describe and analyze the effects of the Industrial Revolution on European society in the 19th century
... trains, making transportation much easier for European society. By 1850 there was an entire network or railroads built in Britain. The advances in the steam engine also led to the invention of steamships, which also marked a new era for transportation. The steamship made it much easier to import and export trading materials within Europe, in addition to carrying mail overseas. Electric power was also another factor that was greatly improved during the Industrial Revolution. In 1831 electricity was mechanically produced for the first time, showing the way for the invention of the light bulb in 1879. Electricity allowed the people of Europe an easier way of finding their way around their homes, as well as improving their ability to function in the dark. Another important invention during the Industrial Revolution was the cotton gin. Patented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, the cotton gin created new, easier and faster of spinning cotton. Communication was another aspect that was expanded on during the age of the Industrial Revolution. Mail post was expanded, so that the people of Europe would receive their mail quicker, and Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. New effective mail post and the invention of the telephone paved a way for more communication among the people of Europe. Although the industrial Revolution brought about many advances in technology, this meant the rise of factories in Europe. Factories required incredible amounts of manual labor to keep them running, and by the 1800s working in a factory was a very common job among Europeans. New inventions that were designed to make life easier on European society now propelled European society to work even harder. The effects of factory life on European society were very bad. Working conditions in a factory were very unpleasant and strenuous. Due to the demand for workers, children as young as the age of seven were employed to factories, often times working 12 hour days. Because of the long hours, unsanitary factories and over working that was forced upon factory workers, many factory workers became direly ill or even died from working in the factories of the nineteenth century in Europe. The harsh working conditions also included unsafe environments because of the heavy machinery that was required to be handled by the factory workers, many of whom were very small in size and in age. The rise in number of the factory workers in Europe during the 19th century led to the formation of new social classes, which now included a working class. The social classes were now divided up into the Upper class, the Upper Middle class, the Lower Middle Class and the Working class. The Upper class consisted of nobility before the Industrial Revolution. However, most of the upper classmen after the Industrial Revolution consisted of wealthy families who were now at the head of industries and businesses. The Upper Middle class in the 19th century post-Industrial Revo...