Economic Developments and Innovations in the Industrial Age
Driving Question: How did industrialization change economic systems, and what were the impacts of these changes?
As industrialization developed and spread, the impact on societies also grew. The way societies produced, exchanged, and consumed goods and services changed, leading to new economic systems—and growing tensions between those doing the work and those profiting from the work.
Learning Objectives
- Compare and contrast the economic systems of capitalism and socialism.
- Evaluate how different groups responded to increasing industrialization from c. 1750 to 1900 CE.
- Explain the development of economic systems, ideologies, and institutions and how they contributed to change in the period from 1750 to 1900.
Vocab Terms:
- abolition
- capitalism
- chattel slavery
- industrial capitalism
- joint-stock company
- proletariat
- socialism
Opener: Economic Developments and Innovations in the Industrial Age
The Industrial Revolution led to many innovations and new ideas, but not all of them were technical or resource-based. Some were economic ideas, such as capitalism and socialism.
The Emergence of Industrial Capitalism
The Industrial Revolution was like gasoline to the engine of capitalism as that new economic system hummed along in the long nineteenth century. What paved the road for this new economic engine?
-
Guiding Questions
-
Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- What two elements does the author use to define capitalism at the beginning of this article?
- What are credit and interest, and why did they become more common in this period?
- What is a bank, and how did the idea of a bank get to Europe?
- What are bonds, and how did the English government get involved in issuing bonds?
- How did joint-stock companies help stimulate trade?
- How did joint-stock companies help stimulate empire?
- What two elements did capitalist individuals and joint-stock companies combine to produce things and make profits?
After you read
Respond to the following questions:
- Throughout this article, the author points out that capitalism was a major innovation, but they also point out that some elements of capitalism had been around for a long time. Viewed through the production and distribution frame, what was new about capitalism around c. 1750?
- How do you think capitalism helped create a need for reform movements in the long nineteenth century?
Capitalism and Socialism: Crash Course World History #33
Capitalism thrived as a result of the Industrial Revolution; however, in response to the rise of capitalism, socialism became an alternative for some. In this video, John Green will take a look at the positives and negatives of capitalism and socialism.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- According to John Green, did industrial capitalism change production?
- What are some features of capitalism as a cultural system, according to John Green?
- What were some short-comings of industrial capitalism in the nineteenth century?
- Where did socialism begin as an “intellectual construct,” according to John Green?
- What did revolutionary socialist Auguste Blanqui believe?
- What were Karl Marx’s main arguments as presented in this video?
After you watch
Respond to the following question:
- John Green says that Karl Marx raised the question of whether capitalism is natural and good, or whether we need to check and control it for our own well-being. What kind of evidence would we use to answer that question for our own society?
Key Ideas
Slavery and Capitalism
Capitalism had many far-reaching connections. One of the more disturbing connections was to slavery. But did capitalism have a hand in the end of slavery?
-
Guiding Questions
-
Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Why does the author argue that the relationship between capitalism and slavery has meaning today?
- Why, according to some theories cited by the author, does capitalism theoretically promote free rather than enslaved labor?
- What evidence, from the United States, is cited to support the argument that enslaved labor was an inefficient system for the owners of businesses?
- How does the author connect abolitionism to industrialists?
- What evidence does the author provide to argue that the Atlantic slave trade may have helped to stimulate industrialization and capitalism?
After you read
Respond to the following questions:
- To what extent does this article explain the development of economic systems, ideologies, and institutions and how they contributed to change in the period from 1750 to 1900?
- This article claims that slavery helped create industrial capitalism and that capitalism helped to end slavery. What evidence from the article supports these claims? Do you agree that the author proves both of these claims?
Closer: Economic Developments and Innovations in the Industrial Age
Think back on what you’ve learned in this lesson as a way to draw connections between the different materials you read and watched.
