Abstract: The process of the Industrial Revolution represented primarily a mental revolution. Sources for the essay includes: The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by David S. Landers, schoolshistory.com, and library.thinkquest.org. The importance of this paper is to show how revolutionary changes can't just be physical, and that they have to be accepted by people, and will change the way people see the world around them.
The Industrial Revolution posed both mental and physical revolution; but primarily mental, because every invention and new process starts with a mental idea, every new process takes human mental acceptance to be used and thrive, the way it effected people for and against it, because of the changes in ideas about class and how people perceived each other, how spirituality changed, and how the mental changes still show up today.
Every invention or process starts with a mental thought process; more specifically, a scientific thought process. At the core of every invention is a scientific thought process. The water frame, which was one of the biggest machine contributors to the Industrial Revolution, works by the force of moving water to move paddles on a wheel, causing it to turn. This rotation would then be channeled to the machinery it was powering. Before all this could happen, someone likely empowered by the Scientific Revolution, had to process the ideas. They had to put together the ideas of the power of water, the ability of one objects motion to affect another, and how to make that useful. Then experiments could be made, and then the water wheel could be put together to power multiple machines and allow factories to be possible.
The steam engine had to go though the process of scientific thought to get to it's best point. From a steam powered pump of water, to blowing air for furnaces, it evolved through the work of James Watt into an engine instead of just a pump. From there it was developed further through science and invention to be used for trains and to power machinery for factories.
Every invention starts with a mental Scientific thought process, that will bring the physical aspects to life. Once the physical part of the revolution starts more mental changes occur. A change has to happen in the minds of the people for them to accept the new physical developments. Otherwise, the physical changes would not continue and there would not be any revolution at all.
Before many of the machines and factories of the Industrial Revolution were put in full motion, the way people lived and worked was different. There were no, or very few factories; most people supported themselves. Almost every person, with the exception of some artisans, was their own farmer, many things were on barter basis, and businesses were mostly held in the home. As better farming tools and techniques became available, farmers were able to produce more food then just needed by their own families. Being able to buy food instead of having to grow it yourself, freed up some people to have the opportunity to have other jobs. As factories began to be set up, the positions were filled by those who no longer had to farm for their needs. I the factory products were produced cheaper and more rapidly than if the same products were being made by specialized workers in their home by hand. The factories took job away from most of these specialized workers, but they also allowed for more products than were necessary for the area so they were able to be sold for extra profit for the country.
This was a big change, and in order for it to take place the mentality of the people had to undergo much change itself. It took time for people to accept and adapt to the new machines and the new way of working that they brought with them. It was an extreme mental change for them to go from the thinking of a person who works in his home making four pairs of socks a day, to some one working in a factory helping to produce hundreds a day. Or someone who farmed for himself and his family, and now produces enough for multiple more people. Most people eventually adapted the way they thought about work to fit the new ways in which they were being expected to work; but some refused. The people who clung to the old ways and were against what the revolution was pushing for were called Luddites. Luddites were protesters who often broke machinery to make their point. They protested because of the jobs that were being lost due to machinery, the reducing of wadges, and the quality of what was being produced. The Luddites did not mentally accept the changes coming at them so in consequence did not go along with the revolution presented before them. Because they did not change mentally from the old ways, they were not revolutionized themselves; if every person had acted in this same way, the revolution wouldn't have had much of an affect.
The Industrial Revolution caused huge change in the way people thought about each other. Mostly because of the development of factories, social classes were once again very pronounced. The Under Class of poverty stricken and mostly jobless people were at the very bottom. Next came the broad category of Working Class. The Working Class ranged from unskilled workers at the bottom, to skilled at the top. After the Working Class came the Middle Class; mostly merchants, and then the Upper Class. The Upper Class was reestablished due to people who excelled at commerce and industry. Where before people were on a more equal level, the Industrial Revolution heightened the class separation. Upper class factory owners would look down on the working class who worked for them, and the higher parts of the working class felt they should not associate with the lower part of their class.
The mental state of people's minds changed more than just in class distinctions. Making money became the biggest priority. People started spending more time away from their families and church to make more and more money. Competition was more heated. People wanted the best possible, and if their neighbor had better, they wanted to get better than that. People's mindsets changed and became more affixed with material things.
The Industrial Revolution was primarily a mental revolution, and many of the mental affects can be traced to today. Most people's priorities are still centered around money in one way or another, and people compete more than ever to be at the top and to have the best. Though there were physical aspects to the Industrial revolution, because the machines helped power the changes; but the changes happened in the mind, and all the beginnings of anything physical, starts with something mental.
