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Descriptive Essay: The Industrial Revolution and its Effects

The Industrial Revolution was a time of great age throughout the world. It represented major change from 1760 to the period 1820-1840. The movement originated in Great Britain and affected everything from industrial manufacturing processes to the daily life of the average citizen. I will discuss the Industrial Revolution and the effects it had on the world as a whole.

The primary industry of the time was the textiles industry. It had the most employees, output value, and invested capital. It was the first to take on new modern production methods. The transition to machine power drastically increased productivity and efficiency. This extended to iron production and chemical production.

It started in Great Britain and soon expanded into Western Europe and to the United States. The actual effects of the revolution on different sections of society differed. They manifested themselves at different times. The ‘trickle down’ effect whereby the benefits of the revolution helped the lower classes didn’t happen until towards the 1830s and 1840s. Initially, machines like the Watt Steam Engine and the Spinning Jenny only benefited the rich industrialists.

The effects on the general population, when they did come, were major. Prior to the revolution, most cotton spinning was done with a wheel in the home. These advances allowed families to increase their productivity and output. It gave them more disposable income and enabled them to facilitate the growth of a larger consumer goods market. The lower classes were able to spend. For the first time in history, the masses had a sustained growth in living standards.

Social historians noted the change in where people lived. Industrialists wanted more workers and the new technology largely confined itself to large factories in the cities. Thousands of people who lived in the countryside migrated to the cities permanently. It led to the growth of cities across the world, including London, Manchester, and Boston. The permanent shift from rural living to city living has endured to the present day.

Trade between nations increased as they often had massive surpluses of consumer goods they couldn’t sell in the domestic market. The rate of trade increased and made nations like Great Britain and the United States richer than ever before. Naturally, this translated to military power and the ability to sustain worldwide trade networks and colonies.

On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution and migration led to the mass exploitation of workers and slums. To counter this, workers formed trade unions. They fought back against employers to win rights for themselves and their families. The formation of trade unions and the collective unity of workers across industries are still existent today. It was the first time workers could make demands of their employers. It enfranchised them and gave them rights to upset the status quo and force employers to view their workers as human beings like them.

Overall, the Industrial Revolution was one of the single biggest events in human history. It launched the modern age and drove industrial technology forward at a faster rate than ever before. Even contemporary economics experts failed to predict the extent of the revolution and its effects on world history. It shows why the Industrial Revolution played such a vital role in the building of the United States of today.

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Big History Project

Course: big history project   >   unit 9.

• ACTIVITY: The Appetite for Energy
• ACTIVITY: Unit 9 Vocab Tracking
• ACTIVITY: DQ Notebook 9.1
• WATCH: Coal, Steam, and the Industrial Revolution

READ: The Industrial Revolution

• WATCH: How Did Change Accelerate?
• READ: Acceleration
• READ: George Washington Carver - Graphic Biography
• ACTIVITY: Threshold Card — Threshold 8: The Modern Revolution
• Quiz: Acceleration

Fossil Fuels, Steam Power, and the Rise of Manufacturing

The transformation of the world, early steam engines, why britain.

• Shortage of wood and the abundance of convenient coal deposits
• Commercial-minded aristocracy; limited monarchy
• System of free enterprise; limited government involvement
• Government support for commercial projects, for a strong navy to protect ships
• Cheap cotton produced by slaves in North America
• High literacy rates
• Rule of law; protection of assets
• Valuable immigrants (Dutch, Jews, Huguenots [French Protestants])
• Location of China’s coal, which was in the north, while economic activity was centered in the south
• Rapid growth of population in China, giving less incentive for machines and more for labor-intensive methods
• Confucian ideals that valued stability and frowned upon experimentation and change
• Lack of Chinese government support for maritime explorations, thinking its empire seemed large enough to provide everything needed
• China’s focus on defending self from nomadic attacks from the north and west
• Britain’s location on the Atlantic Ocean
• British colonies in North America, which provided land, labor, and markets
• Silver from the Americas, used in trade with China
• Social and ideological conditions in Britain, and new thoughts about the economy, that encouraged an entrepreneurial spirit

The Spread of the Industrial Revolution

Consequences of the industrial revolution, for further discussion, want to join the conversation.

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Essay on Industrial Revolution

Essay generator.

The Industrial Revolution marks a pivotal period in human history, fundamentally transforming the fabric of society, economy, and technology. Spanning from the late 18th to the early 19th century, it commenced in Britain and gradually proliferated across the globe. This essay delves into the essence, causes, key developments, and profound impacts of the Industrial Revolution, offering insights for students participating in essay writing competitions.

Industrial Revolution

The genesis of the Industrial Revolution can be traced back to Britain, fueled by a confluence of factors including agricultural advancements, population growth, financial innovations, and a surge in demand for goods. Agricultural improvements led to food surplus, supporting a burgeoning population that provided labor and created a market for industrial goods. Moreover, Britain’s political stability, patent laws, and access to vast resources due to its colonial empire set a fertile ground for industrial innovation.

Technological Innovations

At the heart of the Industrial Revolution were groundbreaking technological innovations that revolutionized manufacturing processes. The introduction of the steam engine by James Watt and the development of power looms significantly enhanced productivity, transitioning industries from manual labor to mechanized production. The iron and coal industries also saw major advancements, with the smelting process being vastly improved by Abraham Darby’s use of coke, leading to stronger and cheaper iron.

Impact on Society and Economy

The Industrial Revolution ushered in dramatic social and economic shifts. Urbanization escalated as people flocked to cities in search of employment in factories, giving rise to burgeoning urban centers. While the revolution generated wealth and propelled economic growth, it also introduced stark social disparities and challenging working conditions. Child labor, long working hours, and unsafe environments became prevalent issues, sparking movements for labor rights and reforms.

