MMW 14 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: The Great Exhibition, Protestant Work Ethic, Industrial Revolution

• School: UCSD
• Department: Making of the Modern World
• Course: MMW 14
• Professor: Edmond Chang

Document Summary

Eg rapid growth of britain"s textile industry. Raw cotton milled: 4 million lbs 1770 to 270 million lbs in 1834. Symbolism of the crystal palace exhibition of 1851. Showcase of mainly british goods and inventions. It was a real structure that eventually burned down. It was made all of glass, nothing like it had been built before. Impact of the industrial revolution trumps that of the agricultural one. Muscle and energy from machines, dexterity and insight from workers. Employment becomes open for everyone -- everyone can make a living. Personification of the machine as a divine despot . Rebellion against the innovation of mechanized factories. In a more extreme case, 14 luddites were captured and executed. Why machines were generally the preferred choice of capitalists. Skilled workers traditionally more difficult to manage and appease. Strikes, slow downs, random holidays (st. mondays) etc. Pioneer generation of field hands to factory hands.