Works Cited

BBC - History - Historic Figures: Edmund Cartwright (1743-1823)." BBC - Homepage. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

"BBC - History - Historic Figures: Edmund Cartwright (1743-1823)." BBC - Homepage. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

"BBC - History - Sir Richard Arkwright." BBC - Homepage. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

"Bolton Museums - The Life of Samuel Crompton 1753 – 1827." Bolton Museums -. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. .

"The Trail of Tears - Cherokee Indians Forcibly Removed from North Georgia." About North Georgia. Web. 14 Feb. 2011 .

"War of 1812." Gateway New Orleans: You Are Using an Invalid IP. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. .

8.4.12.World History Standards

A. Evaluate the significance of individuals and groups who made major political and cultural contributions to world history since 1450.

B. Evaluate historical documents, material artifacts and historic sites important to world history since 1450.

C. Evaluate how continuity and change throughout history has impacted belief systems and religions, commerce and industry, innovations, settlement patterns, social organization, transportation and roles of women since 1450.

3.2.1 Summary

3 Things I Learned

1. I learned more about what was happening in other regions of the world at this time. I found it so interesting that so many significant things would happen in such near proximity of each other.

2. I also learned about many of the specifics of child labor, its true horrors and its path to reform. Some of the punishments inflicted on the poor, over worked children, greatly shocked and horrified me.

3. Finally, I learned more about the three significant contributors to the factory system. I never realized that Crompton never received recognition or money for his invention that so greatly impacted the world until after his death. In that sense, his story reminded me greatly of so many famous artists.

2 Things That Interested Me

1. I found the fact that the Cherokee nation fought against the Indian Removal Act and won very interesting. Even more interesting to me was the fact that after winning, a mere three years later they allowed themselves to be removed from their land.

2. I found it interesting that children based on their age were paid different wages. It seemed that merit or quality had nothing to do with the payment they received, but merely age.

1 Question I Still Have

1. Did the Cherokee nation agree to the treaty made in 1835 or was it a decision made by an individual at the top of their government system?

Spotlight On Child Labor

A major issue of the Industrial Revolution was the problem of finding workers. Factory jobs were not appealing and many people did not want to take them. Businesses soon turned to child labor as the solution.

Orphans, or foundlings, were the first children to work the factories. Although as time went on and more and more people moved to the cities of Europe, families fell into severe poverty and took any jobs they could to support themselves. With both parents in a family working, it became necessary for children to work as well so as keep the family together. Children as young as six years could get jobs in factories.

The conditions of work were terrible. Before any legislation or regulations were passed, children could be worked up to 19 hours a day, with little over an hour for break time. They received very little pay, nothing in comparison to that of the adult workers. Injuries were common, for they worked long hours of monotonous work next to giant, dangerous machines. Not only that, but they were treated very poorly. The bosses cared little for their workers' safety, often beating and verbally abusing them to keep them working or from falling asleep on the job. A common punishment for children if they were late to work was to be "weighted." A heavy weight would be tied around the child's neck while he or she was forced to walk through the factory, setting an example for the other children.

United States Events At This Time

For a time, industrialization thrived and stayed in England, moving slowly across Europe. Although very important, what else was occurring in the world during this period? What events took place in the young United States?

Two historical events of this time period in America include the War of 1812 and the forceful relocation of the Native Americans from Georgia to Oklahoma, also known as the Trail of Tears.
The War of 1812 was a significant conflict between Britain and the United States over Britain's power over the seas, presence along the territory near the Great Lakes and their support of the Native Americans. A major catalyst for war and disagreement arose from the British insistence of taking British and American sailors from America's merchant shops. America was displeased, to say the least. The US tried to change these actions by passing the Embargo Act of 1807 under President Thomas Jefferson. This act banned American ships from foreign trade, but was unsuccessful in accomplishing their economic and political goals to resolve the conflict and maintain peace. In November of 1811, there were two prominent parties within the US Congress. One pro war, called the Warhawks, one against, the Federalist Party. Some of the Warhawks included John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay and Felix Grundy. The Warhawks won out, for on June 18, 1812, President James Madison signed and had Congress pass a declaration of war. Thus, the War of 1812 began. It lasted from June of 1812 to the spring of 1815.

The incident with the Chesapeake and the Embargo Act of 1807 can be connected across time to modern day pirating. Somalia and the waters off of it reek with pirates. In 2008 alone, 100 vessels were attacked, 40 of them were on Somalia waters. These two conflicts, one of the past, and one of the present are alike in many ways. Previous to the War of 1812, Britain dominated the seas, taking American merchant ships, their British sailors and often times their American sailors too. Pirates today, in the very same way attack ships, take what they want and get away. Both scenarios act as threats to the economy and international trade, and are greedy acts of pillaging for complete personal profit.

Another significant event in the US during the Industrial Revolution is the Trail of Tears.

