Exam 2 Content (NATS)

Unit 5: The First Industrial Revolution Overview

This unit explores the first industrial revolution. The major themes we will analyze in this unit include the relationship between science and technology, technological determinism and technology and gender/class issues.

There are two things to understand here. One, if this is the first industrial age, then that means there is a second to follow. We will examine the second industrial revolution in a later unit. The next thing I want you to keep in mind is whether this period of time is as "revolutionary" as many scholars have claimed over the years. Just how "revolutionary" was the industrial revolution? This is a question we will look at later on.

Our discussion of the first industrial age will begin with a general overview of the changes that started taking place in England around the 1780s. We will then investigate four major features of this industrial age: new energy sources, the rise of factory systems, new methods of financing, and changes in economic and political ideology. The theme of technology and "class" is particularly relevant for parts of this discussion.

Following this, we will look at the relationship between science and technology during industrialization. One thing to keep in mind is that although the separation between the disciplines had lessened over time (see our previous unit), there was still not a close connection between science and technology - even with the changes that came with industrialization. I will provide you with two different examples to highlight this idea.

Next, we will examine why using the term "revolutionary" might not necessarily be appropriate for the first industrial age, and how this relates to the idea of technological determinism.

Finally, we will explore an idea that Misa highlights in one of the chapter readings: the different paths that communities took during industrialization. The examples we will examine include London, Sheffield, and Manchester. The story of Manchester is a particularly good example of the relationship between gender and technology. During our examination of each location, I want to emphasize the fact that industrialization was not a "one size fits all" process. Rather, despite some commonalities, industrialization took on different forms depending on geography. 

(Unit 6) This unit examines technology during the age of Imperialism and colonization. The themes we will focus on in this unit include technology and religion, technology and race, and management/control.

Imperialism was essentially a political philosophy which advocated expanding a country's empire by extending political and economic control over other territories. Part of this process included colonization. Colonization involved countries (especially European ones during this time), establishing colonies all over the world as a way of expanding their political empire. With colonization, the "home" country would establish social, economic, political and military control over another country, usually because of technological superiority. Canada, of course, started off as a colony of Britain. Many colonies were established during this time in places like North and South America, Asia and Africa.

Our story will begin by examining some of the different philosophies that were used as a way of justifying colonization. The three ideas we will closely look at include the civilizing mission, the Christian missionary movement, and attitudes towards time, work and nature. Each of these ideas emphasized European superiority over other societies by focusing in large part of the successes Europeans had in science and technological development. We will see how this was then used to justify both racial and religious bias.

Next, we will take a closer look at the actual technologies that were used to control colonies during this time. What I want to emphasize to you is that colonization was instrumental for the success of industrialization. Think of these things as being intimately connected. I will highlight this idea by focusing our attention on the relationship between Britain and what she considered to be her "jewel" colony: India. The irony here is that while the home nation relied on their colonies for industrial success, the last thing they wanted was for the colony itself to begin the process of industrialization. This results of this unbalanced relationship are still being seen even today!

The technologies we will focus on include steamships, telegraphs and railways. The interesting thing here is that while these technologies were not always profitable, they were very necessary for establishing and maintaining order in the colonies, especially in the face of hostility and rebellions.

(Unit 7) This unit examines the "second" Industrial revolution. The two themes which are central to this unit include the relationship between science and technology, and management/control.  Another important thing to see is that this is the first time where the theory of technology as applied science actually makes sense! One could argue that the foundations of what we call "modern" day society are actually a result of this second industrial age - even more so than the first. Many of the changes which took place during this time started in the early to mid 1800s, so there is clearly some overlap with the first industrial period. The two countries that played a prominent part of the second industrial era were Germany and the United States.

We will start our discussion by recapping the relationship between science and technology up until the early 1800s. This will allow us to see why the second industrial age represents such a turning point in this story. This is because this was the first period in history (and in our course), where we see a real connection between science and technology take place. The reason? The rise of what I call techno-science based industries (sometimes referred to in the readings as just science-based industries). We will explore what a techno-science industry is, examples of techno-science based industries, and what separated these techno-science based industries from the traditional factory systems of the past. Perhaps most importantly, we will also see how the new techno-science based industries represent to us the first real example of technology as applied science.

Understanding the rise of techno-science based industries also involves looking at some of the changes that were taking place in German and the United States during this time. Unlike England, which at this point was solidly planted in first industrial age infrastructure, countries like Germany and the US were eager to expand their economic horizons, and were thus willing to invest in and experiment with new techniques of manufacturing and production. This was aided in large part by changes to engineering and science education coming out of Germany, and the new methods of making goods that came out of the US. While we will examine these new manufacturing and production techniques developed in the US (appropriately called the "American system of manufacturing") in a later unit, what we will do here is see how new teaching and learning methods in science and technology were crucial for the early success of techno-science based industries.

The next part of our unit looks at how these new techno-science based industries were managed and controlled. We will focus our attention on the rise of the chemical-based industries in Germany and the electrical lighting industry in the US. Here, I will introduce you to a very important legal tool of control: patents. While patents were not new to this time period, what was new were the ways in which countries and companies used patents to control these new and very profitable science-based industries. I will give you a number of different examples which will show you that within a very short period of time, these new industries became less competitive and were increasingly monopolized by one or two countries or companies - primarily because of patents. Please keep in mind that understanding patents is not just important for this unit as it will be a part of many future stories to follow.

