As the Industrial Revolution gained speed, factories sprang up in one city after another. These factories drew many workers from the countryside to the cities. Thousands of people who had lived according to the age-old rhythms of planting and harvesting began to live according to the new rhythms of the modern factory. By the late 1800s, the Industrial Revolution had spread beyond Great Britain. It had spread across the body of water called the English Channel to Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. It had also begun to enter a new phase of development. Great Britain had taken the lead during the first phase of the Industrial Revolution, which featured steam power, coal, and cotton manufacturing. During the second phase, which featured steel, electricity, oil, and gas, the United States took the lead. Like most great changes in human history, the Industrial Revolution has had positive and negative results. Generally speaking, the Industrial Revolution improved the lives of millions by making a great variety of goods more affordable and more widely available. Most importantly though, the Industrial Revolution provided new kinds of employment opportunities for people. But industrialization has also had less desirable consequences.

License information: CC BY 4.0
MPAA: G
Go to source: https://freekidsbooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CKHG_G6_U5_Industrial_Revolution_SR.pdf