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How did the Industrial Revolution change the way people lived at home.
I get that it made life easier because products became much cheaper and people were now able to afford many appliances they couldn't before but I'm sure I'm missing a few key factors. I just need a little more information on this I'm having trouble getting enough information about this.
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To understand how the Industrial Revolution changed life at home, you need to understand how manufacturing worked beforehand. Taking the textile industry as an example, the processes of carding wool, spinning and weaving were all done in the home. The weaver (for it would often be the head of the household) would either employ his family or even have apprentices on hand.
Naturally, the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of mechanization changed all that, moving manufacturing out of the home and into the factories. There emerged a strong interupt between the world of work and what went on in the home. For the working classes this represented a great change, and whilst the Industrial Revolution produced cheaper goods, the people who produced them were not necessarily the ones who were able to afford them right away.
For the middle classes, cheaper goods meant a tremendous change in lifestyle. If you put in today's terms, think about the products of certain big box stores which are able to provide cheap consumer goods for low-waged families and you have a very good idea of how middle class families were affected. There you have the effect. The increase in consumer goods allowed the middle class to ape the lifestyles of the upper classes. So, instead of china from China, immitation china from the English midlands adorned the table (now it is the other way around again).
As a society we are always interested in acquiring those things that will make life either easier or even give the impression of affluence. Therefore, when studying this topics it is important to note that changes to the home came at different stages for different groups in society. Our great-grandmothers washed laundry by hand and continued to do so until mechanical and then later electrical appliances were affordable. What has been the sum effect? Who does the laundry in the house? How much time is freed up? What is done with the balance? These are the questions you need to consider and by looking at other household activities and their effects you can chart the effects of the Industrial Revolution on households.
The Cottage Industry started to suffer because people stopped making thing at home.
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