(unit 8) Scientific Management - Overview

In this unit, will carefully examine the theory of scientific management. The major theme we will look at is management/control.

Scientific management was a theory developed by a man named Frederick Taylor in the early 1900s. Taylor, originally educated as an engineer, wanted to increase workplace efficiency, and this theory of scientific management (also known as Taylorism), was a culmination of ideas he had been developing since the late 1800s. 

We will first investigate the major principles of scientific management, and discuss why Taylor believed that industry was not manufacturing and producing to its full capabilities. We will then look at who Taylor blamed for the problem of inefficiency, and why he believed his new methods would result in increased production.

After looking at the principles of scientific management, I will then introduce you to two major debates surrounding this theory. The first debate looks at why scientific management was introduced in the early 1900s, and the second debate critically examines the significance or impact of scientific management ideas on society as a whole. Both these debates will be explored from an orthodox/revisionist perspective as we did in our debate about the printing press. The orthodox perspective comes from the work of an economic historian named Harry Braverman who wrote extensively on Taylor and the impact of his work. I will first present Braverman's arguments for each debate, and then offer you an alternative or revisionist viewpoint to give you a more balanced perspective of scientific management.

(unit 9) This unit explores a critical component of the second industrial age - the rise of the American System of Manufacturing (ASM). Focus your attention on the theme of management/control. 

As I stated in an earlier unit, the United States played a key role in the second industrial revolution, in large part because of their new methods of manufacturing and production. The Americans were doing something so different and unusual that the British coined the term "the American system of manufacturing" to describe these new processes.

We will start our story by looking at the key features of ASM, and how these techniques differed from traditional ways of producing goods.

We will then explore a very important question: Why in America? In other words, why did these new techniques become more popular in the US as opposed to any other country in the world at the time? The reason why this question is so fascinating is because the Americans were not the first people to come up with the idea. Yet they were the first to fully develop these new processes and techniques. To help answer this question, read Nathan Rosenberg’s article in your T&C reader appropriately titled, "Why in America?" As an economic historian, Rosenberg answers this question by referring to issues of supply and demand. Don't be confused with this language, as many of Rosenberg’s supply and demand factors are really social, economic, political and geographical in disguise.

The next part of our discussion focuses on who actually developed the first ASM techniques in the US. This is really a story of both fact and fiction. The fictional part of the tale introduces us to a man named Eli Whitney, who even today is often considered by many as the "father' of ASM. In reality however, Whitney's story needs to be reassessed. If Whitney did not actually develop ASM techniques as originally thought, then we need to look elsewhere to find an answer to this question.

That place is the US armories, a branch of the US military responsible of storing weapons. It was within the US armories where we see the first real attempts at creating the American System of Manufacturing. We will examine the role of the US armories and how these processes were then transferred to other American industries. This will allow us to explore concepts such as knowledge diffusion and intermediary industries. Also, this discussion is especially important for understanding that from the 19th century onwards, military and government institutions are increasingly going to play a large role in developing new technologies and new processes for industry. Can you think of why this is the case?

Following this discussion, we will study Henry Ford and the rise of Mass Production. Think of this as the end of our story of the second industrial age. The themes we will examine here include technology and class and management/control. 

As most of you are aware, the predominant manufacturing process used in modern society today is mass production. What you might be unaware of is that mass production only began in the early 1900s and many of the key components of mass production were first developed by Henry Ford in his automotive factory. Think of mass production as consisting of two key parts:

the American system of manufacturing, and the development of a new process called the assembly line.

We will start our discussion by looking at who Henry Ford was and why unlike others, he was so willing to embrace all aspects of ASM. Part of this had to do with Ford's philosophy, which was very different from other car manufacturers in the early 1900s. At a time when most considered cars "luxury toys" for the rich, Ford was trying to figure out a way of creating a car for the "masses." Ford was aided in large part by the people he hired (think knowledge diffusion), as some of them introduced Ford to ASM techniques and told him to keep an open mind if he wanted to fulfill his goal of placing a car in every person's garage.

Next, we will explore the place where so many of these new techniques came together: Highland Park. Highland Park was one of the most innovative manufacturing facilities created in the early 1900s, and became the first place to incorporate assembly line production.

The story of the assembly line is interesting. Ford's first assembly line was essentially a mechanized conveyor belt that could be sped up or slowed down to increase or decrease production. Workers were assigned a very simple task on the line which usually required very little training - no more than a day or two. I bet you would be surprised to know that Ford got his inspiration for the assembly line from the meat packaging industry! We will explore this connection, the general impact of assembly line production as a whole, and even compare Ford's ideas with those of Frederick Taylor.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of this story is what type of impact assembly line production had on Ford's workers. I will give you a hint - they were not happy when the assembly line was first introduced. We will see the very clever ways in which Ford tried to solve his problem of worker dissatisfaction, which included giving his workers more money than they had ever seen before. In some ways, his attempts at trying to placate workers were just as revolutionary as his idea of the assembly line itself. Within a very short period of time, mass production not only had a major impact on the car manufacturing industry, it influenced manufacturing and production processes within the rest of industrial society as well.