Hahn 4

water power vs. steam power
cities vs. factories in rural areas
who are the workers?

Patterns:

Cause	Pattern
US: cheap water power, Lowell labor system: young women from farms were hired for the factories	In the US in Lowell, textile factories were out in the country and used water power
England (early industrial revolution) had good water power and water power was cheaper	In England early textiles factories used waterpower, some improved water power with dams rather than moving
But also in England: Coal was abundant and close to the factories, water power was unreliable, workers were easier to find in the cities, so most factory owners wanted to locate in cities even though water power was cheaper	In England textile factories moved to using steam power and and locating in cities
English workers organized politically and then organized labor unions after the law prohibiting that (Combination Acts) was repealed	Factory owners sometimes chose to introduce new technology to get rid of workers who caused trouble (eg. strikes)
the existing systems, both the previous textile industry and transportation and the economic system and laws	new technology can both create new jobs and eliminate them but it also depends on what has been done and the existing system
machines made work easier	factories mostly used child labor
England had lots of workers, too many people chasing too few jobs	more efficient technology meant they needed fewer workers AND wages went down
after the steam was invented scientists started to figure out the science to explain it	people began to be able to calculate energy efficiency and think in terms of efficiency to make choices about new technology

Limited liability corporations (Lowell, in the US): if the company goes bankrupt stockholders are not responsible for its debts beyond losing what they invested. Until 2002 Lloyds of London was still an unlimited liability company.
more on the industrial revolution in the US

more on wages and living conditions

the transition from Luddites to unions and development of class consciousness:

Class and Class Consciousness in England in the Industrial Revolution	Class and Class Consciousness in the US Today
radicalization such as weaving workers	today we are much more aware of the rich, and more people see as unfair
	a lot of American are in debt trying live like a higher class
	do people think of themselves as working class or do people see themselves as middle class even if they don't have very much
radicalization such as weaving workers--Luddites (smash machines) or unions or political change
shift to the development of unions
a lot of factory workers were women and children, less likely to unionize when that became available
Peterloon Massacre--the government was not on their side
in the early years unhappy workers smashed machine and threatened owner, but that was more chaotic
	today the middle class is much larger, not so many working class people
the upper class was also different, the factory owners in Manchester were not defined as upper class because in England, to be upper class you had to have inherited an estate
working class is disrespected, higher classes see those as jobs they are too good for
	income inequality has been growing a lot in the last 40 years

thermodynamics let to being able to calculate efficient use of energy, a new world view
more on steam engines and railroads

stepping out to the world view--where were the textiles made in the mills sold?