Expansion Across Europe
While there is no denying the birth of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, it soon began to expand around the globe. This was due largely to the growing impact of the steam engine on industries of all sorts. Consider how rapidly the railway system in Great Britain was expanding. In 1840, the entire country of Great Britain had less than 2,000 miles of track; by 1850, more than 6,000 miles of track spread throughout the country. Locomotive technology had come a long way, as well, thanks largely to George Stephenson's flanged-wheel locomotives. The first steam locomotives, such as those invented by Richard Trevithick in 1804, ran in sunken tracks rather than on rails and had a maximum speed of about 5 miles per hour, but were capable of pulling massive loads of roughly ten tons of materials (and up to 70 people). By 1850, trains were reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour and pulling loads many times larger. This expansion of the railroad system helped the Industrial Revolution to move into other European countries such as Belgium, Sweden, France, and Germany (Prussia).
American Steam Power
Not to be outdone, on the other side of the ocean, steam power was also making its mark. However, rather than simply starting with the steam locomotive, American's first used steam to operate steamboats. Invented by Robert Fulton in 1807, paddle-wheel steamboats were mocked at first, with Fulton's first ship, The Clermont, was nicknamed "Fulton's Folly", as no one thought there would be a market for such a water-faring vessel. It is interesting (at least to me), that Fulton originally wasn't setting out to invent the steamship, but a submarine.
The American rail system blossomed in an equally impressive fashion. In 1830, there were fewer than 100 miles of track (there are more than 300 miles of track in Bailey Yards!); by 1860, there were more than 30,000 miles running throughout the country! This was an obviously huge development as the hauling of raw materials to factories...and finished products to customers...was able to be done much faster and in much greater quantity than ever before. With the massive rail network now in place, factories could ship to customers anywhere in the country.
And more customers meant more demand...which more potential for profit...which meant increased production...which meant more factory jobs and a BOOM in the growth of cities.
CITY EXPANSION
Cities in Eurpoe and America began to grow at alarming rates during the Industrial Revolution. In 1750, European population was approximately 140 million people; by 1850, that number reached 266 million. In the United States, the estimated population in 1800 was about five million people; by 1860 there were more than 30 million Americans. 50% of these people, both in Europe and America, lived in cities. And, due to the growth of these cities and the rapidly increasing need for factory workers, two new social classes developed: the industrial middle class and the industrial working class.
The Industrial Middle Class--largely made up of people the French would refer to as the bourgeois (merchants, officials, lawyers, etc.), but now included those who built factories, purchased machinery for those factories, and those who developed markets for new products.
The Industrial Working Class--made up of those who worked for the Industrial Middle Class. This group included women and children who worked average 6 day work weeks made up of 12 to 16 hour days. Working conditions were terrible, regardless of if you were a man working in a mine or a woman or child working in a textile mill. Wages were brutally low, with children sometimes earning less than $2.00 PER WEEK. While many people think this was an AMERICAN problem, the exploitation of children and women in the workplace was common everywhere during the Industrial Revolution.
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