The title is ‘The Chief Features of the Industrial Revolution', it deals with the most important aspect connected to Industrial Revolution. We understand what the writer will explain to the reader thanks to the most relevant keyword we find in the title: chief features.
Giving a first look to the text, we can divided it into, at least, eleven paragraphs. The first paragraph is a brief introduction and a declaration of intentions of the writer, but it's also an account of the Industrial Revolution.
The second paragraph is organized into different argumentation, where the writer expresses a definition, a judgment and an explanation. In fact, as regards the definition, the author of this essay writes that Industrial Revolution "is the substitution of competition for medieval regulations which had previously controlled the production and distribution of wealth." In addition to this, we find a judgment that leads the explanation of what Industrial Revolution had caused to the society and economy. Moreover, this paragraph is developed in four paragraph, each one reports studies made by the four great economist: Adam Smith, Thomas Robert Malthus, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. The aim of this paragraph, firstly, shows how wealth became important over passing the relevance of the well being, secondly how the science was grown, then how relevant was the problem of poverty and finally which were the differences between production and distribution.
The third paragraph is linked to the previous one, because, through percentages, it explains Smith, Malthus, Ricardo and Mill's theories. Thanks to these data, the reader understands the difference of the quantity of population in years, grown immeasurably.
The next paragraph develops a considerable issue of this period: agrarian revolution. In fact it's an explanation of the most relevant changes of agrarian revolution, proved by the three most effective causes: the destruction of the common-field system of cultivation, the enclosure of common and waste lands and then the consolidation of small farms into large.
The fifth paragraph is an explanation of scientific changes inside agricultural population. The aim of this paragraph is to show how "the period was one of great agricultural advance", in spite of the fact that the prices of corn were increased.
The following paragraph has no relation with the fifth paragraph, because the writer passes to another argumentation: the consequence of the mechanical discoveries of the time. The writer reports four new inventions to explain how the factory system has born. After the description of "spinning-jenny", "the water-frame"," the Crompton's mule" and "self acting mule", the author underlines the importance of another engine, useful especially in domestic industry: the power-loom. In this way the reader understands how the Industrial Revolution changed industries in England, but then also around the world.
The seventh paragraph is linked to the antecedent, because deals with the improvement of factory system that is the cause of the expansion of trade. In addition to this there are some examples about the construction of new water- way, turnpike roads and railroad during this period. The aim of these constructions is in the new possibility to communicate with other countries, and then have a great increase in commerce.
The last paragraphs deal with the distribution of wealth, where money were invested in improvements, in enclosure system, in consolidation of farms and in the production of corn; and then deal with the new distinction between social classes.
In conclusion this essay underlines how, during the Industrial Revolution, free competition produces wealth but not welfare.
Tentor Martina
Cl. 5^A