The Historical Background and Influence of the First Industrial Revolution

The following is the impact of the first industrial revolution on countries around the world and its background, hoping to help you.

The industrial revolution is a very important turning point in the history of bourgeois development. Modernization is one of the hot topics widely concerned at home and abroad. From the viewpoint of modernization expressed by most commentators, modernization contains complex and diverse meanings, including at least industrialization, technicalization, urbanization, political democratization, knowledge of the whole people and environmental purification. From this perspective, the emergence of modernization and the arrival of modern society are synchronized. Modernization is impossible without the mechanism of modern society. The industrial revolution is a key step in the process of modernization. The development of capitalist handicraft workshops has played a leading role in the emergence of modern society. But real industrialization cannot be "reformed" by its strength alone. As Marx's comments quoted in the second title of this book point out, handicraft workshops cannot transform all production. Only the industrial revolution triggered by the technological revolution can produce the result of industrialization. The large-scale machinery industry based on the factory system brought by the industrial revolution has changed the economic structure of the society and made mankind get rid of the ancient agricultural society handed down from generation to generation and move forward to the industrial society.

The industrial revolution first began in Britain. When discussing the conditions of British industrial revolution, people always mention its agricultural revolution, overseas trade, colonial plunder, national debt system, tax policy and so on, which is of course correct. But one thing must be added, that is, the expansion of the market. It is precisely because of the expansion of commodity demand in the market that it directly becomes the leading reason for increasing production, which leads to the strong pursuit of improving labor productivity and the invention of machines.

About the process of British industrial revolution, including the inventions of Kay, Hargreaves, Achray, Crampe, Cartwright and Watt. I will not describe it here. It should be noted that after Britain, the United States, France, Germany and many other countries also started the industrial revolution, which reflected the same law of capitalist development.

The conditions of American industrial revolution have certain particularity, which can also be said to be unique. Of course, this should be the first to promote its "westward movement." After independence, the United States continued to expand its territory to the west by annexation and cheap purchase. By the middle of19th century, it has become a vast country stretching from the Pacific Ocean in the east, the Atlantic Ocean in the west, Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. In just over half a century, this field has expanded by 7. 5 times. The western territory is rich in mineral resources, water conservancy and forest resources, with fertile land, suitable climate, long coastline and excellent ports. This provides good conditions for its industrialization and agricultural development.

The vast western land has attracted thousands of easterners who are flocking to the west. First, the near west east of the Mississippi River, then the midwest, and finally the far west, including the desolate Oregon region. In the west, people mow grass, clean bushes and reclaim large areas of farmland. 1848 After the discovery of gold in the American Valley, the gold rush attracted a large number of people to California. All this is a "westward movement". In this process, Indians living in the west were expelled and slaughtered, and were driven to "reservations" in the wilderness and mountains. However, the influx of people into the west has also opened up this vast world. American agriculture has developed rapidly and become one of the largest grain exporters in the world. In a short time, the specialized layout of the American economy has been formed. The northeast is a traditional industrial area, and the west is a vast agricultural area. According to the different natural environment, there have been "wheat kingdom", "cattle kingdom", "cotton kingdom" and vineyards. This regional economic specialization naturally formed under the objective law of economic development is a major feature of American economic development and also provides very favorable conditions for the development of the industrial revolution. The industrialized north, the important cotton and sugarcane producing areas in the south and the grain-producing west all need to complement each other and strengthen commodity exchange. The trade volume between regions has doubled and even increased by 10 times. The domestic market conditions of American industrial revolution are unmatched by other countries. In addition, with the victory of the north in the civil war, the process of rebuilding the south after the war has also made the south an attractive investment place.