Impact on Society

• Urbanization: The Industrial Revolution led to a massive shift from rural areas to cities as people moved in search of employment in factories. This urbanization changed the social fabric, leading to the growth of urban centers and the emergence of a new urban working class.
• Labor Conditions: Factory work during the early Industrial Revolution was often characterized by long hours, low wages, and harsh working conditions. This led to labor protests and the eventual emergence of labor unions advocating for workers’ rights.
• Technological Advancements: The Industrial Revolution saw the development of new technologies and machinery that revolutionized production processes. Innovations like the steam engine and mechanized textile mills transformed industries and increased efficiency.
• Social Stratification: The gap between the wealthy industrialists and the working class widened during this period, resulting in increased social inequality. The emergence of a capitalist class and the growth of industrial capitalism contributed to this divide.
• Education and Literacy: The need for a skilled workforce led to greater emphasis on education. Public education systems began to develop, contributing to higher literacy rates among the population.
• Family Life: The traditional family structure evolved as men, women, and children worked in factories. Child labor, in particular, became a contentious issue, eventually leading to child labor laws and reforms.
• Social Reform Movements: The harsh conditions of industrialization fueled various social reform movements, including the women’s suffrage movement, the abolitionist movement, and efforts to improve public health and housing conditions.

Impact on the Economy

• Economic Growth: The Industrial Revolution fueled rapid economic growth as production processes became more efficient, leading to increased output of goods and services.
• New Industries: New industries and sectors emerged, such as textiles, coal mining, iron and steel production, and transportation. These industries became the backbone of the modern economy.
• Global Trade: The Industrial Revolution facilitated global trade by improving transportation and communication networks. The expansion of railways, canals, and steamships allowed for the movement of goods on a larger scale.
• Entrepreneurship: The period saw the rise of entrepreneurship, with individuals and companies investing in new ventures and technologies. Innovators like James Watt and George Stephenson played pivotal roles in the development of steam power and transportation.
• Financial Institutions: The growth of industry led to the expansion of financial institutions, including banks and stock exchanges, to support investment and capital accumulation.
• Capitalism and Market Economies: The Industrial Revolution played a significant role in the development of capitalism and market-driven economies, with private ownership of means of production and the pursuit of profit as driving forces.
• Labor Markets: Labor markets evolved as people migrated to urban areas in search of work. The supply of labor increased, impacting wages, labor laws, and the development of employment contracts.
• Consumer Culture: Mass production and improved transportation made consumer goods more accessible and affordable. This contributed to the rise of consumer culture and the growth of retail markets.

Transportation and Communication Breakthroughs

Transportation and communication underwent transformative changes, shrinking distances and fostering global interconnectedness. The construction of railways and the steam locomotive revolutionized travel and commerce, enabling faster movement of goods and people. Similarly, the telegraph, patented by Samuel Morse, allowed for instantaneous communication over long distances, laying the groundwork for the modern connected world.

Environmental and Global Implications

The Industrial Revolution had profound environmental impacts, with increased pollution and resource exploitation becoming notable concerns. The reliance on coal and the expansion of industries contributed to air and water pollution, foreshadowing contemporary environmental challenges. Globally, the revolution catalyzed industrialization in other countries, altering global trade patterns and establishing new economic hierarchies.

Cultural and Intellectual Responses

The Industrial Revolution also sparked a rich cultural and intellectual response, inspiring movements such as Romanticism, which critiqued the era’s industrialization and its disconnect from nature. Philosophers and economists, including Karl Marx and Adam Smith, analyzed its implications on class relations and economic systems, offering divergent perspectives on industrial capitalism.

The Second Industrial Revolution

Following the initial wave of industrialization, a Second Industrial Revolution emerged in the late 19th century, characterized by further technological advancements in steel production, electricity, and chemical processes. Innovations such as the internal combustion engine and the harnessing of electricity for lighting and motors opened new avenues for industrial and societal development.

Challenges and Reforms

The Industrial Revolution’s darker facets, such as exploitative labor practices and environmental degradation, elicited calls for reform. The establishment of labor unions and the enactment of laws to improve working conditions and limit child labor were critical steps towards addressing these issues. These reforms laid the groundwork for modern labor rights and environmental consciousness.

Legacy and Continuing Influence

The legacy of the Industrial Revolution is enduring, laying the foundations for modern industrial society and shaping the contemporary world. Its innovations spurred continuous technological progress, setting the stage for the information age and the current technological revolution. Moreover, it has left lasting imprints on societal structures, economic practices, and global relations.

In conclusion, The Industrial Revolution was not merely a period of technological innovation; it was a profound transformation that redefined human society, economy, and the environment. Its multifaceted impacts, from spurring economic growth and global interconnectedness to introducing social challenges and environmental concerns, underscore its complexity and significance. As students delve into the intricacies of the Industrial Revolution, they uncover the roots of modern society and the ongoing evolution shaped by this pivotal era in human history. This exploration not only enriches their understanding of the past but also offers valuable lessons for addressing the challenges and opportunities of the future.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Industrial Revolution — Positive and Negative Effects of the Industrial Revolution

Positive and Negative Effects of The Industrial Revolution

• Categories: Industrial Revolution

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Published: Sep 5, 2023

Words: 715 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Positive effects: technological advancements and economic growth, negative effects: harsh working conditions and exploitation, positive effects: urbanization and social mobility, negative effects: environmental degradation, positive effects: advances in education and medicine, negative effects: social inequalities and class struggles.

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6.3 Capitalism and the First Industrial Revolution

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Explain the evolution of economic theories from mercantilism to capitalism
• Analyze the ways in which mechanization challenged existing social, economic, and political structures
• Discuss the ideological responses to capitalism, including Marxism

Just as colonial empires were the crucible of new political ideas and gave rise to new forms of resistance to exploitation, they also inspired new economic ideas. Mercantilism, which advocated building a nation’s power by increasing trade through exports, had originally propelled colonization . But as people around the world gained their political freedom, they also became interested in economic freedom, and mercantilism fell out of favor. Capitalism, a system in which prices and costs, not government intervention, serve to regulate the supply and demand of goods traded for individual profit, became popular. However, not everyone agreed with this new economic order; Marxists critiqued it and proposed systems focused on equality rather than profit.

From Mercantilism to Capitalism

In 1681, the French finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert asked a group of French business owners led by a man named Thomas Le Gendre how the government could help them. Le Gendre reportedly told Colbert, “ Laissez nous faire ,” meaning “let us do it.” This gave rise to the concept of laissez-faire economics , which argues that market forces alone should drive the economy and that governments should refrain from direct intervention in or moderation of the economic system. The idea of laissez-faire economics was consistent with the logistical realities of global empires. It was effectively impossible for leaders in Europe to micromanage economic operations that were on the other side of an ocean. Therefore the evolution to a laissez-faire economic model might have been as much a practical necessity as an ideological shift.

