Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution has impacted current technology, politics, economy and societal structure. It was a time of advances and new discoveries. Europe specifically was the first to find coal and the first to figure out uses for it. With coal they learned how to harvest energy for them. This led to the engine being developed. Soon after, they learned how to use oil natural gas and nuclear to get energy. New developments in industry lead to higher levels of efficiency. Having more efficient forms of transportation with the coal engine means one could more ship products in a smaller time frame. Besides energy, there were strides in agriculture. In Britain they were one of the first to do: “crop rotation, selective breeding, lighter plows higher-yielding seeds,” (Strayer 834). Because of this there was a higher output of food therefore keeping food prices low and allowed for less labor-intensive work (Strayer 834). Because of having less of a necessity for manual labor jobs in farming, this freed up people to pursue passion like politics and business. This came to a creation of a caste system based on income. Farmers were considered lower class business owners considered middle class then upper class was the aristocrats. The Industrial Revolution did not just occur in Europe. There were other Industrial Revolutions in the US, Russia, and Latin America. These Industrial Revolutions actually led to political revolutions too. The people who were oppressed were enlightened by the Industrial Revolution and started to question why they were under someone’s rule. The Industrial Revolution gave inspiration for overthrows of government by the people and led to establishments of socialism and democracy. Having the Industrial Revolution is an example of great strides in the human species with learning how to use the environment around them as well as learning more about themselves (Strayer 859).