jobs and took care of themselves and their families. There were no laws to protect workers. In general, people thought that the government should not interfere in their business. Unacceptable working environments led to worker illness and death. Children even worked in factories. Children were paid less, therfore more desirable to factory owners. Children as young as 8 years old had to work long hours in terrible conditions. In 1825, workers gained the right to form workers unions. Through struggles such as strikes, workers gained better working conditions. Without the Industrial Revolution, our world would not be the same. There would be no cars, trains of planes. We would have to pump water ourselves and spend long hours lighting fires and making sure they stayed lit. There would not be a vast variety of clothing like there is today. We would all have clothes that didn’t fit us, because we would have to wear them for long periods in our lives. There is no doubt in my mind that the Industrial Revolution was a positive period in our history. Sure, there were certain aspects that weren’t fun. However, everything has its bad aspects. In the grand scheme of things, could you really see yourself living without the inventions from this time period? Of course you couldn’t. We’ve become so accustomed to our daily life the way it is, that we couldn’t possibly imagine it differently. ...