Adam Smith was a Scottish political economist and philosopher best known for writing the book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), often referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations ( Figure 6.18 ). Earlier scholars had written about various aspects of economics, but with this book Smith became the first person to produce a comprehensive philosophical examination of the way nations should manage their economies.

In The Wealth of Nations , Smith argued that the “ invisible hand ” of the marketplace guided people when they made their own economic decisions. By doing the work that would bring them the greatest profit, he explained, people inadvertently tended to produce the goods and services most needed by society. To allow the invisible hand to work, Smith advocated the reduction of tariffs and most forms of governmental regulation. His work was based on rational choice theory , the idea that people understand their options and make rational choices that will help them achieve reasonable objectives. In Smith’s view, this form of selfishness is often good for the individual and for society.

Although Smith did not use the term, preferring to call his system commercial society , he and his supporters promoted the idea later known as capitalism , an economic system in which private individuals and companies typically own the means of production such as factories and farms, and free (unregulated) markets set the value of most goods and services based on supply and demand.

Smith was a critic of slavery . He believed slavery was inefficient and suggested it was doomed to fail if markets were truly free. Because the cost of feeding, clothing, and housing enslaved people, however poorly, was passed on to consumers, Smith also noted that goods made using enslaved labor were more expensive. Free labor could produce goods more inexpensively because the employer did not have to pay for his laborers’ upkeep. However, Smith also used rational choice theory to minimize slavery’s horrors. In The Wealth of Nations , he acknowledged that the enslaved people living in the British Caribbean were “in a worse condition than the poorest people either in Scotland or Ireland,” but he justified their suffering on the basis that “it is the interest of their master that they should be fed well and kept in good heart in the same manner as it is his interest that his working cattle should be so.”

Whether sugar plantations on which enslaved people labored were themselves capitalist enterprises has been a matter of debate among historians. One the one hand, capitalism presupposes freedom on the part of all actors engaged in an economic transaction. Merchants are free to sell what they wish at the prices they wish to charge, and consumers are free to pay the price that is set or to refuse to buy the product. Employers are free to set hours and wages for employees, and employees are supposedly free to accept the employer’s terms or hold out for better ones.

The workforce on sugar plantations, however, consisted of enslaved people who could legally be coerced to do whatever labor their owners decided for whatever compensation they chose to give (usually the minimum of food, clothing, and shelter required to keep the laborers alive). On the other hand, plantation owners behaved in much the same way as owners of other industrial enterprises, by setting production goals, for example. Many have pointed out that the highly regimented system of labor on sugar plantations was much like that in capitalist enterprises like textile factories. The debate is ongoing. What no one disputes is that the profits earned from the sale of sugar and other plantation products grown by enslaved people were often invested in capitalist enterprises, including the factories that were coming into existence in the eighteenth century.

Adam Smith’s ideas challenged the established mercantilist economic order and attracted critics. Some governmental leaders were understandably hesitant to surrender their power to the free market. They questioned the wisdom of reformers like Smith who disagreed with the favorable-balance emphasis of mercantilism . Conservative critics pointed out that while mercantilism might not have been perfect, it had delivered tremendous wealth to Europe, or at least to Europe’s ruling classes.

Other world leaders, most notably in Great Britain , rejected conservative critics and embraced Smith’s ideas, which promised greater potential freedoms and profits for the nation’s wealthiest citizens, and they became the dominant force in British economic reforms. The wealthy House of Commons leader Charles James Fox praised Smith’s ideas in Parliament, although he later admitted he had not read The Wealth of Nations and thought it far too long. In 1777, Prime Minister Fredrick North proposed a revised tax code based on Smith’s work. In 1792, Prime Minister William Pitt praised Smith’s work as “the best solution to every question connected with the history of commerce, or with the systems of political economy.”

Smith’s ideas spread across the Atlantic, and in 1807 President Thomas Jefferson wrote “Smith’s Wealth of Nations is the best book to be read.” As Smith’s ideas took root, governments reduced tariffs, cut back on economic regulations, and led their nations’ transition from the quest for favorable balances of trade to the search for personal profit.

Smith’s ideas remain influential, but modern scholars often criticize them. In contrast to his reliance on rational choice theory, they argue that people do not always behave rationally or make the best decisions. Others condemn the moral failings of the invisible hand, which sacrificed the lives and wellbeing of enslaved people, poor workers, and colonial subjects to provide elites with profit.

In Their Own Words

The wealth of nations.

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is better known by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations . Published by the Scottish scholar Adam Smith in 1776, it was probably the first comprehensive study of economic philosophy. Always controversial, it remains an influential work today. As you read this excerpt from it, look for Smith’s definition of the “invisible hand.”

As every individual, therefore, endeavors as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. He intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. —Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations

• How would you explain the idea of the invisible hand in your own words?
• What are some potential benefits and drawbacks to a society’s reliance on the invisible hand?
• Do you always act in your own economic best interests? Do others? Does the invisible hand work better for some people than others? Why or why not?

Mechanization

In the late 1700s, western European nations began to adopt mechanization , the use of machines to replace the labor of animals and humans. Mechanization set the stage for the Industrial Revolution , a transition away from societies focused on agriculture and handicraft production to socioeconomic systems dominated by the manufacture of goods, primarily with machines.

People in many places, including China, Egypt, India, Greece, and Rome, had made limited use of machinery in the ancient past; however, most goods were produced by skilled artisans for local consumption. Beginning in the mid-1600s, the British enjoyed an agricultural revolution that allowed smaller numbers of farmers employing fewer farm laborers to produce a surplus of food, and that in turn led to a population increase.

In the 1700s, entrepreneur s in England found a way to make use of unemployed or underemployed farm laborers and their families. These entrepreneurs provided farm families with raw materials and asked them to produce finished goods in their cottages, a system that became known as cottage labor . Rural women spun wool or flax into thread, and men then wove it into woolen cloth or linen. Some farm families made bonnets from straw. Other people made nails, knit hosiery, or made lace. The entrepreneur collected their finished products, paid them for their labor, and sold the finished goods in towns and cities. Because the farm laborers were not skilled artisans, they could not command high wages, and the entrepreneurs reaped great profits.

