Please respond to the following posts 100 words each post 1 The most significant gain of this period I believe would be the Iron working. Before the discovery of Abraham Darby, iron smelting was done using the forest or other biofuel which not only depleted forest but was very expensive and time consuming.  (Landes, 1981) Abraham Darby was the first known to use coal to produce cast iron. This process included turning coal into coke. The reason for this being so successful is when the coal becomes coke it loses a lot of its sulphur properties by emitting gases. This lowered the fuel cost it took to produce “pig iron” also it made it stronger and more malleable due to being able to reach higher temperatures. (Landes, 1981) I believe this is the most important because it brought an affordable and mass produceable product to the revolution that help drive and move the industrial revolution forward and made it possible. Without a affordable iron there is no evolution of the steam engine, there is no machinery for the textile factories and also there is no infrastructure that could be built to support the industrial revolution.  During the time it was not a worry but today and moving ahead it has really been in issue. That would be the second order effects by the use and mass use of coal on the environment. “When coal is burned, gases are given off and particles of ash, called “fly ash.” are released. The sulfur in coal combines with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide, which can be a major source of air pollution if emitted in large enough quantities.” (Kentucky Coal Education, 2016) With the releasing of those pollutants results in two major environment concerns: acid rain and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere which causes greenhouse effects. (Kentucky Coal Education, 2016) sources “Kentucky Coal Education-Coal and the Environment.” Kentucky Coal Education- Online Since 1996. Accessed February 26, 2016. http://www.coaleducation.org/. Landes, David S. The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981 Post 2 The most significant breakthrough of the eighteenth century, in my opinion, was the invention of the steam engine by James Watt in 1776. The significance of this engine was that “could be used to pump water from coal mines or drive machinery in the textile factories” (Hunt, et. al, 687). With the increasing population in England by 50% in the second half of the eighteen centuries, it also increased the demand for producing more and cheaper cotton cloth and the cotton manufacturing industry was booming. The invention of the steam machine was more important than other invention of the Industrial Revolution because this engine “could be run by a small boy and yield fifteen times the output of a skilled adult working a handloom” (Hunt, et.al, 687). Also, with this new power machinery the manufactures start hiring more skilled men, wo.

1. Please respond to the following posts 100 words each
post 1
The most significant gain of this period I believe would be the
Iron working. Before the discovery of Abraham Darby, iron
smelting was done using the forest or other biofuel which not
only depleted forest but was very expensive and time
consuming. (Landes, 1981)
Abraham Darby was the first known to use coal to produce cast
iron. This process included turning coal into coke. The reason
for this being so successful is when the coal becomes coke it
loses a lot of its sulphur properties by emitting gases. This
lowered the fuel cost it took to produce “pig iron” also it made
it stronger and more malleable due to being able to reach higher
temperatures. (Landes, 1981)
I believe this is the most important because it brought an
affordable and mass produceable product to the revolution that
help drive and move the industrial revolution forward and made
it possible. Without a affordable iron there is no evolution of
the steam engine, there is no machinery for the textile factories
and also there is no infrastructure that could be built to support
the industrial revolution.
During the time it was not a worry but today and moving ahead
it has really been in issue. That would be the second order
effects by the use and mass use of coal on the environment.
“When coal is burned, gases are given off and particles of ash,
called “fly ash.” are released. The sulfur in coal combines with
oxygen to form sulfur dioxide, which can be a major source of
air pollution if emitted in large enough quantities.” (Kentucky
Coal Education, 2016) With the releasing of those pollutants
results in two major environment concerns: acid rain and carbon
dioxide levels in the atmosphere which causes greenhouse
effects. (Kentucky Coal Education, 2016)

2. sources
“Kentucky Coal Education-Coal and the Environment.”
Kentucky Coal Education- Online Since 1996. Accessed
February 26, 2016. http://www.coaleducation.org/.
Landes, David S. The Unbound Prometheus: Technological
Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from
1750 to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1981
Post 2
The most significant breakthrough of the eighteenth century, in
my opinion, was the invention of the steam engine by James
Watt in 1776. The significance of this engine was that “could be
used to pump water from coal mines or drive machinery in the
textile factories” (Hunt, et. al, 687). With the increasing
population in England by 50% in the second half of the eighteen
centuries, it also increased the demand for producing more and
cheaper cotton cloth and the cotton manufacturing industry was
booming. The invention of the steam machine was more
important than other invention of the Industrial Revolution
because this engine “could be run by a small boy and yield
fifteen times the output of a skilled adult working a handloom”
(Hunt, et.al, 687). Also, with this new power machinery the
manufactures start hiring more skilled men, women and
children.
Good opportunities and relative stable political environment in
England were the biggest issues ushered in by the Industrial
Revolution. All over Europe textile manufacturing spread out
because of the “putting out” or “domestic “ system. This system
that enabled families to work from home had existed for years
but it expanded on the eighteen century and is been called
sometimes “proto- industrialization “which signifies the process
that helped pave the way for the full scale of the Industrial
Revolution (Hunt, et.al, 687).However, with all this growth of

3. the textile industries not everyone was a winner because
whenever the demand for cloth declined the manufactures did
not buy from the families that were in the textile industry. This
put hundreds and thousands of families in finance trouble and
even sometimes forced them in bankruptcy “the Handloom did
not agree with establishment of the factory that forced them out
of work” (Hunt, et.al, 688).
Bibliography
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R, Martin, Barbara H. Rosenstein, and
Bonnie G. Smith. 2012. The Making of the West: Peoples and
Cultures. 4rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins.
post 3
Although it is difficult to narrow down which gain is most
significant from the Industrial Revolution, the importance of
new technology cannot be understated, especially in regards to
the steam-powered engine. From the very beginning of its
development, the steam engine had a profound impact on
multiple fields and occupations. Originally developed by James
Watt in 1776, steam-driven engines could “pump water from
coal mines or drive machinery in textile factories” (Hunt et al.
2012, 686). Both the coal and the textile industries benefitted
from increased efficiencies due to the steam engine, allowing
them to grow during this time of rapid industrial expansion.
When George Stephenson developed steam engines powerful
enough to pull wagons in the 1820s, the railroad system became
the most effective method for transporting not only people and
products, but also for moving coal and iron to factories (Hunt et
al. 2012, 688). The development of the railway system using
steam-powered engines transformed the layout of European
states. By increasing industrial development in nearly every
industry, it could be argued that the steam-driven engine is the
most important invention of the period, and it certainly
demonstrates the significant gains that came from new
technology.
However, along with the technological advances made
during the Industrial Revolution came unforeseen issues. While

4. there were many political and economic issues that developed,
it is perhaps the social issues that often accompanied
urbanization that contributed most to the problems of the
period. As a byproduct of industrial development, urbanization
is not an undesirable trend in and of itself. Rather, the problem
seemed to stem from the sheer number of people emigrating to
the cities, which in turn were unable to support such growing
populations. Overcrowding in the cities led to dismal and
unsanitary living conditions for much of the working class, as
well as contributing to disease outbreaks that claimed thousands
of lives. Despite the standard of living increasing, many women
and children now entered the workforce out of necessity, or
otherwise faced starvation. Unfortunately, the middle-class
viewed the working class as “morally degenerate because of the
circumstances of urban life,” causing increased tensions
between the classes (Hunt et al. 2012, 694). In the end, it is this
disparity between the social classes that helped stoke the
political and economic problems of the Industrial Revolution.
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and
Bonnie G. Smith.
The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, Volume 2: since
1500.
4th ed., Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012.