Why the Industrial Revolution began in Britain, and the machines that drove it

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to E. Card A, a list in date order, a summary in our words, written today (from the Library of Congress, the Science and Industry Museum and National Geographic): 1769, James Watt patents an improved steam engine, and Richard Arkwright is granted a patent for the machine later called the water frame (sources differ on its date: 1767, 1768 or 1769); it can be run by unskilled workers. 1782, Arkwright opens Manchester's first steam-powered spinning mill; by 1802 Manchester has more than 50 mills. 1793, the cotton gin is invented in the United States; the museum says it resulted in about a million more enslaved people forced to grow cotton there. 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens; its first goods wagon holds 136 bales of cotton. 1833, new laws ban mill work for children under nine; mill work still means very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. Card B, Reading P (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): Machines were the cause: once inventions such as the water frame and the efficient steam engine existed, the rest of the industrial change followed from them. Card C, Reading Q (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): The cotton industry grew as fast as it did because plantations in the southern United States supplied raw cotton at a huge human cost; without that supply, Manchester's mills would have stayed small. Card D, Reading R (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): Machines paid for themselves in Britain, where coal was cheap and workers' wages were high compared with other places; where wages were low, hand work stayed cheaper. Card E, two summaries in our words, written today: The Library of Congress says James Watt's 1769 patent of an improved steam engine ushered in the Industrial Revolution. The Science and Industry Museum says Arkwright's water frame, run by unskilled workers in a factory, made strong cotton yarn in huge amounts.

2. 1.

   Card E: the Library of Congress credits Watt's 1769 patent with ushering in the Industrial Revolution, and the museum stresses Arkwright's water frame. How should a historian handle that, Ari asks?

   • Conclude that one is wrong, since a single invention is enough to start a whole revolution
   • Drop both, since summaries written today cannot decide which invention mattered more
   • Pick the Library of Congress, since a national library is a more accurate source than a museum
   • Treat them as two emphases, steam power and the factory, and ask what each leaves out
3. 2.

   Readings P and Q both use Card A. A student says they cannot both be right. What is the best reply, Bo asks?

   • They can be partly right together, since machines and raw cotton could each be needed
   • They are both fully right, since Card A has facts that support machines and cotton supply
   • They cannot both be right, since each one names its own cause as the main one, and a main cause is single
   • They should be tested against Card E, since it is the one card that compares causes
4. 3.

   Reading R says machines paid for themselves where coal was cheap and wages were high. Which fact on Card A fits R best, Jun asks?

   • Unskilled workers could run the machines, which cut the labor cost of each unit of yarn
   • The Liverpool and Manchester Railway's first goods wagon held 136 bales of cotton in 1830
   • Watt and Arkwright each received a patent in 1769, showing that many machines were being invented
   • The cotton gin of 1793 led to about a million more enslaved people growing cotton in the United States
5. 4.

   A student says P, Q and R each use facts from Card A, so all three are right. What is the best reply, Kira asks?

   • They cannot be compared, since each names a different cause and the card ranks no cause
   • The reading using the earliest fact is right, since earlier causes outrank later causes in importance
   • The three are equally right, since each fact on Card A is true and each reading uses some of them
   • Each can use true facts, but each ranks causes differently, so the three still compete
6. 5.

   Which evidence would best test Reading Q, that without raw cotton supply the mills would have stayed small, Luz asks?

   • A count of mills in 1802, since more mills would show that cotton supply drove their growth
   • Another summary that agrees with the museum, since agreement shows the reading is true
   • Records of how much raw cotton mills used, and whether other sources could have replaced it
   • The name of the cotton gin's inventor, since knowing who built it explains the supply it created

7. Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, a list in date order, a summary in our words, written today (from the Library of Congress, the Science and Industry Museum and National Geographic): 1769, James Watt patents an improved steam engine, and Richard Arkwright is granted a patent for the machine later called the water frame (sources differ on its date: 1767, 1768 or 1769); it can be run by unskilled workers. 1782, Arkwright opens Manchester's first steam-powered spinning mill; by 1802 Manchester has more than 50 mills. 1793, the cotton gin is invented in the United States; the museum says it resulted in about a million more enslaved people forced to grow cotton there. 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens; its first goods wagon holds 136 bales of cotton. 1833, new laws ban mill work for children under nine; mill work still means very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. Card B, a summary in our words, written today (from the Science and Industry Museum): Enslaved people forced to grow cotton on plantations in the southern United States met Manchester's demand for raw cotton. The museum says the cotton gin of 1793 resulted in about a million more enslaved people being forced to grow cotton in the United States. East India Company ships had brought Indian cottons, and in West Africa British traders exchanged cloth for captured people. Card C, a summary in our words, written today (from the Science and Industry Museum and UK Parliament): Mill work meant very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. In 1833 new laws banned mill work for children under nine. Card D, Reading R (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): Machines paid for themselves in Britain, where coal was cheap and workers' wages were high compared with other places; where wages were low, hand work stayed cheaper.

8. 6.

   A student claims: "Britain's cotton industry would not have grown without enslaved labor in the United States." What do Cards A to D allow, Milo asks?

   • The claim is proved, since Card B says enslaved people met Manchester's demand for raw cotton
   • The claim is false, since Card D says high wages in Britain favored machines over hand work
   • Reliance is shown; what would have happened without it is not tested
   • The claim cannot be tested, since Card B is a summary written today and cannot support claims about the past
9. 7.

   A student claims: "The railway of 1830 started the cotton industry." Which card tests that claim, Noah asks?

   • Card B, since it shows the cotton supply began when railways could move it
   • Card A: a steam mill in 1782 and over 50 mills by 1802, decades before 1830
   • Card D, since high wages in Britain would have delayed machines until railways cut costs
   • Card C, which mentions mill work in 1833 and so shows mills were still new in the 1830s
10. 8.

    Which limit applies to every claim made from Cards A to D about why Britain's cotton industry grew, Ren asks?

    • The cards agree on each cause, so no claim made from them can be uncertain
    • The cards cover too few years, since 1769 to 1833 is a short span for a change this large
    • Decision records are missing: the cards are summaries and one invented reading
    • The cards are summaries written today, so no fact in them can be used for claims about the past

11. Use this

    Cards A to E. Card A, a list in date order, a summary in our words, written today (from the Library of Congress, the Science and Industry Museum and National Geographic): 1769, James Watt patents an improved steam engine, and Richard Arkwright is granted a patent for the machine later called the water frame (sources differ on its date: 1767, 1768 or 1769); it can be run by unskilled workers. 1782, Arkwright opens Manchester's first steam-powered spinning mill; by 1802 Manchester has more than 50 mills. 1793, the cotton gin is invented in the United States; the museum says it resulted in about a million more enslaved people forced to grow cotton there. 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens; its first goods wagon holds 136 bales of cotton. 1833, new laws ban mill work for children under nine; mill work still means very early mornings, long hours and repetitive tasks. Card B, Reading P (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): Machines were the cause: once inventions such as the water frame and the efficient steam engine existed, the rest of the industrial change followed from them. Card C, Reading Q (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): The cotton industry grew as fast as it did because plantations in the southern United States supplied raw cotton at a huge human cost; without that supply, Manchester's mills would have stayed small. Card D, Reading R (invented for this sheet, not a historian's words): Machines paid for themselves in Britain, where coal was cheap and workers' wages were high compared with other places; where wages were low, hand work stayed cheaper. Card E, two summaries in our words, written today: The Library of Congress says James Watt's 1769 patent of an improved steam engine ushered in the Industrial Revolution. The Science and Industry Museum says Arkwright's water frame, run by unskilled workers in a factory, made strong cotton yarn in huge amounts.

12. 9.

    Card A gives dates from 1769 to 1833. What is a fair statement about continuity and change, Tala asks?

    • Child work ended in 1833, since a law banned mill work for children under nine
    • Everything changed in 1769, since the water frame and Watt's engine were both patented that year
    • Nothing changed for workers, since the card says hours stayed long and long hours mean the work was the same
    • Machines and power changed in stages, while long hours of work continued into the 1830s
13. 10.

    Card E and Reading R disagree about what started the Industrial Revolution. What kind of evidence could settle it, Zee asks?

    • Cost records for machines in Britain and in places with lower wages
    • A count of mills, since more mills means that the cause behind them was bigger
    • Another list of dates, since dates show which cause came first and so which mattered
    • A modern summary that agrees with one of them, since agreement among summaries is proof