In time, entrepreneurs began to gather laborers together in one location, a factory . This decision gave them greater control over production because they could hire managers to supervise the workers’ labor. It was also easier to install machines in factories than in laborers’ cottages (although laborers might be provided with or rent relatively small machines, such as knitting frames, for their cottages). Factories came to be concentrated in towns and cities. As work moved to urban areas, so too did men and women who could not find work on farms. By the late 1700s, British business owners, supported by government policies inspired by Adam Smith, were setting up factories and hiring many of these migrant workers.

During the Industrial Revolution, factories increasingly relied on machine power, most importantly the steam engine . A steam engine uses heat to transform water into steam, which expands and drives a piston to perform work. Hero of Alexandria, in Egypt, produced the first steam engine when he created the aeolipile, a simple turbine that powered toys, around the year 70 CE. Steam engines remained little more than curiosities until 1698 when the English inventor Thomas Savery used the world’s first commercial steam engine to pump water out of mines and to supply water for industrial water wheels. By 1776, British factories were powering some of their operations with improved steam engines designed by the Scottish engineer James Watt .

Locomotives and boats powered by steam engines soon delivered raw materials to the factories and transported finished goods to consumers. In 1807, American inventor Robert Fulton began operation of the first successful commercial steamboats. In 1812, Matthew Murray , an English industrialist, opened the world’s first successful steam locomotive line. Several inventors produced steam-powered vehicles that could travel on roads, but the heavy weight of steam engines and the poor conditions of most roads doomed them to failure and kept steam engines in the factories, waterways, and railroads.

Industrialization, motivated and enabled by capitalism , created tremendous wealth for business owners and middle-class professionals, but their profits often came at a high cost to workers. The production of goods shifted from the handiwork of highly skilled middle-class artisans to mechanized production done by low-paid unskilled laborers. Workers did enjoy access to new consumer goods made cheaper by industrialization, but to afford those goods they had to work long hours, in difficult and often dangerous conditions. Perhaps most importantly, workers lost control over their working conditions. Farmers and artisans, particularly those who owned their land or shops, were free to decide how and when they worked, whereas factory owners carefully regulated every aspect of their workers’ professional and even personal lives. For example, the 1848 employee handbook for the Hamilton Manufacturing Company stated that “the company will not employ any one who is habitually absent from public worship on the Sabbath, or known to be guilty of immorality.”

Some workers rebelled against industrialization, which threatened their status as skilled laborers. Beginning in 1811, a secretive group of British textile workers calling themselves Luddites began destroying textile machinery, rioting, and setting fires in response to the industrialization of their workplaces ( Figure 6.19 ). They took their name from the mythical Ned Ludd , a worker who supposedly destroyed a mechanized loom rather than submit to industrialization. As the Luddite movement grew, so did the legend of Ned Ludd, until some workers claimed that King Ludd lived in Sherwood Forest and fought corrupt industrialists, much as Robin Hood had opposed corrupt authorities during the Middle Ages. The Luddites did not argue in favor of a specific ideology or a grander purpose. They were simply angry that industrialization was destroying their traditional way of life, and they fought back with every tool at their disposal.

British leaders reacted quickly to the Luddites, with some calling them a mob worthy of execution. In 1812, the poet and peer Lord Byron responded by pointing out that these same people worked the fields, produced the goods, and served in the armed forces of the British Empire. Byron argued that the mob “often speaks the sentiments of the people” and warned “it is the mob” that “enabled you to defy all the world and can also defy you when neglect and calamity have driven them to despair.” He urged the British government to respond to the protesting workers with “conciliation and firmness” rather than violence. Most British business and political leaders disagreed with Byron and worked to suppress the rebellion. Parliament made industrial sabotage a capital offense. British authorities hanged many Luddites and exiled more to prison colonies. By 1816, the industrialists had defeated the Luddites. Today, “Luddite” is often used as a generic description of anyone opposed to technological change.

Dueling Voices

The luddites.

The Luddites were British factory workers who engaged in the destruction of machines, rioting, and vandalism to resist industrialization. Following are excerpts from two primary sources on the Luddites, describing separate incidents and written from different perspectives.

West Riding of Yorkshire The complaint of John Sykes of Linthwaite . . . taken upon oath this 6th day of March 1812 before me Joseph Radcliffe Esquire one of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace in and for the said Riding - Who saith that between one and two o clock this Morning a number of people came to the door of his said Master’s dwelling house and knocked violently at it, and demanded admittance or otherwise they would break the door open—to prevent which this Examinnant opened the door and 30 or more people with their faces blacked or disguised came in and asked if there were any amunition guns or pistols in the house and where the Master was, on being told he was not at home they secured or guarded every person of the family and then a number of them took a pound of candles and began to break the tools and did break 10 pairs of shears and one brushing machine the property of his said Master, that one of them who seemed to have the command said that if they came again and found any machinery set up, they would blow up the premises, soon after which they all went away— Sworn before me — Joseph Radcliffe [The mark of John Sykes] —An account of machine-breaking at Linthwaite, Yorkshire, March 1812

Sir We mentioned some frames to be removed today from 10 miles off. They came totally unmolested. The soldiers did not go near the village, and the constables had no interruption whatever. We have been concerned to see these instances of removing frames because it must leave some of the country people without the means of work, but it will at the same time open their eyes to the consequence of their own proceedings. For some time before these troubles broke out, in many places a fifth of the frame workers were out of employ, and this naturally induced some hosiers (not perhaps of the first reputation) to give them particular kinds of work at reduced prices; and the hosiers who were giving the higher prices found themselves undersold in certain articles at the London Market. This again brought about new arrangements, which soured the whole body of workmen . . . resentment against those hosiers who paid the under price has been the leading feature up to the present day. They have seldom made free with other property altho’ opportunities at all times have presented themselves, and in one instance lately at Clifton, some cloths that one of the frame breakers brought away, were carefully sent back again the following day. —A letter sent to London from a magistrate describing the situation in Nottingham, February 1812

• What are the key similarities and differences between the two accounts?
• Why do you think they provide such different views of the Luddites?
• Was the Luddite rebellion a reasonable response to the challenges posed by industrialization? Why or why not?

