Lesson 1 Assessment:

1. Identify Cause and Effect - How did technological advances in agriculture affect the Industrial Revolution?

Progress in agriculture by fast tools, machines and strategies resulted in less of a need for workers. Therefore, people who were thrown out of their work at farms moved to cities and found work in the new factories which helped along the growth of factories and the Industrial Revolution as a whole. In addition, technological advances in agriculture resulted in an abundance of food for the people so there was a large and sudden population increase. Due to decreasing disease and death rates, more people were available to work at factories and make crops, growing the industry and economy. If people don’t have to worry about basic survival needs such as food they can focus more on getting an education and therefore more people will have ideas to invent and industrialize things. Crops other than food such as wool were produced at a higher rate leaving people to focus more on how to process them quickly other than growing them quickly and therefore industrial factories were produced.

2. Generate Explanations - Why was a supply of coal crucial to the Industrial Revolution?

Coal was a source of energy which revolutionized industry because labor that used to come from humans and animals can now be powered using coal’s energy. A supply of coal also helped produce more iron via smelting which was needed to build machines and steam engines that started the industrial revolution. Iron was later used for sturdier bridges and for railroads which were a huge part of the Industrial Revolution.

3. Synthesize - How did the four factors of production determine which nations were able to industrialize after Britain? Cite specific examples from the text.

Geological advantages with natural resources supported other countries which were bigger than Britain and therefore had more resources such as France who had more coal fields and Iron ore deposits according to the map. However, even countries that were big such as Russia, did not have the capital to invest in industry. On the other hand, Japan had another of the four factors which led them to industrial success: entrepreneurship.  Even though Japan didn’t have the same natural resources as other countries, it still industrialized, “because of a political revolution that made modernization a priority”. Due to this priority, Japan had many entrepreneurs who invented machines and industrialized. Nations like Germany and the U.S. who were also leaders in industrialization had many laborers as well. Due to agricultural advancements people were able to buy goods and food that previously only the rich could afford. This decreased the death rate and more laborers were produced as well as a higher demand for the goods and these laborers. This cycle increased the economy and led other countries to industrialize after Britain.

4. Cite Evidence - How did industrialization enable Western powers to dominate world affairs?

Western powers industrialized first due to their capital entrepreneurship, labor, and natural resources which gave them a much better economy and more wealth. These more developed countries had more power which led to an even higher economy and dominating over world affairs such as trade between countries. For example, America and England were competing to have a better economy and hold more power in the world. Because of this the cotton gin was invented which helped industrialization in America.

5. Connections to Today - The Industrial Revolution resulted in important changes in human life. How has technology changed the lives of people today?

Technological advancements that occur today which are similar to the Industrial Revolution have caused humanity to become more reliant on machines. For example, the invention of the cell phone adds the convenience of being able to contact people from anywhere. A dishwasher decreases the time it takes for dirty dishes to be washed. In some ways this gives us more time to enjoy luxuries and what we love about life. However, in other ways, technology has made humanity more lazy, seeing as we don't have to rely on physical strength or effort. These life changes also occurred during the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and still happen today.