Industrial Revolution and Russian Revolution Notes

Natural Resources in England

  • Coal:

    • Used for steam power, running machines and factories.

    • Burning coal produces energy.

  • Iron Ore:

    • Used to create machines, weapons, and steel.

Improvements in Farming Techniques

  • Crop rotation improved yields.

England's Colonies and International Trade

  • England had many colonies, leading to established international trade.

  • Raw materials were often obtained from colonies at a discount.

Stable Government in England

  • England had a fairly stable government, unlike revolutionary France.

Technological Innovations

  • Steam Engine:

    • Used not only for trains but also for tools, machinery, and factories.

  • Water Frame:

    • Allowed for the mass production of yarn and spinning yarn at a much higher rate.

  • Locomotive

Dangers of Mining

  • Falling or blowing up.

  • Getting stuck.

  • Heat.

  • Cancer from smoke.

Miners and Canaries

  • Canaries were brought into mines because they would die faster than humans in the presence of toxic gases or lack of oxygen.

Spread of Industrialization

  • Began in Europe and spread to other places.

Crop Rotation Consequences

  • Leads to rotation of workers.

Child Labor

  • Children as young as under 10 were working, even though students thought they would be playing, or already dead.

  • Children were employed in mines and mills.

  • Families needed extra income, so children had to work.

  • Children were often employed for a 25 cents a day.

  • Bourgeoisie viewed child labor as super cheap labor.

  • In the West (e.g., the US), unions and collective bargaining created better conditions.

  • In the East, different things started happening

  • Children often had the most dangerous jobs, such as climbing into tiny spaces or fishing things out of textile mills, leading to loss of fingers and lives.

Chocolate and Child Labor

  • Some companies are getting certified for not using child labor.

  • Fair Trade stamps indicate better working conditions.

  • Luxury brands have faced issues of child labor.

Mica and Cosmetics

  • Mica is used in cosmetics and is sometimes sourced through child labor.

US Response to Industrialization

  • Long hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions led to the rise of unions and labor laws.

  • Collective bargaining emerged.

  • Labor Acts:

    • By 1938, a minimum wage was enacted (25¢).

    • Limits were set on work hours.

Standard Work Hours

  • Typical standard work hours are 40 per week.

  • Overtime pay (time and a half) is not always federally mandated.

Life Before Labor Laws

  • People worked from sunrise to sunset, with no weekends.

Shift Work

  • Shift work and job rotation started due to mandated minimum wage.

The Bolshevik Revolution

  • Occurred in 1917.

  • Led by Vladimir Lenin.

  • Overthrew the Czar, establishing a socialist state.

  • Led to the formation of the Soviet Union (USSR).

Russian Serfs and Feudalism

  • Feudalism lasted longer in Russia than in other parts of Europe.

  • Serfs continued to suffer.

Conditions in Early 1900s Russia

  • Russia was one of the poorest countries in Europe.

  • Had a huge peasantry of serfs and some industrial workers.

  • Industrial Revolution started later than in other areas.

  • Serfdom ended in 1861.

Population and Food Shortages

  • Industrial Revolution increased the population in cities like Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

  • Doubled populations led to food shortages, causing anger and revolution.

The Czars

  • Czars held absolute power.

  • Nicholas II set up representative assemblies (Dumas) after the 1905 revolution but still maintained ultimate control.

World War I and Russia

  • Russia entered World War I in 1914.

  • Tsar Nicholas left his wife, Tsarina Alexandra, and her advisor, Rasputin, in charge.

  • The nobles eventually murdered Rasputin in 1916.

Social Hierarchy in Russia

  • Strict social hierarchy with a large percentage of impoverished serfs (84.9%).

Political Cartoon

  • Political cartoons highlighted social inequalities and promoted communist ideas.

Problems in Russia

  • Poverty, famine, and war.

  • Tsar was controlling and often absent.

  • Nicholas’ policy of Russification caused cultural suppression.

Revolution of 1905

  • Peaceful protests led to troops firing on demonstrators.

  • Strikes occurred afterwards.

  • Dumas (legislatures) were set up, but people were not satisfied.

February Revolution

  • Loss of life and money in World War I led to increased unrest.

Causes of the 1917 Revolution

  • Food shortages.

  • World War I.

  • Lack of industrialization.

  • Social unrest.

  • Fears of communism.

Results of the Revolution

  • Rapid industrialization.

  • Withdrawal from World War I.

  • End of the feudal system.

  • Civil war.

  • Development of the Soviet Union.

November Revolution

  • On November 6-7, 1917, leftist revolutionaries led by Lenin led a coup against the provisional government.

  • Lenin declared himself dictator of the world's first communist state.

Civil War and the Formation of the USSR

  • Civil war broke out between Lenin’s Red Army and the White Army (monarchists, capitalists, democratic socialists).

  • The Red Army won in 1923.

  • The Soviet Union (USSR) was established in 1922.