Section 2 Britain Leads the Way

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Section 2 - Britain Leads the Way
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Section 2 - Britain Leads the Way

• Setting the Scene
• Visitors crowded into London's Crystal Palace in
  1851. The immense structure housed the Great
  Exhibition, a display of the "Works of Industry
  of All Nations The palace itself was specially
  built for the occasion. A vast cavern of glass
  and iron, it symbolized the triumph of the
  industrial age.
• In the century before the exhibition, Britain had
  been the first nation to industrialize. Its
  success became the model for other countries, in
  Europe and around the world.

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The Crystal Palace
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I. Why Britain?
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A. Resources -
Britain had coal to power steam engines, iron to
build machines, and a large labor force
Mining coal
Women workers in a WWI weapons factory
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B. New Technology
Skilled mechanics and technology paved the way
for industrialization
Arkwrights Spinning Frame or Water Frame
Newcomen's atmospheric steam engine
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C. Economic Conditions
Capital and demand encouraged the business class
to invest in mines, railroads, and factories
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I. Why Britain?
Economic prosperity made consumer goods
affordable to members of every social class
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I. Why Britain?
D. Political and Social Conditions - Britain had
a stable government that supported economic growth
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II. Changes in the Textile Industry
The Industrial Revolution first took hold in
Britain's largest industry - textiles
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II. Changes in the Textile Industry
Cotton cloth imported from India had become
popular and British merchants organized a cloth
industry at home
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II. Changes in the Textile Industry
The putting-out system - cotton was distributed
to peasants who spun it into thread and wove the
thread into cloth
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A. Major Inventions
New inventions included John Kay's flying
shuttle, James Hargreaves spinning jenny and
Richard Arkwrights waterframe
The flying shuttle - a single weaver, using one
hand, could operate the shuttle on the loom The
"spinning jenny" - a device which allowed one
person to spin up to eighty threads at
once Richard Arkwright created the "water frame"
to produce yarn faster
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B. The First Factories
The machines couldnt be operated at home so
manufacturers built the first factories
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III. Revolution in Transportation
As production increased, faster and cheaper
methods of moving goods was needed
Wagons were the modern day equivalent of pick-up
trucks
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III. Revolution in Transportation
Turnpikes, canals, stronger bridges and upgraded
harbors helped expand domestic and overseas trade
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A. On Land
The great revolution in transportation was the
steam locomotive. By 1870, rail lines
crisscrossed Britain, Europe, and North America
1829 - George Stephensons The Rocket
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B. On Sea
1807 - American Robert Fulton used Watt's steam
engine to improve shipping
The Clermont
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B. On Sea
By the late 1800s, steam-powered freighters were
carrying 10 to 20 times the cargo of older wooden
ships
An early steamship, the Great Britain, 1845
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Looking Ahead As the Industrial Revolution got
under way, it triggered a chain reaction. In
response to growing demand, inventors developed
machines that could produce large quantities of
goods more efficiently. As the supply of goods
increased, prices fell. Lower prices made goods
more affordable and thus created more consumers
who further fed the demand for goods. The
Industrial Revolution affected not only how goods
were made but also how people lived. It brought a
tidal wave of economic and social changes that
swept the industrializing nations of the world.