There is a big problem in the economic development of the United States, which is a serious shortage of labor. /kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, the population of the United States was only about 7 million. By the middle of19th century, the land area was huge and the population was even rarer. The young United States absorbed a large number of immigrants with the momentum of opening up, which alleviated this problem to a considerable extent. In the second half of the19th century alone, as many as 27 million people immigrated to the United States. The majority of American residents are immigrants. To this day, tens of thousands of people still immigrate to the United States every year. In the history of the world, the number, scope, duration and influence of immigrants have not reached this level. It is worth noting that most immigrants are Europeans, with the British accounting for the largest proportion. Many people here have production skills, including some senior intellectuals. Immigrants who enter the west basically rely on entrepreneurship and pioneering spirit to gain a foothold. The westward movement and the absorption of a large number of immigrants have cultivated and improved the enterprising spirit and cheerful personality of the American nation to a considerable extent.

The American industrial revolution was carried out under such a background and environment. In the days after independence, although the United States achieved the status of a sovereign country politically, it still could not get rid of its dependence on Britain economically. Therefore, the industrial revolution is also the way out for its economic independence. In the process of promoting the industrial revolution, the policies of the federal government played a very positive role. It establishes a national bank, issues paper money, absorbs hot money and lends money to industries; Implement tariff protection; Encourage scientific and technological progress, implement patent law, and so on. Government support is another favorable condition for the American industrial revolution.

Like Britain, the industrial revolution in the United States began with the cotton textile industry. /kloc-at the end of 0/8, Americans copied Jenny's spinning machine. Soon, the cotton gin was invented, which improved the cleaning efficiency of raw cotton by nearly 100 times. /kloc-At the beginning of the 0/9th century, weaving technology was introduced from England. New England in the northeast has rapidly developed into the center of cotton textile industry. Subsequently, garment, leather, glass, wool and other industries also realized the use of machinery production.

After the civil war, the industrial revolution made rapid progress, especially the heavy industry. Mining, metallurgy, oil exploitation, oil refining and other industries are all developing at the speed of 10 times or even dozens of times, showing a prosperous scene. Among them, there are two huge domestic stimulus factors. First, the urgent demand for agricultural machinery in the western development. The second is the upsurge of railway construction for the communication between East and West. These two factors are not only the powerful driving force of the industrial revolution, but also the achievements and important components of the industrial revolution.

The vast western land is endless. The westward movement greatly increased the cultivated land area in the United States, reaching more than 800 million acres, equivalent to the combined area of Britain and France. Despite a large number of immigrants, the labor force is still very scarce. After the implementation of the Homestead Law, the average allocated homestead exceeded 1000 mu. How does a family run? The only way out is mechanization. This makes the invention and production of agricultural machinery a top priority; Thus greatly promoted the industrial revolution, but also promoted the development of iron smelting industry and steel making industry. /kloc-In the middle and late 20th century, agricultural mechanization in the United States was extremely rapid, and agricultural machinery such as ploughing, sowing, fertilizing, harvesting, threshing and packaging were widely used, mainly driven by animal power.

So is the transportation industry. First, vigorously build expressways. After Fulton invented the steamboat, the inland shipping industry developed greatly, and canal digging became a craze. However, with the development of the western region, it is imperative to build a railway across the east and west, which has become a top priority. To this end, the National Assembly passed a special resolution to encourage private companies to invest in road construction, and the state gave subsidies. In this way, the upsurge of railway construction soon appeared. In less than half a century, five east-west trunk lines, the Central Pacific-Union Pacific Railway, Santa Fe Railway, North Pacific Railway, South Pacific Railway and Dabei Railway, have been built, making the total length of American railways exceed the sum of all European railways. Building railways and manufacturing locomotives, buses and trucks naturally provide a huge market for the steel industry, especially the steel rolling industry. At the same time, railway construction is also a comprehensive undertaking, including station construction, sleeper supply, car equipment, management and service personnel recruitment and training. It promoted the industrial revolution in all directions.

Railway traffic also provides convenient conditions for commercial circulation and cargo transportation, and integrates various distinctive economic regions into a whole. So it is not surprising that the United States has developed into the country with the strongest economic strength in the world in a short time.

