The Industrial Revolution was the most important era in history. The Industrial Revolution began in the late 1700’s and ended in the late 1800’s. There were many inventions produced in this period of time, such as the steam engine. Although many world changing inventions were made, a lot of people were made poor, very few were made rich, and children were put into labor.
The Industrial Revolution started around the 18th centuryand ended around the 19thcentury. England used steam and coal to power their inventions and the U.S. utilized the power of gas and oil. Machines were manufactured in big houses, warehouses and factories.
The inventions of the industrial revolution changed history. Some inventions made during the industrial revolution are still used today! One of the smartest people around at the time was a man named Thomas Newcomen. Thomas invented the first steam engine in 1712. Then, in 1770 an invention called the Spinning Jeremy arrived. The Spinning Jeremy made the production of clothes much faster. Another helpful machine was the Cotton Gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1788. The Cotton Gin made and strung cotton.
Although inventions like the Cotton Gin produced cotton much faster than by hand, machines were very dangerous. Dyes used for clothes were very poisonous and workers could get their hands stuck in the machines. Kids were dying often in cotton factories. So, in attempt to stop the deaths, Lord Ashley passed the Factory Act in 1833. The Factory Act stated that kids under 9 could not work, children 9-13 could not work for more than 9 hours a day and kids 13-18 couldn’t work for more than 12 hours a day.
For most of the workers in the industrial revolution their day was, wake up, eat breakfast, go to work for 12 hours a day, eat dinner, then go to sleep. They were paid 3 pence a hour which is like $7 a hour in today’s currency. The ratio of rich people to poor people was 1:5 which means that 20% were rich and 80% were poor.
The industrial revolution changed peoples’ lives forever. In fact we still use some of the same inventions that were used in the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution changed people’s lives forever. To sum up the essay, the industrial revolution formed the world we have today.