You’d never imagine how much impact a spinning needle could have. This past week, we’ve been working on posters about different aspects of the Industrial Revolution. The topic assigned to my group was the impact of spinning on the Industrial Revolution. The title of our project is “Spinning Into the Future: A Woven Destiny.” We wanted to describe how this time for spinning lead to other massive future accomplishments.
We were given 6 sources from which we gathered information on our topic. Five out of the six were images, while the last was an article. The first source was an image by George Walker called “Woman Spinning” from 1814, in which he wanted to show what goes on for the average cottager and how the cottages were set up. He wanted the viewer to learn that there were many different roles to play, and not just spinning. The second image was an engraving of a Spinning Jenny, and was made by T.E. Nicholson in 1835. It provides an accurate depiction of the Spinning Jenny and its concept. Another source was called “Power Looms at a Textile Mill” and was made by an unknown creator at an unknown date. What we do know is that the creator wanted to show an audience what a highly functioning mill would look like. Our next source was a chart from ABC Clio called “Growth of the Cities.” It shows the population of London increasing during the Industrial Revolution. Our second to last source was an article titled “Effect of Losing Cottage Industry For Families,” and basically goes on to describe how cottagers could successfully make a profit from home before the industrial Revolution, but were forced to depend on the father for an income or face the harsh factory conditions eventually. Lastly, we observed an image if John Almond’s Handloom from 1771. It shows how a single person handloom could be used and operated at this time. I hope that from our exhibit, visitors can learn that spinning was a vital part of the Industrial Revolution, and that things changed massively from the way that they were before.
After creating our own exhibit, we were given the privilege to browse through the ones created as well. They varied on different topics, ranging from the steam engine to child labor, but all relating back to the Industrial Revolution. The first exhibit I viewed was called “Cotton or Freedom? You Decide,” and was about the cotton industry’s impact on slavery. Slavery allowed a greater amount of cotton to be made, which led to a larger income, which lead to more factories being built, which lead back around to a greater need for slaves. This means that as cotton production increased, slavery increased too. Another exhibit that I viewed was called “The Dark Side of the Industrial Revolution,” and discussed the environmental consequences. Much land that was used for living and wildlife was lost, in order to build more factories. The city of London grew so polluted that people couldn’t see the sun. Buildings became massively overpopulated and most people couldn’t earn enough money to sustain themselves. Although the Industrial Revolution opened doors to many great possibilities, it created many problems along the way. One problem it created was the need for child labor, which was the topic of the next exhibit, titled “All Work, No Play.” Young children were forced to work in unhealthy and unsafe conditions in factories. Many young girls had to work long hours in order to provide for their family. Lastly, I visited an exhibit called “Hot Stuff: How the Steam Engine Fired Up the Industrial Revolution,” which showed how the steam engine jump started the revolution. It improved travel and trade, but many people were skeptical at first because of its advanced level.
That’s how many things went during the Industrial Revolution, people were skeptical of new things, but they eventually became vital parts of society. Many of the things discovered during this time are still used today, such as the toilet or antibiotics. The Industrial Revolution created both good and bad things, which still have a lasting impact today.