Karl Marx was a highly controversial intellectual and revolutionary. Born in 1818 in Trier, in what is now Germany, he grew up as the son of a successful lawyer and was baptized into the Evangelical Church when he was six years old. As a young man, he studied law at the University of Berlin, where a professor introduced him to the philosophy of Georg Hegel . Marx quickly embraced Hegel’s idealistic universal history, which suggested the world is progressing through conflicts toward greater freedom. After completing his education, he worked as a journalist and writer.

In 1848, Marx published The Communist Manifesto with his co-author Friedrich Engels . In the book, the two argued that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” Their idea, that recognizing the class struggle between workers and the ruling class is central to understanding societies, is also known as Marxism ( Figure 6.20 ). In addition to laying out their vision of history, Marx and Engels predicted that society would eventually replace current economic systems with socialism , a system in which the public, not private companies or individuals, owns the means of production. In their view, socialism was one phase of the transition from the private ownership characteristic of capitalism to the completely classless society of communism . They called for the forcible overthrow of current societies, a statement many communists around the world embraced as a declaration of war on capitalism . The ideals of communism were inspired by the abuses of capitalism that often exploited workers.

Link to Learning

Karl Marx published The Communist Manifesto with his co-author Friedrich Engels in 1848. Many writers from across the political and ideological spectrum inaccurately portray the ideas in The Communist Manifesto to support their own ideas or to paint their opponents in a negative light. Consider reading The Communist Manifesto for yourself and drawing your own conclusions about what the work says and what it might mean to you.

Marx’s book Das Kapital , published in 1867, is one of history’s most often cited sources on economics and politics. In Das Kapital , Marx argued that the bourgeoisie , members of a social class that owned the means of production, were primarily motivated by the desire to exploit labor. In his view, employers paid wages to their workers, also known as the proletariat , that were far less than their labor was worth. They then kept the excess value produced by wage earners, in a process Marx argued was unfair to the workers. Employers used their profits to purchase additional resources and to buy political influence to ensure that the law would support the wealthy instead of the workers. The wealthy became unfit to rule as they increasingly leveraged their growing economic and political power until workers were left powerless and in poverty. Eventually the capitalist system would collapse, and the workers would reclaim control of society.

The Past Meets the Present

Marx on capitalism and communism.

Karl Marx died almost 150 years ago, but his ideas remain widely debated. In 1867, Marx published the first volume of Das Kapital , and it quickly reached a wide audience among those interested in history, economics, and politics. After his death in 1883, Fredrich Engels, his co-author on The Communist Manifesto , published the second and third volumes of Das Kapital based on Marx’s notes. In this quote from Das Kapital , Marx explained his view of the origins of capitalism.

The economic structure of capitalist society has grown out of the economic structure of feudal society. The dissolution of the latter set free the elements of the former . . . [T]he historical movement which changes the producers into wage-workers, appears, on the one hand, as their emancipation from serfdom and from the fetters of the guilds, and this side alone exists for our bourgeois historians. But, on the other hand, these new freedmen became sellers of themselves only after they had been robbed of all their own means of production, and of all the guarantees of existence afforded by the old feudal arrangements. And the history of this, their expropriation, is written in the annals of mankind in letters of blood and fire. —Karl Marx , Das Kapital

Long after Marx’s death, his ideas continued to provide inspiration for people dissatisfied with inequality between social classes and angered by injustices. In 1917, revolutionaries in Russia, inspired by Marx’s ideas, overthrew the government and established a new communist society that became the Soviet Union and existed until 1991. Subsequent communist revolutions gave rise to governments that still exist in China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, and Laos. Even in capitalist countries, communist and socialist political parties exist and are often quite popular with voters. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont proudly calls himself a socialist, although as many have pointed out, he does not seek to overthrow capitalism or advocate public ownership of the means of production.

• What is capitalism, as described in this excerpt from Das Kapital ? According to Karl Marx, what are its origins?
• How does Marx’s view of history agree or disagree with what you know about history?
• Are Marx’s ideas still relevant today? Why or why not?
• What would Marx say about the history of the world since his death? Have events since 1883 supported or undermined his arguments?

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Industrial Revolution in the United States Essay

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Introduction

The industrial revolution in america, impacts of the industrial revolution in america, americans reaction towards the industrial revolution, works cited.

The industrial revolution refers to the time period in which changes in production processes had extreme impacts on man’s social, economic, and cultural status. The changes were realized in sectors such as agricultural, manufacturing, and transport, among other sectors. This paper seeks to discuss the subject of the industrial revolution in the United States. The paper will look into the development of the industrial revolution in the United States, the changes that were caused by the revolution, and the reactions that Americans had towards the industrial revolution.

The industrial revolution was a period of transformation from reliance on human beings in production processes to great dependence on machines to produce commodities. The revolution is believed to have originated from Great Britain before spreading through Europe and then to other parts of the world. The British industrial revolution was also directly and almost instantly spread to British colonies, which were at the time run as its territories. The revolution’s transformation of economic operations from human labor to employment of machines was characterized by transformation in economies in which traditional agricultural practices were, for example, replaced by industrial processes.

Machines that were invented played an important role in removing people from their jobs and replacing them with machines that did the jobs in a better way and also produced products of better utility to people. The developments due to the revolution were also characterized by the invention of better transportation means that were more affordable and accessible. People were basically contained around their homesteads with major duties being either farming or performing duties in homesteads before the revolution, which later changed events in the then American societies as professions changed from the earlier farming into industrial jobs. Vast resources that were available in the United States contributed to the quick industrialization that was realized in the country (Brezina 4).

One of the immediate impacts of the industrial revolution was the transformation of the American economy from being agriculturally based on being an industrial economy. Consumptions were previously direct agricultural products. The introduction of machines into the economy, however, transformed the system into industrial production focused. Agricultural products were transformed into forms of more refined products, and other industrial production processes were established.

The industrial revolution also had the impact of job losses among the American people in the agricultural farms in which they were employed as manual laborers. The introduction of machines in the agricultural sector, which were more efficient as compared to human labor, led to the displacement of people from their jobs in the agricultural sector as their positions were then taken by machines. The revolution can, therefore, be said to have caused unemployment among the American people, at least at the time it was being launched in the country (Brezina 8).

