Social+impact

Fundamental Shifts in Social Structure
During the Industrial Revolution, the social structure of society changed dramatically. Before the Revolution most people lived in small villages, working either in agriculture or as skilled craftsmen. They lived and often worked as a family, doing everything by hand. In fact, three quarters of Britain's population lived in the countryside, and farming was the predominant occupation. With the advent of industrialization, however, everything changed. The new enclosure laws—which required that all grazing grounds be fenced in at the owner's expense—had left many poor farmers bankrupt and unemployed, and machines capable of huge outputs made small hand weavers redundant. As a result, there were many people who were forced to work at the new factories. This required them to move to towns and cities so that they could be close to their new jobs. It also meant that they made less money for working longer hours. Add to this the higher living expenses due to urbanization, and one can easily see that many families' resources would be extremely stretched. As a result, women and children were sent out to work, making up 75% of early workers. Families were forced to do this, since they desperately needed money, while factory owners were happy to employ women and children for a number of reasons. First of all, they could be paid very little, and children could be controlled more easily than adults, generally through violent beatings Children also had smaller hands, which were often needed to reach in among the parts of a machine. Furthermore, employers found that children were more malleable, and adapted to the new methods much better than adults did. Children were also sent to work in mines, being small enough to get more coal and ore from the deep and very often unsafe pits They could also be forced to work as long as eighteen hours each day For these reasons, children as young as eight years old were sent to factories—usually those which manufactured textiles—where they became part of a growing and profitable business. This unprecedented growth and profit was another social change that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. The approach taken by the government—and advocated by philosopher-economist Adam Smith—allowed to flourish. There were little or no government regulations imposed upon factory policies, and this allowed the wealthy, middle-class owners to pursue whichever path was most profitable, regardless of the safety and well being of their workers. This relentless pursuit of money caused another important social change: the ultimate breakdown of the family unit. Since workers, especially women and children, were labouring for up to eighteen hours each day, there was very little family contact, and the only time that one was at home was spent sleeping. People also had to share housing with other families, which further contributed to the breakdown of the family unit. As a result, children received very little education, had stunted growth, and were sickly. They also grew up quite maladjusted, having never been taught how to behave properly The living conditions were indeed horrible; working families often lived in slums with little sanitation, and infant mortality skyrocketed. During the early Industrial Revolution, 50% of infants died before the age of two. However, the social changes that took place were not all negative. Most classes eventually benefited in some way from the huge profits that were being made, and by 1820 most workers were making somewhat better wages. The "widespread poverty and constant threat of mass starvation…lessened, [and] overall health and material conditions of the populace clearly improved" The government, however, did have to eventually intervene in order to put an end to child labour and other unacceptable practices. []

Unless you came from a wealthy family during the industrial revolution school was not an option. Many families could not afford to send their children to school and most needed their kids to work to help provide for the family. []
 * Education**

The Industrial Revolution in part was fueled by the economic necessity of many women, single and married, to find waged work outside their home. Women mostly found jobs in domestic service, textile factories, and piece work shops. They also worked in the coal mines. For some, the Industrial Revolution provided independent wages, mobility and a better standard of living. For the majority, however, factory work in the early years of the 19th century resulted in a life of hardship. [] With the industry booming the demand for labor was extremely high. Families from rural and farm areas moved into urban cities. In order to survive in these areas families needed everyone in the family to work including women and children. Although thye conditions were terrible and the amount of money was small it was still a profit which enabled people to live. Children were forced to work in dangerous conditions for very little pay.
 * Role of Women**
 * Child Labor**

The poor living conditions-

Poor people lived in small houses in crampred streets. These homes would share toilet facilities, have open sewers. Conditions did improve during the 19th century as a number of public health acts were introduced covereing things such as sewage, sanitation and imposing some restricions upon the construction of homes. Although not everybody lived in homes like these. The Industrial Revolution led to there being a larger middle class of professionals such as lawyers and doctors. []

[] Most people working were poor and worked dangerous jobs for whatever money they were able to receive