Introduction
The 19th and 20th centuries were periods of inventions that changed the ways of living and the production process in Europe and America. The rise of the industrial revolution had both positive and negative impacts on the western people. The social ways of living of many persons changed, and were forced to adopt a new lifestyle. Governments had to restructure their systems in order to match the current standards. Merchants, scientists and others who played a vital role in inventions were, and are still applauded for their work.
How inventions influenced lives
Despite James Watson’s invention of the steam engine in the 18th century, it was until the 19th century that it was put to practice. It played a key role in igniting the industrial revolution in Western Europe because it was the only source of power then. America gained its repute using the steam engine; the winning of the civil war enabled the US to own a region power over other countries. Richard Trevithick used the steam engine, in 1804, to run locomotives on rails. George Stephenson developed the technique and came up with a more powerful locomotive, which ran on two rails in England, in the 19th century. The locomotive facilitated movement of manufactured goods from the factories to the market. Samuel Morse’s invention of the telegraph played a vital role during the war; it was also used in coordinating meetings of the House of Representatives. However, the telephone, Alexander Graham’s improved communication from written to voice.
Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin improved the production of textile both in America and Western Europe. It marked the end of the slave trade; it was uneconomical to use slaves. However, it gave rise to civil wars because many people’s source of livelihood had been curtailed.
Social impacts
The industrial revolution gave rise to urbanization, which brought about rural-urban migration. Many people moved from rural areas in search of jobs that were fulltime unlike farming, which was seasonal. The owners of factories preferred to use children, who could work as adults, but were paid relatively lower wages; they could be trained and work longer. Children could not pursue their academics because they were earning. Moreover, there was congestion on social amenities, and as such, the rates of antisocial behaviors increased especially in North America.
Industrial revolution gave rise to unequal distribution of resources. Capitalism was the philosophy of the bourgeois; the working class worked for long hours and earned low wages. Some of them succumbed to communicable diseases because of poor hygiene as others suffered from Sexual Transmitted infections because of prostitution. This was majorly because easy movement of persons from one place to other.
The doctrines and culture of Western Europe inhabitants was influenced by slavery and industrialization. They spent much time with slaves and other workers in the industries hence making them to adopt their culture. The American Indians of North America adopted the Europe and African American cultures because these were some of their trade partners. Since the Europe was known for Catholicism, many North Americans were converted to this religion.
Concisely, industrial revolution had both positive impacts on the economic and social welfare of Europeans and North Americans. Admittedly, the inventions improved economies of these two regions; people’s standards of livings were improved.