Ingredients Needed in the Recipe of Revolution

Recently in class, we began a unit on the Industrial Revolution. In order to introduce the new unit, we completed an activity called “Ingredients to Industrialization”. In this activity, the class was split up into groups, and each group was assigned a specific topic which contributed to the Industrial Revolution. The topics varied from people and resources to technology and transportation. In these four topics, the Industrial Revolution was revolutionary, and many changes occurred in these fields while the Revolution was taking the world by storm.

Fein, Eric. Land of Beauty, Prosperity, and Climate Change… Vimeo.com. 

Digital image. Wondergressive. N.p., 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.

People were one aspect that helped to push forward the Industrial Revolution. Without the people behind it, the revolution would never have spread so much throughout the world. One way in which the people were an ingredient in the Industrial Revolution was that they helped to improve farming. Agriculture was important in those times due to it being the main source of food and one of the main options for an occupation. Due to the improvements in farming, the population was able to grow. The risk of starving to death decreased, while grew stronger and were able to give birth to stronger babies. Also, not as many farmers were needed to get the job done. These workers who were not needed anymore could move on to factories and other jobs that advanced the revolution. One individual in particular who improved farming, Lord Charles Townsend, advocated the growth of turnips, which in turn helped to make the soil arable again after being exhausted by other crops. Also, Jethro Tull invented the seed drill, which set seeds in rows. The seed drill helped farmers to not have to do so much physical labor (and saved them time), as they did not have to scatter the seeds across the fields themselves. Another way that people helped to advance the revolution was through the act of enclosure. Enclosure is the process of farmer peasants being forced off of their land, which was shared by many, by rich landowners, who take over what was previously the peasants’. By being forced out of their land, the peasants had no choice but to work in factories, who produced technology necessary for other aspects of the revolution.

Technology was also important in pushing the revolution forward.  One aspect of technology that was improved during the Industrial Revolution was in the textile industry. One invention by John Kay, the flying shuttle, allowed for faster weaving for workers, who then worked faster than spinners. James Hargreaves’ invented the spinning jenny, which made it possible for multiple threads to be spun at the same time. The water frame, which was invented by Richard Arkwright, used water power to make for faster spinning. All three of these inventions helped to speed up the process of spinning, which allowed for more product, and the demand for cloth products was supplied for. Unrelated to speed, long sheds to house machines and workers were built, which also helped to make more product. Another important piece of technology, the steam engine , was invented (by Thomas Newcomen) in order to pump water out of mines. Later on, it took on a bigger and more important role. It was used in many machines, including the steam ship, which was an important part of transportation in that time. A last piece of technology that was revolutionized was the improvement of iron. As coal plays an important role in the production of iron, a way to take the impurities out of iron was discovered, which resulted in cheaper, higher quality iron. This high-quality iron was used throughout the world, in building textile machines and railroads along with other ways.