Research Topics
The Early Industrial Revolution in England
Why was England the "First Industrial Nation"? What exactly was revolutionized between 1750 and 1850?
The origins of the Industrial Revolution in England are complex and varied but in general, we can assume that the social, political and economic situation in England was ripe for something like a revolution in industry and economic organization. Unplanned and unregulated, the Revolution was the product not of university trained scientists but of engineers and mechanics obsessed with the workings of machines. Although the middle and working classes were social realities before the onset of industrialization, it was the Industrial Revolution itself that forced social classes to further refine their value systems. How did the world views of the middle and working classes differ? What role did classical political economy play in the formation of a middle class system of values?