Until the middle of19th century, France was the second largest economic power after Britain. Its industrial revolution began long ago. Before the Great Revolution, steam engines and Jenny spinning machines were introduced from England. Lesquereux Zuoye Metallurgical Company, which occupies a leading position in Europe, and Angzan Mining Company, one of the largest coal mining enterprises in Europe, are equipped with advanced equipment such as steam engines, steam hammers and horse-drawn railways. Individual textile mills use Jenny spinning machines. However, with the outbreak of the 1789 Great Revolution, a war against foreign armed intervention began in 1792, followed by the Napoleonic War, and the internal situation was turbulent for a long time, which made the just-started industrial revolution have to stop. Although there are some movements in some gaps, they are extremely slow and difficult to form a climate. After the collapse of Napoleon's empire, the industrial revolution rose. In particular, the British government lifted the ban on machinery export in 1825, which gave French industry the opportunity to introduce more advanced machinery and equipment and took the step of industrial revolution revival. But at that time, it was the restoration dynasty, and the investment environment was quite unfavorable. 1824 King Charles X, who ascended the throne, even went the other way, trying to restore the feudal system in an all-round way, and the industrial revolution intensified.

1830 the July revolution overthrew the restoration dynasty and established the bourgeois Orleans dynasty (July dynasty), and the situation improved obviously. The July Dynasty claimed to be the successor of the Great Revolution, which greatly improved the environment of the industrial revolution and began to take off. By the end of 1940s, the number of steam engines had increased from 625 to 52 12, and the average horsepower had dropped from 16 to 12.5. The decrease of steam engine horsepower shows that steam engines are becoming smaller and more widely used. In the past, steam engines were mainly used to pump water from mines during mining, which required high horsepower. At this time, it can be installed as a power device in the textile industry. France has 165438+6000 spinning machines. Of course, compared with Britain, the mechanization of French industry is still very low. At that time, there were more than 20,000 steam engines in Britain. However, due to the original tradition and foundation, and rich iron ore resources, the metallurgical industry in France has developed rapidly, and the pig iron output has tripled in 30 years. Congenital deficiency is the lack of coal resources and poor quality in France. As an important symbol of industrial development, the speed of railway construction is quite slow. Generally speaking, French industry is still dominated by small-scale production, and there are not many large industries that use machines. The industrial revolution still has a long way to go. There are many reasons for this. There are two most important points: First, the political situation has been turbulent for a long time since the Great Revolution. Although it was a little stable after the Napoleonic Wars, the Restoration Dynasty was rebuilt under the protection of the bayonet of the anti-French Coalition forces, and the prospects were unpredictable. In this case, the bourgeoisie is not willing to venture into industry, but would rather invest money in credit business or even lend it abroad to earn interest. Second, since16th century, the financial bourgeoisie has the strongest economic strength. This class made a fortune by covering debts and issuing government bonds, which has formed a tradition for centuries. In their view, taking advantage of the advantages and making a fortune can make quick profits and reduce risks, and can also use the funds in their hands to influence and manipulate the securities market. Therefore, they are more keen on loans and stock market transactions than investing heavily in industry. The July Dynasty was a political power controlled by the financial bourgeoisie, which was naturally dominated by the will of the financial aristocracy and hindered the development of the industrial revolution. This contradiction was not obvious at the beginning, but it became increasingly acute after the industrial bourgeoisie developed to a certain extent. This shows that the French industrial revolution was hindered by the rulers' policies soon after it really took off.

1848 February Revolution was caused by this contradiction, aiming at overthrowing the rule of financial aristocrats and clearing the way for the development of industrial capitalism. However, after the February Revolution, the * * * and factional regimes failed to stabilize the national political situation, but fell into continuous turmoil, which had to affect the process of the industrial revolution. From this point of view, although the French industrial revolution started very early, it advanced and retreated, stopped and stopped, and was blocked many times, so that it was difficult to form an investment psychology. More than half a century has passed, and the level is still not high. This is its outstanding feature.

