Industrial Revolution
Unit III overview and essential questions (Transformation of
Economy and Society: the Industrial Revolution)
OVERVIEW
The second half of the eighteenth century saw a transformation in
Europe's economy and society that was known as the Industrial Revolution.
This period saw Europe's economy transform from an agrarian and
handicraft-centered one to one dominated by machine manufacture and
factories. The Industrial Revolution had an equally transformative effect
on European society, marking the shift from rural to urban living. As the
economy changed, life and labor conditions correspondingly changed. The
Industrial Revolution destroyed old patterns of living and working, and gave
rise to new ones.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. What was the Industrial Revolution?
2. What conditions must exist in order to have an Industrial
Revolution?
3. Why did the Industrial Revolution occur first in England?
4. What technological changes occurred during the Industrial
Revolution?
5. How did the Industrial Revolution transform Europe's
economy?
6. How did the Industrial Revolution transform Europe's
society?
7. Why was there a need for relief and reform?
8. How did English Parliament improve the lives of the poor?
- Map of Industrial England early 19th century with coal resources, navigable rivers
- Tables illustrating the spread of industrialization
- Dr. Samuel Smith's testimony to the Sadler Commission, 1832
- Act abolishing slavery in the British colonies, 1833
- English political cartoon on child labor in the mines, "Capital and Labor," 1843
- William Blake, "And Did Those Feet"
- Explanation of "And Did Those Feet"
- Why do you think Miss Chapin chose the song for Commencement?
- Child Labor Web Activity
