The Industrial Revolution also led to an unprecedented rise in the rate of population growth. The textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain, and many of the technological innovations were of British origin.

The Industrial Revolution transformed economies that had been based on agriculture and handicrafts into economies based on large-scale industry, mechanized manufacturing, and the factory system. New machines, new power sources, and new ways of organizing work made existing industries more productive and efficient.

The unprecedented levels of production in domestic manufacturing and commercial agriculture during this period greatly strengthened the American economy and reduced dependence on imports. The Industrial Revolution resulted in greater wealth and a larger population in Europe as well as in the United States.

The Industrial Revolution was a time of few government regulations on working conditions and hours. Children often had to work under very dangerous conditions. They lost limbs or fingers working on high powered machinery with little training. They worked in mines with bad ventilation and developed lung diseases.

Children had to work in very dangerous conditions, performing jobs that took advantage of their small size. As a result, some developed lung diseases such as pneumonia and bronchitis in mills with poor ventilation, while others developed back problems, and some even became paralyzed, when working in coal mines.

Marx wrote that the industrial capitalists and others using private property to make profits made up the oppressive class of his time. Marx called this class the bourgeoisie, which used its wealth and control over government to exploit the industrial working class. Marx named this class the proletariat.