The Industrial Revolution

The ideas of Karl Marx and his co-author, co-respondent, and friend Friedrich Engels were some of the most influential of the 20th Century, though their roots were firmly established in the turmoil of the 19th. Click this link for a synopsis of the Manifesto that was published in 1848. Manifesto
Then click on "Analysis" in the upper right for a fuller explication.

View this clip and pay particular attention to the social effects of mechanization:


View this clip with the question of why the Industrial Revolution began where and when it did.








Yankee inventor (and history teacher!) Eli Whitney made a few small technological innovations in his "Gin" (short for engine) with very large social, cultural, and political ramifications.




James Watt's developments of the earlier bulky and inefficient steam engine brought English factories down out of the hills (where water power was preeminent) and into the modern industrial city.





Before the rise of the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame, the production of textiles took place in homes, cabins, and farms. But with the rise of Richard Arkwright's complex, large, expensive, and water-driven Water Frame, industry needed its own space, the "factory."

The clip below examines the roleof water power in the development of industry.





The "Jenny" (an adaptation of the word "Engine") played a significant role in the early years of the Industrial Revolution. A few things to keep in mind: it was manpowered--or more accurately "woman-powered"--and was still small enough to fit in the homes or cabins of "spinners." Click below for a demonastration from the Smithsonian Institution on the operation of the cotton gin