The biggest turning point of the industrial revolution was after the establishment of the Second French Empire. The second empire ruled by Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte stabilized the situation by powerful means, and provided a good environment for the industrial revolution with various policies that were in line with economic development, such as encouraging the establishment of large companies, reducing or exempting industrial taxes, dredging canals, vigorously building railways, signing preferential contracts with foreign businessmen, implementing trademark law to promote commerce, facilitating capital circulation and turnover, building water conservancy projects, and reclaiming wasteland. Stable political situation and appropriate policies led to the rapid development of the industrial revolution. In about 20 years, the output of coal has increased by 2 times, pig iron has increased by nearly 2 times, steel has increased by nearly 3 times and rail has increased by nearly 5 times. The total power of steam engines in China has increased from 67,000 horsepower to 336,000 horsepower. The total industrial output value increased by 2 times and the foreign trade volume increased by 3 times, both of which obviously exceeded the average development speed of19th century. In agriculture, fertilizers, threshers, harvesters and lawn mowers are more and more popular. Due to the improvement of agricultural labor productivity, the rural population began to be lower than the urban population for the first time. The period of the Second Empire was called "the golden age of agriculture". By the late 1960s, heavy industry and machine building had developed rapidly, marking the completion of the first industrial revolution in France.

It should be noted that in France, finance is still the most developed industry. At the same time, small and medium-sized production still dominates the industry. According to the statistics of 1872, the average number of workers employed by each enterprise in France is only 2.9, even in Paris, where the industry is relatively concentrated, there are only 4 workers. It can be seen that the number of machines used by large enterprises is still very small, and there is still a long way to go for French industrialization. However, although there are few large enterprises, they have great energy and still occupy a decisive position in the whole national economy.

It is difficult to describe the situation in Germany in an all-round way. Because at the beginning of the industrial revolution, Germany was still a divided country with dozens of states and free cities. At the same time, the development of different regions is extremely uneven, and not all countries have started the industrial revolution at the same time. However, among the influential countries in Germany, Prussia has the most developed capitalist economy and the strongest comprehensive national strength. Especially since the Stan-Hardenberg reform in the early 9th century, the capitalist reforms promoted by the Prussian dynasty have been introduced one after another, making Prussia a country that has made a transition to capitalism through top-down reforms. Therefore, with Prussia as the leader, it is a major feature of Germany's industrial revolution to expand its influence throughout Germany and thus promote economic development.

The industrial revolution in Germany began in the 1930s. The bourgeoisie in Prussia gradually introduced British machines, and textile mills using machines began to be established. At this time, the Prussian government came forward to unite 18 neighboring countries and established a customs union in 1834. 18 allies cancel import tariffs on goods and unify the tax system. This customs union headed by Prussia greatly expanded the commodity market of the Allies, thus promoting the development of the industrial revolution. Ruhr area in Prussia has become an important coal mining and metallurgical base because of its rich and high-quality coal mines. Saxony chemnitz developed into the center of cotton textile industry; Germany's first railway was completed and opened to traffic in Bavaria ... By the 1950s, the customs union had basically expanded to the whole of Germany, and only a few places such as Hamburg and Bremen still retained their own tariff systems. This all-German customs union took the lead in breaking through the political division, promoting the unified market of all Germany in the economic field and injecting new blood into the rapid development of the industrial revolution.

The 1950s saw the end of Prussia's economic reform. Junker manor economy, which was originally colored with serfdom but embarked on the capitalist road, has now removed the remnants of feudal serfdom and only retained some patriarchal relations, and has basically become a capitalist farm from essence to appearance. At the same time, the degree of agricultural mechanization has also been greatly improved, and the output value has increased rapidly, which has played a very good role in promoting the industrial revolution in providing raw materials, markets and labor.

It was under such conditions that the German industrial revolution reached its climax. In 1950s and 1960s, a large number of joint-stock companies appeared, the length of railway lines increased rapidly, the railway freight volume increased by 27 times, the pig iron output increased by 5.6 times and the steel output increased by nearly 28 times. 187 1 completed the unification of Germany, and the unification of monetary system, tax system, measurement unit, commercial laws and regulations, traffic management, etc. , making the industrial revolution stronger. The compensation of 5 billion francs seized from France after the Franco-Prussian War enriched industrial capital. The occupied Alsace and Lorraine regions are rich in nonmetallic minerals such as potash and iron ore, which provide a large number of raw materials for chemical and metallurgical industries.

