aspects of today's world were created and invented but at a large cost.

The suffering of all of the children and workers that made America as advanced is it is today is something that we cannot change take back, but it something that we are grateful for. This is why the quote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (Dickens 1)”, is one that describes this period of time so perfectly. Our country might go though another Industrial Revolution but if we do, lets hope that we do not have to torture so many people to advance our country. 

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