Why Great Britain Leads the Way.

According to the OER's Nick Dennis, which of the following was the MOST important factor in Great Britain's leading the way toward industrialization?

• The creativeness of British Entrepreneurs

• Easily accessible coal

• Great Britain's flat geography

• Great Britain's history of protecting freedom

Answer explanation

Everything changed during the Industrial Revolution, which began around 1700. People found an extra source of energy with an incredible capacity for work. That source was the fossil fuel — coal - formed underground when huge trees from the Carboniferous period (345– 280 million years ago) fell and were covered with water, so that oxygen and bacteria could not decay them. Instead, the pressure of the weight of materials above them compressed them into dark, carbonic, ignitable rock.

Great Britain is one of the few places in the world where coal is abundant right near the surface because of how sedimentary rock formed along it' coastline. So when Great Britain began running out of wood they started using the sea coal that was right on their shorlines and easily collected and eventually mined.

Which of the following are other factors pointed out by both of the sources we looked at last class?

• Great Britain (G.B.) ended slavery before the Industrial Revolution leading to more technological innovation.

• G.B. had a political and legal system that helped support risk taking and innovation.

• G.B. had access to ports and a flat landscape that helped it industrialize.

• G.B. had workers who were some of the highest paid in the world making investment in machine replacement for labor a worthwhile undertaking for wealthy folks.

Answer explanation

Beyond the easily accessible coal that Great Britain luckily had - it also had an ideal political and legal system that helped merchants, bankers and entrepreneurial inventors and businessmen invest time and money in risky inventions and business models. In addition, it's geogaphy helped support the building of a canal system that would make transporting all the resources mined and goods made to ports where distribution into the world was easier. In addition - Great Britains very high paid working class made investment in machines to replace them - a very profitable undertaking. BUT - even though the Knowledgia source argued that British emancipation of slaves and their ending the slave trade helped support industrialization - that argument is much weaker - especially since their is much historical data that suggested that money made from the slave trade helped capitalize the development of the industrialization in Great Britian.

The first steam engine was invented by ​ ​ (a)  

• Thomas Newcomen
• James Watt
• George Stephensen
• Adam Smith

Answer explanation

The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is often referred to as the Newcomen fire engine or simply as a Newcomen engine. It was historically significant as the first practical device to harness steam to produce mechanical work. Newcomen engines were used throughout Britain and Europe, principally to pump water out of mines. Hundreds were constructed throughout the 18th century.

The Newcomen engine was used for about 60 years as the primary way to remove water from coal mines until this inventor developed a new technique that would make it possible to place Steam Engines in locations without a major water source.

• James Watt

• Adam Smith

• Ben Franklin

• George Stephenson

Answer explanation

The new design was introduced commercially in 1776, with the first example sold to the Carron Company ironworks. Watt continued working to improve the engine, and in 1781 introduced a system using a sun and planet gear to turn the linear motion of the engines into rotary motion. This made it useful not only in the original pumping role, but also as a direct replacement in roles where a water wheel would have been used previously. This was a key moment in the industrial revolution, since power sources could now be located anywhere instead of, as previously, needing a suitable water source and topography. Watt's partner Matthew Boulton began developing a multitude of machines that made use of this rotary power, developing the first modern industrialized factory, the Soho Foundry, which in turn produced new steam engine designs. Watt's early engines were like the original Newcomen designs in that they used low-pressure steam, and all of the power was produced by atmospheric pressure.

According to Mr. Dennis, Why were British laws so favorable towards industry and trade in the 18th century?

• The country had a long history of textile production.

• British merchants and financiers had become increasingly powerful in the government.

• British banks supported new industrial ventures.

• All of answers here are accurate.

Nick Dennis points out some of the negative consequences of the Industrial Revolution? Which of the following are points he highlights?

• The exploitation of workers at home and abroad.

• The questionable trade arrangements that undermine colonies.

• The profits made from the trade in enslaved Africans.

• All the answers here are accurate

For how long did the British use steam power before they developed the means to use it to help transport people and goods?

• About 20 years

• About 75 years

• About 50 years

• About 120 years

Answer explanation

The first functional steam locomotive used to pull loads of coal to market was developed about 120 years after inventing the Necomen engine. This certainly stands against the arguments made by Knowledgia that British Entrepreneurialism and the inventiveness of the British people themselves was a factor in their successful industrialization. If it had been - why did it take the British so long to use steam power to transport people and goods? The Newcomen engine was invented in 1712 and it was not until 1830 that inventor George Stephenson’s new locomotive, the Rocket, began operating on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in Lancashire with other ‘iron horses’ built in the factory he had now opened in Newcastle.

Which of the following is a reason why It's helpful to use multiple sources with varying points of view to help reconstruct a historical understanding? (There may be more than one best response)

• Varying sources helps when corroborating which facts are shared by all sources.

• Varying sources helps us to clearly identify which source is lying.

• Using many sources shows you can find more than one or two sources.

• Having many sources - especially one's that share different facts and perspectives - helps us ask better questions about the topic we're researching or learning about.

Answer explanation

When we use many sources we are able to identify what facts are corroborated and also gain insight as to the varying ways sources use facts to reconstrtuct historical understandings. When sources conflict, it helps us ask more important questions for our research project.