What do you think was the biggest social problem that occurred as a result of the Industrial Revolution?.
Response.
Industrialism occurred in Great Britain, Western Europe, and the United States through a period in which society moved toward machine-assisted agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation. This transition is known as the Industrial Revolution and affected not only the means of production within society but the way in which people lived their lives. Changes began to appear in the intellectual, artistic, religious and political communities as well, all of which began to alter society as a whole. After reading the chapter on the Industrial Revolution in World History in Brief,1 I think that the major social problem was the negative impact of industrialization on the lives of the working-class families. .
As machines were invented to making farming easier, more land was needed to properly make use of these machines. The small farming families were forced to sell their land and shifted to the city to get jobs in the factories. When the workers arrived in the factories they were exploited by working long strenuous hours in unsafe working conditions and receiving poor wages. Before the rise of industrialization, according to Stearns, "work for most people had been a social act, punctuated by gossip and naps." 2 .
Families enjoyed working, and where much happier in their traditional roles. "Not only was work taken out of the home, but it also became increasingly regimented"3 for the men, women, and children. While changing the way in which "work" was viewed, these added pressures spilled over into the community through the loss of leisure activities as increased production became the goal. Even though the invention of machines was created in order to improve the lives of the working class in society, women and children were forced to work outside of the family unit in order to ensure their survival.