Loss in artistic skills was also experienced following the emergence of industrialization in the United States. The wave of people that moved people from their rural farms in order to take up jobs in industries affected artisans who followed the mass, abandoned their tools, and moved to take industrial jobs factories. Their positions were then taken by unskilled people who had just moved to the profession to fill the gap that was left by the artist who had left for the industrial jobs. The industrial revolution also changed the social structure that was previously dominant in America. Parents moved to take jobs in industries, thereby reducing the socially family-based environment that had existed before the revolution (Brezina 51).

The revolution that invaded American society led to a number of transformations in the nature of the American people in their society. A number of reactions to the changes caused by the industrial revolution were evident in terms of behavior and social set up. In reaction to the industrial revolution, significant changes were realized in the nineteenth century regarding the structure and nature of American society. Henry Bellows, for example, outlined some characteristic features that were realized in America towards the middle of the nineteenth century. The economic changes that were realized following the wave of the industrial revolution forced Americans to work harder and for longer hours in order to sustain their family needs.

Bellow expressed the concern that following the revolution, “lawyer must confine himself to his office” (Bellows 95) and “the physician must labor day and night” (Bellows 95) in his duty. Americans generally reacted to changed conditions by increasing their efforts at work. Another form of reaction to the wave of revolution was the attitude of ambitious gains that people developed. This could be attributed to the lower wages that resulted from industrialization. Another evident reaction, as represented by Bellow, was the affinity or desire that people developed for money. He described the then society as “doomed tradesmen” who could “mistake money for the kingdom of heaven” (Bellows 96). These, among others, were reactions towards industrialization.

The industrial revolution that was experienced in the United States of America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had great effects on the American people and, as a result, led to a number of reactions by Americans to the impacts of the revolution.

Bellows, Henry. The Influence of the Trading Spirit upon the Social and Moral Life of America . New York: Wiley and Putnam, 2009. Print.

Brezina, Corona. The Industrial Revolution in America: A Primary Source History of America’s Transformation into an Industrial Society . New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. Print.

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1. IvyPanda . "Industrial Revolution in the United States." June 4, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/industrial-revolution-in-the-united-states/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Industrial Revolution in the United States." June 4, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/industrial-revolution-in-the-united-states/.

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Characteristics of the Industrial Revolution

• The first Industrial Revolution
• The second Industrial Revolution

Where and when did the Industrial Revolution take place?

How did the industrial revolution change economies, how did the industrial revolution change society, what were some important inventions of the industrial revolution, who were some important inventors of the industrial revolution.

Industrial Revolution

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• Spartacus Educational - The Factory System and the Industrial Revolution
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Historians conventionally divide the Industrial Revolution into two approximately consecutive parts. What is called the first Industrial Revolution lasted from the mid-18th century to about 1830 and was mostly confined to Britain . The second Industrial Revolution lasted from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century and took place in Britain, continental Europe, North America , and Japan. Later in the 20th century, the second Industrial Revolution spread to other parts of the world.

The Industrial Revolution transformed economies that had been based on agriculture and handicrafts into economies based on large-scale industry, mechanized manufacturing, and the factory system. New machines, new power sources, and new ways of organizing work made existing industries more productive and efficient. New industries also arose, including, in the late 19th century, the automobile industry.  

The Industrial Revolution increased the overall amount of wealth and distributed it more widely than had been the case in earlier centuries, helping to enlarge the middle class. However, the replacement of the domestic system of industrial production, in which independent craftspersons worked in or near their homes, with the factory system and mass production consigned large numbers of people, including women and children, to long hours of tedious and often dangerous work at subsistence wages. Their miserable conditions gave rise to the trade union movement in the mid-19th century.

Important inventions of the Industrial Revolution included the steam engine , used to power steam locomotives, steamboats, steamships, and machines in factories; electric generators and electric motors; the incandescent lamp (light bulb); the telegraph and telephone; and the internal-combustion engine and automobile, whose mass production was perfected by Henry Ford in the early 20th century.

Important inventors of the Industrial Revolution included James Watt , who greatly improved the steam engine; Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson , who pioneered the steam locomotive ; Robert Fulton , who designed the first commercially successful paddle steamer; Michael Faraday , who demonstrated the first electric generator and electric motor; Joseph Wilson Swan and Thomas Alva Edison , who each independently invented the light bulb; Samuel Morse , who designed a system of electric telegraphy and invented Morse Code ; Alexander Graham Bell , who is credited with inventing the telephone ; and Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz , who constructed the first motorcycle and motorcar, respectively, powered by high-speed internal-combustion engines of their own design.

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Industrial Revolution , in modern history, the process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing . These technological changes introduced novel ways of working and living and fundamentally transformed society. This process began in Britain in the 18th century and from there spread to other parts of the world. Although used earlier by French writers, the term Industrial Revolution was first popularized by the English economic historian Arnold Toynbee (1852–83) to describe Britain’s economic development from 1760 to 1840. Since Toynbee’s time the term has been more broadly applied as a process of economic transformation than as a period of time in a particular setting. This explains why some areas, such as China and India , did not begin their first industrial revolutions until the 20th century, while others, such as the United States and western Europe , began undergoing “second” industrial revolutions by the late 19th century.

A brief treatment of the Industrial Revolution follows. For full treatment of the Industrial Revolution as it occurred in Europe, see Europe, history of: The Industrial Revolution .

(Read James Watt’s 1819 Britannica essay on the steam engine.)

The main features involved in the Industrial Revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and cultural. The technological changes included the following: (1) the use of new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel , (2) the use of new energy sources, including both fuels and motive power, such as coal , the steam engine , electricity , petroleum , and the internal-combustion engine , (3) the invention of new machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy, (4) a new organization of work known as the factory system , which entailed increased division of labour and specialization of function, (5) important developments in transportation and communication , including the steam locomotive , steamship, automobile , airplane , telegraph , and radio , and (6) the increasing application of science to industry. These technological changes made possible a tremendously increased use of natural resources and the mass production of manufactured goods.

