Industrial Revolution Notes and Song Activity

The Industrial Revolution was a period of great change in our production process, with changes that reverberate even to this day.

Vocabulary. Preview the vocabulary by finding the definitions of the following words and making a sentence with each one. Use the notes from TCI Chapter 16 to help you.

• Productivity
• Bessemer process- an inexpensive way to convery iron into higher quality steel
• enclosure
• interchangable parts
• domestic system
• mass production
• monopoly
• capitalism
• urbanization
• labor union
• strike
• laissez-faire

Notes on the Industrial Revolution

Great Britain led the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1800s. It became known as the “workshop of the world”. It became the first nation to industrialize because of its rich banks and patrons, good transportation network, no wars, and colonies for rich materials.

The Industrial Revolution could have only happened with the Agricultural Revolution. Labor resources were diverted to factories when tractors were used instead of oxen/people. Chemical fertilizer made output more efficient.

It relied on a new economic system, capitalism, which emphasized free market and competition and used money.

Other countries that industrialized were Belgium, France, and the United States. Inventions that helped were the cotton gin and Bessemer process. Coal oil was used to lubricate machines.

During this period, Japan ousted the shogun and restored the emperor in a move called the Meiji Restoration.

Before the Industrial Revolution	After the Industrial Revolution
Domestic System-People made their own goods	Factory System-make goods in large factories used large machines
Worked Less than 8 hours a day	Worked 10-14 hours a day
Items were one of a kind, expensive	Items became cheaper, mass-produced with interchangeable parts
long teenage years/childhood	Children worked as young as 5. No childhood
Money was considered “childish”. Salaries were for teens.	Adults worked a regular schedule for a salary

Diseases like cholera, typhus, and smallpox were common. The lack of smallpox vaccine distribution led to reoccurring outbreaks.

Answer the following questions:

1. Would you have wanted to be a part of Great Britan’s Industrial Reovlution? Why or why not?
2. What parts of the Industrial Revolution do you still see today?

Now, write your own song on the Industrial Revolution. The song must have at least 10 lines if working by yourself and 16 lines if working as a pair. It must reflect historical accurate information on the time period.

Here are the two songs that have been the most useful to students as they complete the assignment. Both are in the modern context but can be adapted to a historical time period.

Also thank you to one of my students for this great recommendation for inspiration: