How Industrialization Changed Family Life - Research Paper Example

?TOPIC: HOW INDUSTRIALIZATION CHANGED FAMILY LIFE (1900s -1950s ERA) INTRODUCTION: Industrial Revolution has marked great impacts on human history and has affected almost every aspect of daily life. (Haspel, 2008) Barry Levinson directed an excellent masterpiece, named Avalon in which he showed how the invention of Television spoiled their family gathering and dinners at special events like Thanksgiving and church days. Long dinner tables shrunk to small tables and people got fascinated with television and gradually forgot the essence of family morals and its unity. The idea of industrialization was laid in Seventeenth Century but it actually staged out prominently in 18th century. (Berlanstein, 1992) Industrial Revolution began in Britain in eighteenth century with little innovations in different sectors like Textile, Steam engine and Iron making which gradually spread over other regions across the world in the nineteenth century. These innovations and technological advancement took off economical instability and replaced fine growth in economic stability which ultimately changed people’s perception of Industrial Revolution. It undoubtedly increased the rate of average income and people were quite enthusiastic with their rising living standards but people were ignorant about the cost they had to pay in return of this materialistic growth. Concentrating more on nineteenth century, in the first two decades of 19th century, metal machinery tools were produced which were further used to manufacture heavy industrial machineries which eventually contributed enormously in formal industrialization across European Countries. The industrial growth within the span of fifty years was so magnificent that people were completely unaware of the fact that they are demoralizing their family traditions like having dinner together or being a part of a family time or events. SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND SONGS OF EXPERIENCE: (Blake, 2008) Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience is a compilation of fifty four short poems by William Blake. It is divided into two sections: Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. In these two sections he beautifully composed the rhymes through which he artistically delivered his thoughts to the readers that how a human soul is conflicted between the two contrary states of satisfaction and suppression. William brilliantly examined that a childhood is a period where innocence lies within but it is also sensitive to the fallen world of corruption, injustice and oppression. He mentioned and raised a voice against people or society who spoils the childhood by fear, oppression and inhibition. William further stated that human psychology proves that how a human soul rejoice when it is set free and how it gets suppressed when it is kept isolated. William Blake was a smart mind and raised a major issue through his simple sweet poems. He indirectly created the guilt and targeted the people who for the sake of some pennies kept child labors which was cheaper, more hardworking and could be kept under pressure. He protested against child labor through his beautiful compilation of thoughts and vision over Innocence and Experience. CHILDHOOD LABOR: (Griffin, Emma, 2011) says that during the time of industrialization in Britain, almost every working class child was labored and it is an indigestible truth that majority of Britain Children did not enjoy the freedom of physical and mental growth through education and play. Children from mediocre class were bound to work to support their fragile families. (Humphries, 2010) interrogated with the autobiographers who had their childhood in between 18th and the 19th century and they all were not excited what they did in their childhood, neither they had a healthy relationship with their parents because they felt that their major rights of being a free happy child was taken away in return of hard work, responsibilities and hunger. Humphries presented a remarkable compilation of autobiographies which illuminated the harsh truth of Industrial Revolution in 19th century and how precious youth contributed for its development. Children were paid less and Orphans and abandoned children were sold to different factories as pauper apprentices, where they had hard beatings, low wages, long working hours and hunger. Children of age four were also employed and were forced to work under dangerous conditions like in cotton factories children were asked to crawl under heavy machineries to pick cotton where many had lost their arms or limbs or died because crushed under machines. In Coal mining, children were bound to work 14 hours without food under highly risky situations and therefore many children developed lung cancers, some died in gas explosions and some died suffocated. Young girls were mainly found working in match factories where they were open to phosphorus fumes and therefore developed “phossy jaws”. Same was the case at glass factories or potteries where children were vulnerable to poisonous gases or got blinded in glass factories. Such harsh attitudes spoiled thousands of young minds, who were mentally and physically threatened by Industrial Revolution. This impact stayed within young souls for another generation until and unless government took action against it and passed a legal law against child labor in 1833 and 1834 which concluded that children under age 18 will not work at night, but execution of law wasn’t done properly therefore child labor did not completely ended up, in fact remained in U.S till 20th century. Sad history of child labor had affected the lives of thousands of individuals in later years as they were not educated or morally groomed, therefore found problems in adjusting in better social environments or in finding good jobs. Industrial Revolution assured of good quality life but unfortunately, uncountable lives were ruined in the name of development and revolution. PROGRESSION ERA: Industrial Revolution has both positive and negative impacts on our life. It has equipped us with technological advancements which upgraded our lifestyles and help us finish our daily tasks quite easily and quickly like inventions of household appliances have provided the best possible help in doing up everyday tasks. In the beginning of Industrial Revolution, men and women compelled their children as well to work and earn a better living. It has been paid in a way that industries started producing goods that have helped people in great many ways but at the same time we cannot let go the darker side of the industrial revolution that provoked people of America to fight. (Harris, 1997) The Civil war of America began on the issues of slavery, where the conflict was between north and the south of America. North of America was accelerating in Industrial Revolution and was in need of people to work in the factories. South however had the system based on agriculture