Mental or Physical?

The Industrial Revolution was not a material revolution in any sense of the word. It was a mental revolution that produced some material products and willing consumers. I will support this paper with quotes and pictures from Google , The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: by David S. Landes , Merriam Websters Online Dictionary , Wikipedia.com , Lucidcafe.com , Spartacus Educational.com , and The Great Idea Finder.com. It is important to know that though materialistic items may have come from the Industrial Revolution that the real cause of this revolution and every other for that matter lies within the mentality of the people in that era.

Often the Industrial Revolution is misconceived as merely being a material revolution. In actuality, the revolution truly occurred within the mindsets of the people. The Industrial Revolution introduced many new concepts into the world. These new concepts certainly did bring about new materials and resources but they did not just appear over night. They came about because society as a whole was ready to accept the new ideas and had the technology available to produce new objects and pieces of machinery.

The Industrial Revolution began about 1733. It is difficult to say precisely when the revolution ended because it was an age of enlightenment and the ideas and thought processes would continue on for several decades. Most historians state that it ended when Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1821. The revolution brought about the coming of factories, cotton-spinning machines, steam engines, sewing machines, steel plows, the reaper, and vulcanized rubber. It is because of all of these inventions that the average citizen is able to live in a better manner today.

Factories were considered to be a truly revolutionary concept in the 1700’s. People could make up to 12 times as many products in the same amount of time that it would have taken them to make one from their homes. Despite this, local citizens living in the towns where the new factories were being introduced despised the idea of them. The conditions within the factories were terrible. The areas that the people worked in were poorly ventilated, overcrowded, noisy, filthy, and poorly lighted. The people were right in objecting this “revolutionary” idea. However, before long the local citizens that resided in these towns began to cave in. This happened when James Hargreaves invented a device called the jenny. It could spin dozens of threads at once. Slowly people began to throw their precautions to the wind and they started embracing the idea of these factories in their cities and towns. For the sake of money and “enlightenment” they disregarded their preferences of working from home and the safety that it ensured. They forwent their aseptic needs so that they would not be left in the past century.

In 1768 James Watt found a way to make steam profitable. (pg. 188 The Wealth and Poverty of Nations ). Steam power became the greatest invention of the Industrial Revolution. The invention was soon applied to the factories and the transportation industries and caused the world to take a giant step forward. Though this was also the first step toward the total depletion of our ozone layer, most of the locals did very little to object this new idea. Most people saw this as a step in the right direction and as a tool that would make their daily lives easier. It was deemed acceptable by society and was therefore allowed to be born into the world. In truth, without the acceptance of the people it would have never amounted to anything.

The agricultural industry was completely redefined during the time of the Industrial Revolution. New tools were crafted from metal and replaced the wooden tools. Efficiency increased all around. The daily chores were able to be achieved at twice the previous speeds. Along with this came better insect and pest control, the discovery of new crops, the success of more crops, more breeding of livestock, and horses were used in place of oxen in the fields. Almost all of the agricultural industry quickly embraced these new concepts and made light of them. Their was the occasional traditional farmer that refused to envelope the new pieces of technology into their daily activities. However, there were not enough of these cases to change the rapid spread of technology. Most farmers were ready for a change.

Rubber was an accidental discovery that occurred in 1839. This discovery still lives on today and automobiles could not exist without it. A man named Charles Goodyear tried for years to put rubber to a positive use but discovered that when it was cold it was too hard to be useful and when it was hot it was wet. One day he accidentally mixed it with sulfur over a stove and discovered the perfect combination that made it flexible. It was one of the very first ways to develop elasticity. People initially had no real problems with rubber, it was seemingly harmless. That is until they were asked to drive vehicles that had rubber tires and an explosive material in the tank attached to it (gas).

All of these were truly revolutionary discoveries and inventions. Each and every one of these has impacted the society that is currently accepted today, but not one of them would have stood a chance if it was not for the acceptance of the general public. People have to be ready to accept change before it can occur. People often invent items when they begin to feel as though there is a need for that item in particular to grace society. If you want to kick off a revolution, you must first convince society that there is a need for one.

There is such a thing called the Hierarchy of Needs. This suggests that there are certain items that humans must have to live and that some are more prominent than others. At the bottom of the pyramid of needs lies the basic needs of life, air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, and sleep. Without these no form of life could survive. The next block up from the bottom entails the assurance of safety, including protection, security, order, law, limits, and stability. Without these basic needs no forms of life could survive for very long. The third block includes family, affection, and relationships. Many life forms would find it very hard to survive without the items included in this block. The next block up contains the needs for achievement, status, responsibility, and reputation. Most could live without these items but would prefer to have them. The block at the very top of the pyramid is composed of personal growth and fulfillment. Many forms of life would find it hard to live without these two things but would discover that it is certainly possible.

The Hierarchy of needs certainly shows a great deal of reason. But what could such a pyramid have to do with a time of enlightenment and revolution? The answer to this is, everything. This chart consists of all of the psychological and materialistic needs of people. Often times it can be found that people are willing to give up the top three blocks of the pyramid for fulfillment of the bottom two. People will easily latch on to a revolutionary idea if it means more accessible ways to fulfill their basic life needs. This is precisely what happened with the Industrial Revolution. People were willing to give up their social status and personal achievements and old ways of living if it meant easier means of achieving food, drink, and shelter. Society will never stop trying to find new ways to improve the basic necessities of life and each new way that is discovered could be considered revolutionary.

This is when revolutionary time periods become dangerous. People become more concerned with technology and their needs for personal achievement and the basic needs in life and they skip directly over their needs for affection and family. In times such as that of the Industrial Revolution people may even over look their own personal safety and that of others to achieve what they feel is necessary. However, since the beginning of time people have had ways of achieving all of the basic necessities included on the pyramid. The reason that we see so much growth within technology and disregard of personal safety and affection is due to the items in the top of the pyramid. Men and women start new trends for their own personal growth and fulfillment. Others begin to catch on to the idea when they become convinced that it is something that is needed to meet their basic necessities. A world with too much technology is a world without love and affection.

With a revolutionary time period comes a new way to identify ourselves and those around us. It affects people mentally in every sense of the word. Social relations can either flourish or meet their ultimate downfall. This can be observed throughout the Industrial Revolution. Before the new technological advances were introduced people identified themselves differently with one another. Walking down a side street one might meet a person and recognize them as a friend, neighbor, fellow Christian, or maybe even a lord or a lady. After the revolution struck people often began identifying themselves with others by marketing titles such as homeless, poor, or rich. Revolutionary time periods completely reshape a persons psyche.

When a revolution occurs everything slowly begins to change and reform itself. Many positive material items often come out of the era but with them comes people that view the world in a different manner. The people often identify with each other differently and find that new things are needed to meet their basic needs. If the people of an era are truly content than a revolution can not occur because the citizens will be unwilling to accept new ideas and concepts. Hence, it can be observed that the people of the Industrial Revolution believed that a change was necessary and so one came of the time period. Society will never accept any limit of technology as "enough" and so revolutionary time periods will continue to triumph over contentment until the end of time. Each period of time will be tied to the mentality of the citizens just as much as the last.

Ashley Nichols