Industrial Revolution

How did Adam Smith’s pin factory illustrate the benefits of division of labor?

Smith showed that dividing production into specialized tasks greatly increased efficiency. Ten workers could produce 48,000 pins per day compared to one person making only a few. This model inspired factory-based production.

What are the key contributions of The Wealth of Nation to economic thought?

Smith introduced ideas like the invisible hand, division of labor, specialization, free trade, and comparative advantage, which became foundational to capitalist economies.

What demographic and agricultural changes helped set the stage for industrialization in Britain?

Enclosure laws privatized land, displacing rural workers and creating a labor pool for factories. Increased food production (like the introduction of potatoes) improved health, reduced famine, and led to population growth and urbanization.

Why was Britain uniquely positioned to industrialize first?

Britain had coal, navigable rivers, colonial markets, financial institutions, political stability, and a culture of innovation supported by entrepreneurs and inventors.

How did the transition from cottage industry to factory production reshape labor?

Cottage industries were family-based and slow. Inventions like the spinning Jenny and water frame moved production into factories, centralizing labor and increasing productivity, but also breaking up household production and increasing worker discipline.

Why did the demand for cotton change the nature of textile manufacturing?

Cotton’s popularity required faster spinning and weaving. Innovations like the flying shuttle and power loom automated these processes, making the traditional domestic system obsolete (outdated).

How did the energy revolution contribute to industrial growth?

The shift from organic energy sources (wind, wood, animals) to coal powered steam engines and machinery, enabling large-scale production and transportation networks like railroads and steamships.

How did transportation infrastructure affect industrialization?

Roads, canals, and railroads allowed raw materials and finished goods to move faster and cheaper, expanding markets and linking rural areas to industrial centers.

How did factory labor differ from earlier forms of work?

Factory labor was mechanized, timed, and strictly disciplined. Workers followed rigid schedules, faced penalties for disobedience, and lost the autonomy they had in cottage systems.

What were the implications of “Factory Rules” and worker discipline?

Rules enforced punctuality, obedience, and surveillance. This reflected how industrial capitalism imposed order and efficiency at the cost of personal freedom and worker well-being.

How did Friedrich List challenge Adam Smith’s model of free trade?

Friedrich argued for protective tariffs, infrastructure development, and state support to help Germany catch up with industrial Britain. He prioritized national economic strength over individual market freedom.

What did the Sadler Commission reveal about child labor?

It documented abuse, 16-hour workdays, injuries, and deaths among children. This sparked public outcry and eventually led to labor reform legislation.

What was Friedrich Engels’s critique of industrial capitalism?

In The Condition of the Working Class in England, Friedrich Engels exposed the poverty, disease, and exploitation of workers, arguing that capitalism created misery and class division.

What does the “evolution of the peppered moth” symbolize in the context of the Industrial Revolution?

It illustrates how environmental changes caused by industrial pollution affected evolution, showing that industrialization impacted even natural ecosystems.

How did industrialization transform both production and society?

It shifted economies from agrarian (agricultural) to industrial, centralized labor in cities, created new class structures, intensified wealth gaps, and fundamentally altered daily life.

Why is the Industrial Revolution considered both a triumph and a tragedy?

It brought technological progress, economic growth, and rising standards of living, but also caused exploitation, environmental degradation, and deep social inequality.