There were also many new developments in nonindustrial spheres, including the following: (1) agricultural improvements that made possible the provision of food for a larger nonagricultural population, (2) economic changes that resulted in a wider distribution of wealth, the decline of land as a source of wealth in the face of rising industrial production, and increased international trade , (3) political changes reflecting the shift in economic power, as well as new state policies corresponding to the needs of an industrialized society, (4) sweeping social changes, including the growth of cities , the development of working-class movements, and the emergence of new patterns of authority, and (5) cultural transformations of a broad order. Workers acquired new and distinctive skills, and their relation to their tasks shifted; instead of being craftsmen working with hand tools , they became machine operators, subject to factory discipline . Finally, there was a psychological change: confidence in the ability to use resources and to master nature was heightened.

Thesis Statements

What is a thesis statement.

Your thesis statement is one of the most important parts of your paper.  It expresses your main argument succinctly and explains why your argument is historically significant.  Think of your thesis as a promise you make to your reader about what your paper will argue.  Then, spend the rest of your paper–each body paragraph–fulfilling that promise.

Your thesis should be between one and three sentences long and is placed at the end of your introduction.  Just because the thesis comes towards the beginning of your paper does not mean you can write it first and then forget about it.  View your thesis as a work in progress while you write your paper.  Once you are satisfied with the overall argument your paper makes, go back to your thesis and see if it captures what you have argued.  If it does not, then revise it.  Crafting a good thesis is one of the most challenging parts of the writing process, so do not expect to perfect it on the first few tries.  Successful writers revise their thesis statements again and again.

A successful thesis statement:

• makes an historical argument
• takes a position that requires defending
• is historically specific
• is focused and precise
• answers the question, “so what?”

How to write a thesis statement:

Suppose you are taking an early American history class and your professor has distributed the following essay prompt:

“Historians have debated the American Revolution’s effect on women.  Some argue that the Revolution had a positive effect because it increased women’s authority in the family.  Others argue that it had a negative effect because it excluded women from politics.  Still others argue that the Revolution changed very little for women, as they remained ensconced in the home.  Write a paper in which you pose your own answer to the question of whether the American Revolution had a positive, negative, or limited effect on women.”

Using this prompt, we will look at both weak and strong thesis statements to see how successful thesis statements work.

While this thesis does take a position, it is problematic because it simply restates the prompt.  It needs to be more specific about how  the Revolution had a limited effect on women and  why it mattered that women remained in the home.

Revised Thesis:  The Revolution wrought little political change in the lives of women because they did not gain the right to vote or run for office.  Instead, women remained firmly in the home, just as they had before the war, making their day-to-day lives look much the same.

This revision is an improvement over the first attempt because it states what standards the writer is using to measure change (the right to vote and run for office) and it shows why women remaining in the home serves as evidence of limited change (because their day-to-day lives looked the same before and after the war).  However, it still relies too heavily on the information given in the prompt, simply saying that women remained in the home.  It needs to make an argument about some element of the war’s limited effect on women.  This thesis requires further revision.

Strong Thesis: While the Revolution presented women unprecedented opportunities to participate in protest movements and manage their family’s farms and businesses, it ultimately did not offer lasting political change, excluding women from the right to vote and serve in office.

Few would argue with the idea that war brings upheaval.  Your thesis needs to be debatable:  it needs to make a claim against which someone could argue.  Your job throughout the paper is to provide evidence in support of your own case.  Here is a revised version:

Strong Thesis: The Revolution caused particular upheaval in the lives of women.  With men away at war, women took on full responsibility for running households, farms, and businesses.  As a result of their increased involvement during the war, many women were reluctant to give up their new-found responsibilities after the fighting ended.

Sexism is a vague word that can mean different things in different times and places.  In order to answer the question and make a compelling argument, this thesis needs to explain exactly what  attitudes toward women were in early America, and  how those attitudes negatively affected women in the Revolutionary period.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a negative impact on women because of the belief that women lacked the rational faculties of men. In a nation that was to be guided by reasonable republican citizens, women were imagined to have no place in politics and were thus firmly relegated to the home.

This thesis addresses too large of a topic for an undergraduate paper.  The terms “social,” “political,” and “economic” are too broad and vague for the writer to analyze them thoroughly in a limited number of pages.  The thesis might focus on one of those concepts, or it might narrow the emphasis to some specific features of social, political, and economic change.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution paved the way for important political changes for women.  As “Republican Mothers,” women contributed to the polity by raising future citizens and nurturing virtuous husbands.  Consequently, women played a far more important role in the new nation’s politics than they had under British rule.

This thesis is off to a strong start, but it needs to go one step further by telling the reader why changes in these three areas mattered.  How did the lives of women improve because of developments in education, law, and economics?  What were women able to do with these advantages?  Obviously the rest of the paper will answer these questions, but the thesis statement needs to give some indication of why these particular changes mattered.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a positive impact on women because it ushered in improvements in female education, legal standing, and economic opportunity.  Progress in these three areas gave women the tools they needed to carve out lives beyond the home, laying the foundation for the cohesive feminist movement that would emerge in the mid-nineteenth century.

Thesis Checklist

When revising your thesis, check it against the following guidelines:

• Does my thesis make an historical argument?
• Does my thesis take a position that requires defending?
• Is my thesis historically specific?
• Is my thesis focused and precise?
• Does my thesis answer the question, “so what?”

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Industrial Revolution Essay Writing Guide and Sample

Writing assignment is often accompanied with pen-nibbling and blank stare. To prevent it, here is the example of how a good essay should be written. Before getting down to any kind of essay you need to make a plan. It will significantly alleviate the writing process. Remember the rule of the three golden threads which must be always woven together? Right, that’s the introduction, main body and conclusion. Take into account the following tips on the content the three parts should contain.

Introduction. The greatest mistake students commit at this particular point is describing the impacts the Industrial Revolution had on the country. You will do it a bit later. The introduction should logically prepare a reader for the main body. Explain when and what prompted the Revolution. Let the reader dive in the time the changes happened.

Main body. This is the place where you will describe the effects the Revolution produced on the country. Try to cover social, economic and cultural transformations throughout the territory. Use the brightest examples to capture readers’ attention. Don’t waffle. Vague and unclear sentences guarantee your failure. That is why be succinct and eloquent simultaneously. It means: short sentences accentuating the development of the people during the industrial shift.