and imported goods from outside. North Industrialist provoked higher authorities to impose tariff on imported goods and set south free so that people from south could come and work in their factories, however south was against tariff and was in doubt that north wanted Blacks to stay in their slavery and work in their factories forever for their betterment and development. Such little conflicts took a major of course of Civil War in America. The main reason was the discrimination done by North whites with Blacks, and intended to keep them as slaves forever. (Harris, 1997) In the beginning of 19th century, Abraham Lincoln presented his ideology for new reforms and industrial growth which attracted thousands of people to immigrate to America which was considered as the land of opportunities. Soon America was at dominance in industrial growth and brought political and social reforms such as women rights, modernization, and improvements in education system and expansion of Business Empire. By the end of 19th Century, American was the only country, who could lead other countries in industrial power, development of new technologies and in setting up sophisticated infrastructure of a country through railroad network, extraction of natural resources like coal, timber and oil. All these advancement gave America a superiority to rule the world and we can still feel the urge that America has to dominate the world. IMPACTS ON FAMILY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE: Industrial Revolution made some prominent impacts on family and social structure of the western society. The tradition of extended family has transformed into nuclear family. As I mentioned earlier that Barry Levinson had designed a masterpiece to make people realize the difference that has occurred in family bonding, cultural and traditional values. For a good living standard, people had sacrificed their precious family system which is an irreversible loss because the ideology of independent living has ruined the strong family values, support and structure. (Ruggles, 1994) The social structure has also transformed dramatically with the advent of industrialization. Huge masses migrated from rural areas to urban areas, which broke their ties as before people used to contribute equally in everyday tasks and mostly used to survive on agriculture. They could feel the essence of family support and love. When people settled in urban areas for better work opportunities, they got divided and thus many ended up in forgetting their origin and its traditional and cultural values. (Weber, 1997) states that the society in the era of 19th century was under constant experiments of some rational ideas about culture which transformed the society into a bureaucratic entity, which is considered to be the most rational institute with rigid rules and regulations to follow. His insights were that soon west would be an iron cage where nobody would find way to get rid of it and would affect individual’s happiness and harmony. Weber further said that he could see no solution to this bureaucratic dilemma. Whereas, (Marx, ) offered highly critical opinion about Industrial Revolution and its capitalism. He elaborated that Capitalism is the key to individual’s unsatisfactory condition because they would be kept alienated with the outcome of production and therefore, would not be self realized. (Robert.E, 2002) The most awful picture with teasing facts that Industrial Revolution did no good to the lower middle class, in fact it deprived them from peace and harmony. The enclosure law made poor farmers bankrupt, because the law was made legal and asked farmers to raise the boundary of their farming lands which made them bankrupt, therefore they had no other choice to move to urban areas to work in factories where they again faced high living costs so they had to spend almost every penny they used to earn without any saving. To afford a family in urban areas, women and children had to move out of the house to work in factories where they were ill treated with low wages and long working hours. This caused family members to interact very little with each other and eventually it weakened the family ties forever. The Elite classes or the factory owners were flourishing day and night and the lower class was getting deprived of what they previously had. There was no concept of hygiene and sanitation in poor families which caused them dangerous diseases like tuberculosis and especially the infants got more towards mortality before the age of 2. In short, People in search of better life lost most valuable treasures of life like respect, love and support for each other. The impact is still same in today’s life but in better shape, for example children are raised up in nurseries or with nannies, parents are busy with their official life and grandparents are sent to old home. The faith of family has completely vanished from our present life. CONCLUSION: No matter what we have achieved, it can never be forgotten that previous generations had sacrificed the beauty of their family life and worked really hard for this industrial growth and advancement. Industrial Revolution is more of system revolution which has demanded people to remake themselves regardless of any social, moral, ethical and emotional bounding. At Present, we could see the impacts of industrial revolution, that people are busy in their fast pace life to earn better and have never given a thought that the essence of life is somewhere evaporated from our lives. We are not left with strong family ties, extended families or relatives; in fact people have started taking their own parents as a liability. Children are now getting raised in nurseries or day cares, parents are busy at offices and the system of family gatherings have almost died somewhere in our fast lives. Industrial progression in other words has killed the integrity of human bonding, relationship and innocence of life. REFERENCES: Berlanstein, Lenard R., ed, online edition The Industrial Revolution and work in nineteenth-century Europe 1992, London and New York: Rout ledge, retrieved 2009-07-26 William C. Harris, With Charity for All: Lincoln and the Restoration of the Union (1997) Jane Humphries, “Childhood and child labour in the British Industrial Revolution.” Cambridge University Press, 2010. Griffin, Emma. "Childhood and Child Labour in the British Industrial Revolution." Social History 36.2 (2011): 234-5. Humanities Full Text. Web. 25 Sep. 2011.  Paul Haspel, “Avalon Lost: Suburbanization and Its Discontents in Barry Levinson’s Avalon.” The Journal of American Culture, 2008, Wiley Periodicals Inc. 31:4 William Blake, “Songs of innocence and of experience: shewing the two contrary states of the Human Soul”1972, Forgotten Books-2008, pp 58-65. Steven Ruggles, “The Transformation of American Family Structure”, American Historical Review, 1994, pp 104 – 108. Lucas, Robert E., Lectures on Economic Growth, Cambridge: Journal, 2002, Harvard University Press. Read More