The Pros And Cons Of The Industrial Revolution

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Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was a period of time in history where major changes to the way people lived there lives and produced goods. The changes that occurred in Europe during the early part of the 19th century have been widely debated over whether they were positive or negative. The people in favor of the Industrial Revolution believe that by boosting the economy and improving manufacturing techniques, the revolution as a whole improved society. Others less in favor thought that the poor working and living conditions made the lives of the people much more stressful. Each side of the argument has valid points making it impossible to choose between the two. The negative view of the Industrial Revolution focuses mainly…show more content…
Whole families were forced to live in small homes with few rooms leaving little to no room for what we today would consider needs. Slums started to appear where the less fortunate would live in filthy conditions. These slums were not the safest of places; poor and filthy are not a good combination leading to criminal activity just to survive. As Engels described them, “They are generally unplanned wilderness of one- or two-storied terrace houses of brick. Wherever possible these have cellars which are also used as dwellings.” (Perry, p.146) Besides the fact that these cities were overpopulated they were also incredibly dirty. Pollution from factories affected the streets they lived on, the air they breathed, and the water they drank. People create trash and with more and more people moving in and little to no waste management trash, not to mention excrements, started to fill the streets. Burning coal and dumping wastes straight into rivers started the downhill tendency we still struggle with today to pollute the Earth we live on. Not only were the places these people lived in were poor, the conditions they worked in were often worse. People were expected to arrive at 6 in the morning and work until times such as 7 or later at
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