Conclusion. Here is a common mistake students tend to make. On any account should you mention a new piece of information at the end of the essay. Your task is to recapitulate all the above-mentioned facts. In other words, paraphrase the written earlier. Mind the size of the conclusion! It should not be as lengthy as the main body.

Another useful tip is watching YouTube lectures on the assigned topic. There will be plenty of videos from which you can find out something new, not mentioned in the textbook. Teachers usually highly appreciate such an approach to the assignment. Online libraries are your helping hand on the matter as well. Pick several influential books and make references while mentioning the information taken from them.

Let’s apply the rules on the sheet of paper

The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain began at the end of the eighteenth century. It doesn’t mean that on a bright Monday morning the country has changed beyond recognition. It was a complicated process which involved a range of changes that boiled into the revolution. Here is the logical link that has led the country to crucial events: England lost colonial America – The system of land-ownership has fallen apart – The invention of simple machines.

Now that one of the most lucrative colonies had gone, the government decided to alter their way of development. The rulers realized that they live on a small island and are isolated from the rest of the world. They had to be strong and ready for any kind of danger. The sense of self-reliance must have embedded in the mind of the British. Their challenge was to fulfill all the tasks, in reality, to make the country more powerful.

Another question arises: “What was the Industrial Revolution about?” Money, labor and demand. To be more precise, some English families made great fortunes and put the money into growing merchant banks. Now that the land was owned by these rich families (landlords), they rent it to farmers at a certain amount of money. To cultivate the soil workers were hired. Thus, the system of the hired labor market was created.

Another point is the invention of machinery. The well-known spinning Jenny gave an impetus to a shift from manual work to factory production. It required lots of money. The country had it from trade of goods and slaves. The inventions were perfected within the time what enabled factory building throughout the area. It was so thanks to the steam engine invented by James Watt. The emergence of factories completely changed the life of workers. Such concepts as the schedule of work and 12 hour working day appeared.

However, the things weren’t as bright as it might seem. The reason for it was the way the owners treated the workers. They did their best to rip them off as much as possible. Numerous fines for delays and foul language were imposed on laborers.

The people who were against such a rude attitude were called the Luddites. They manifested their protest by breaking the machinery on purpose. The factory owners immediately reacted to it. The legislation of a ferocious law made everyone tremble with fear. The essence of the law was the following: those who damaged the equipment had to be sentenced to death by hang.

This is when the feeling of self-respect and decent working conditions originated. The British must be the first nation in the world who realized their dignity and pride in what they do. Nowadays, the adjective “snobbish” is often associated with them. It does not wonder at all. The English strived for better life and worked hard to get it. That is why they cherish their country and are so proud of being British by origin.

The both sides, the factory owners and workers were wrong and both found the key to success. If people are treated well, they work well and produce goods of high quality. The changes were not only in the industry but in people’s minds. The citizens demanded the improvement of medical service, sanitary norms, better nutrition. After all, they got them. So, the results were really rewarding.

To sum it up, it worth mentioning that the first Industrial Revolution was of incomparable value for the people. They made a great headway not even realizing it. The quality of lives left behind lots of European countries at those times. Therefore, the nation set the bar high in terms of machinery, labor market and work management. As we can see, the impacts were tremendous since we feel them in the 21st century.

We do hope that the theoretical and practical materials will help you create another masterpiece. Keep writing even if you are not sure whether you are doing the task in the right way. Put into words all the thoughts buzzing inside your head. Afterwards, start ordering them according to the structure presented above. Don’t be afraid to season the essay with your own vision of the topic. The more you conclude by yourself the higher your paper will be graded. Put on your thinking cap and you will produce an absorbing project worth the best accolades.

In case you are experiencing difficulties with your writing, order essay online here.

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HIST A302 Revolutionary America

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What Is a Thesis?

A  thesis  is the main point or argument of an information source. (Many, but not all, writing assignments, require a thesis.)

A strong thesis is:  

• Arguable:  Can be supported by evidence and analysis, and can be disagreed with.

•  Unique:  Says something new and interesting.

•  Concise and clear:  Explained as simply as possible, but not at the expense of clarity.

•  Unified:  All parts are clearly connected. •  Focused and specific:  Can be adequately and convincingly argued within the the paper, scope is not overly broad.

•  Significant:  Has importance to readers, answers the question "so what?"

Crafting a Thesis

Research is usually vital to developing a strong thesis. Exploring sources can help you develop and refine your central point.

1. Conduct Background Research.

A strong thesis is specific and unique, so you first need knowledge of the general research topic. Background research will help you narrow your research focus and contextualize your argument in relation to other research. 

2. Narrow the Research Topic. 

Ask questions as you review sources:

• What aspect(s) of the topic interest you most?
• What questions or concerns does the topic raise for you?   Example of a general research topic:  Climate change and carbon emissions Example of more narrow topic:  U.S. government policies on carbon emissions

3. Formulate and explore a relevant research question.  

Before committing yourself to a single viewpoint, formulate a specific question to explore.  Consider different perspectives on the issue, and find sources that represent these varying views. Reflect on strengths and weaknesses in the sources' arguments. Consider sources that challenge these viewpoints.

Example:  What role does and should the U.S. government play in regulating carbon emissions?

4. Develop a working thesis. 

• A working thesis has a clear focus but is not yet be fully formed. It is a good foundation for further developing a more refined argument.   Example:  The U.S. government has the responsibility to help reduce carbon emissions through public policy and regulation.  This thesis has a clear focus but leaves some major questions unanswered. For example, why is regulation of carbon emissions important? Why should the government be held accountable for such regulation?

5. Continue research on the more focused topic.

Is the topic:

• broad enough to yield sufficient sources and supporting evidence?
• narrow enough for in-depth and focused research?
• original enough to offer a new and meaningful perspective that will interest readers? 

6. Fine-tune the thesis.

Your thesis will probably evolve as you gather sources and ideas. If your research focus changes, you may need to re-evaluate your search strategy and to conduct additional research. This is usually a good sign of the careful thought you are putting into your work!

Example:   Because climate change, which is exacerbated by high carbon emissions, adversely affects almost all citizens, the U.S. government has the responsibility to help reduce carbon emissions through public policy and regulation. 

More Resources

• How to Write a Thesis Statement IU Writing Tutorial Services
• Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements Purdue OWL
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