Germany's industrial revolution started relatively late, but it took off at the intersection of the first industrial revolution and the second industrial revolution, which is conducive to its development on the basis of more advanced science and technology. At the same time, the German government attaches great importance to education and scientific research, which makes the industrial revolution have a more solid foundation than Britain and France, thus making Germany develop into the second largest industrial power in the world in a short time.

The role of industrial revolution in transforming society often exceeds that of political revolution, but it does not produce strong shock waves like formal political revolution, causing great turmoil in the situation. The unexpected development of productive forces and the great transformation of the factory system replacing handicraft workshops have shown a new look of the capitalist social mechanism and promoted the rapid evolution of the whole society. Over the past decades, the economic system with agriculture and rural areas as the main body has become an economic system with industry and cities as the main body, which has greatly changed people's lives and the economic geography of the country. The rise of new cities, the improvement of old cities, the general trend of population flowing from rural areas to cities, the trend of the country moving towards an urbanized society, the phenomenon that industrial output value far exceeds agricultural output value, and so on. Ordinary people and politicians are greatly surprised, sad and happy in their situation, but they can only adapt and make up their minds.

This comprehensive and profound social change is, in the final analysis, the manifestation of the transformation of human society from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization. The latter embodies the spirit of creation and enterprising and the sense of competition, which is more challenging than the former. With irreversible momentum, it has changed people's traditional customs, value orientation and even job selection standards. In the process of social transformation, accompanied by serious exploitation and oppression, the situation of "several happy families are worried" is very obvious. As a result, the social structure and class structure have changed and combined into some new social interest groups. Among them, the most important thing is of course the formation of the industrial bourgeoisie and the industrial proletariat.

Compared with the bourgeoisie composed of businessmen in the workshop handicraft period, the industrial bourgeoisie has stronger enterprising spirit and consciousness of seeking development in free competition. Its achievements based on machinery industry are far from comparable to those of the old bourgeoisie. The ability of industry to transform agriculture, the ability to absorb free labor, the influence on the whole society, and the competition in the international market all make capitalism play a leading role in the trend of world history and quickly change the contrast between capitalist and pre-capitalist forces. /kloc-the bourgeois revolution and reform in the 0/9th century swept the world, and the initial formation of the capitalist world system in the middle of this century is the embodiment of this historical change. Feudalism and the social system before feudalism can only give way to capitalism.

The proletariat, that is, the industrial workers, is another brand-new social interest group. It is different from the workers in manual workshops in the past. It has no small plots of land, no traditional production tools and no patriarchal clan system. This is purely a hired worker. The working conditions of machine production and the centralized working environment of machine connection make it centralized, unified and disciplined. Before long, they gradually realized that their group had the same fate and the same wishes and requirements. This is usually called class consciousness, knowing that you belong to the same group. Later, under the guidance of scientific theory, the concept of class consciousness was realized. Of course, these are only advanced workers. As a social group, workers struggle for their own interests and social status, thus forming a historical trend and adding new content to world history. It is this trend that promotes the development of socialism from utopia to science in the ideological field. With the gradual combination of socialism and the workers' movement, this trend has become stronger and stronger, and it has become one of the historical trends in the19th century.

The formation and development of the two social classes and the exclusion of competitors by the machinery industry have divided and reorganized the original middle class. The so-called middle class, also known as petty bourgeoisie, includes small business owners, shopkeepers, craftsmen and vendors. A few of them, squeezed by the machine industry, went bankrupt, and a large number of them were forced to be employed in factories and become part of the working class. Most people still exist, but many people feel precarious and face the threat of bankruptcy. Although more people have not yet faced the crisis, they are also worried about the prospects. Therefore, it has become another social interest group, eager to gain a place in the great social changes and strive to maintain and improve its social status. /kloc-there are many schools of petty-bourgeois socialism in the 0/9 century, and its root lies in this. Among them, the tendency of anarchism generally reflects the mood of the bankrupt; The theory of vigorously advocating the retention of small private ownership is often reflected by the petty bourgeoisie with anxiety. The petty bourgeoisie is keen to participate in the democratic movement because they are eager to improve their social status.