By the time of 1828, the native Cherokees had long called the region we like to call Georgia their home. They were not nomadic peoples, but rather a civilization much like cities of the time. They took on much of European culture. They had their own system of government, build roads, schools and churches, and many of them held occupations such as farming and ranching. Culturally, they were very much like the rest of the US. Nevertheless, in 1830, Congress passed an Indian Removal Act. Many Americans, including Davvy Crockett, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay were very much against the act. Naturally, the Cherokees did not want to lose their homes, and took the case all the way to the US Supreme Court. In 1832, the court ruled in favor of the Cherokees. Sadly, the conflict was not resolved here. The ruling stated that the Cherokee Nation was in fact sovereign and that in order to remove them from the land, a treaty was necessary. By 1835, President Jackson made such a treaty and the nightmare began. The people were mercilessly herded like animals across a thousand miles of land to Oklahoma. Human losses were enormous. There was minimal food and the conditions were terrible. The path they walked has become known as the Trail of Tears.

This same harsh relocation of people, based greatly on racism and fear is mirrored by the US government's creation of Japanese internment camps during WWII. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed what was known as the Executive Order 9066. This order called for all people in the US with Japanese heritage to be placed within an internment camp for the remainder of the war. Like the Trail of Tears, the conditions were terrible. Families were split up, innocent people oppressed and punished for no acts of their own.

Three Significant Figures

The creation of the factory system played a very important role in the Industrial Revolution by getting everything started. But who was responsible for this introduction, this change of people from working in homes to working in factories and from making things by hand to making them with machines? Simply, the credit goes to three very important inventors by the names of Richard Arkwright, Samuel Crompton and Edmund Cartwright.


Richard Arkwright was a very significant figure to the Industrial Revolution and the creation of the factory system. He is often called the "father of the modern industrial factory system."

Born in Preston in 1732, Arkwright was the son of a poor tailor. His family could not afford to send him to school, having him taught to read and write by his older cousin. Arkwright's first job was that of a barber. He did not become an entrepreneur until later in life. As his business grew, he began making wigs and traveling the country to buy human hair. It was on these journeys that he became interested in the textile market. He then started to work on a mechanical machine that could spin thread effectively. He sought out the help of a very talented clockmaker by the name of John Kay. In the end, Arkwright came up with a tool that improved the production of yarn. The yarn his machine spun, which was called the water frame, was stronger and did not need as many people to make it as would previously have been needed before. He patented his machine in 1775.

Arkwright's machines were of massive dimensions, needing specialized mills to house and use them. These mills would become known as factories, crucial parts of the Industrial Revolution.

Likewise, Samuel Crompton played an important role in the factory system of the revolution. He combined the features of the Spinning Jenny, made by James Hargreaves, and Arkwright's water frame to create his Spinning Mule. This improved machinery spun very thin thread, which could be used to weave beautiful, more luxurious cloth.

Crompton was born on December 3, 1753, in Firwood Fold. For generations his family made a living as smallholders and weavers. The family moved to Hall i' th' Wood and after the death of his father, continued that same path. Crompton started spinning at the age of five, and by ten was working a loom alongside his mother, supporting his family. It was in Crompton's study at Hall i' th' Wood, which he named his "conjuring room," that he formed the idea of a machine that could mimic the motions of a hand held spinner. His first Spinning Mule was created in 1779.

This contraption used Arkwright's design by using rollers to stretch yarn and Hargreaves' design in using moving spindles to twist the yarn. Crompton's invention was a great success and improvement, although he never patented it and was paid very little for it.

Finally, Edmund Cartwright, the inventor of the power loom of 1785 played an equally important role in the textile industry and creation of factories.

Cartwright was born on April 24, 1743, in Nottinghamshire. His father was a well off landowner. At Oxford University, Cartwright learned the ways of a clergyman and began practicing in 1786. Although previously, in 1784, he became very interested in the trade of cotton spinning after visiting one of Arkwright's factories. He patented his first power loom in 1785 and opened his first factory in Doncaster not much later. Unfortunately, he was not much of a businessman and went bankrupt in 1793. Nevertheless, his power loom took hold in the 1800s, adding to the new found efficiency of Industrial Revolution.

In all, these three individuals and inventions led to the building of factories, which in turn marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. These inventions took work out of the home, and into the factory system.

An Age of Industry

Not all revolutions are bloody fights for rights, violent demands and conflicts. Often times the words revolution or revolt come with heavy connotations when in fact they merely identify a great change in society, politics, or any aspect of life. The Industrial Revolution is no such exception. Nearly all aspects life were changed in Europe and the world once this period of change took hold. Beginning in Britain, The Industrial Revolution truly brought the world into the modern age. It is said that only the development of agriculture during Neolithic times can be compared to the Industrial Revolution's massive impact and significance in history.

This blog will focus on Chapter 22 of A History of Western Society. My main purpose in creating this blog is to learn more about this area of study through research and interpretation of information. I hope to successfully portray this research in an easily understood manner and in a form that will stay longer in my memory.

EQ: Essential Question: What impact did the introduction of the enclosure system during the Agricultural Revolution have on the later Industrial Revolution?

Answer: Most importantly, the enclosure system produced workers for the industrial factories and encouraged the creation of new technology. Enclosures split up the once open field system, fenced in specific parts of land and distributed it to farmers and wealthy land owners. Often times farmers were not given enough land to make a living off of and were forced from their homes to the cities. There, they supported growing industry by taking any job they possibly could to support their families. The enclosure system encouraged urbanization and allowed the Industrial Revolution to thrive by providing industries with hard working individuals.