Civilizing the Machine
1-Introduction
In John F. Kasson’s “Civilizing the Machine,” Kasson enlightens his audience that cities did not create factories, factories created cities. During the dawn of the British Industrial Revolution, the Americans began to adopt their own form of this event through the creations of factories and water-powered generators which, at the beginning of the time, revolved around the New England/ Boston area. Kasson explains through his article of the various entrepreneurs who founded these first factories and the then goes on to describe the positive and negative effects this had on people of these areas. On a more broad perspective, he argues for claim that this first step towards modern day industrialization, although it accommodated to the region, changed the land significantly. Kasson also infers that the protests of this event led to the growing population of Irish.
2-Critical Summary
The article begins by summarizing the effects of the Industrial Revolution. Although it is shown with high admiration by Americans, Kasson also states, “Manchester’s contrasts both fascinated and repelled: the advanced technology and immense productivity of its factories; the unbelievably primitive, cramped, and diseased hovels; the vitality of its magnates; the feebleness and despair of their workers.”(1.5). This description and another reporter’s comment on the revolution help to summarize the basic idea that, although many ingenious and productive systems and products evolved from the Industrial Revolution, many of the citizens we subjected to horrendously poor conditions which were extremely harmful to human health. This disgusted the Americans who both admired and sought ideas from this event but were also repelled by the idea of this type of subjugation on their own citizens.
Because of this, the Americans took it upon themselves to build an improved version at the end of the War of 1812. As stated by Kasson, the American planners “shared their faith with some of the
In John F. Kasson’s “Civilizing the Machine,” Kasson enlightens his audience that cities did not create factories, factories created cities. During the dawn of the British Industrial Revolution, the Americans began to adopt their own form of this event through the creations of factories and water-powered generators which, at the beginning of the time, revolved around the New England/ Boston area. Kasson explains through his article of the various entrepreneurs who founded these first factories and the then goes on to describe the positive and negative effects this had on people of these areas. On a more broad perspective, he argues for claim that this first step towards modern day industrialization, although it accommodated to the region, changed the land significantly. Kasson also infers that the protests of this event led to the growing population of Irish.
2-Critical Summary
The article begins by summarizing the effects of the Industrial Revolution. Although it is shown with high admiration by Americans, Kasson also states, “Manchester’s contrasts both fascinated and repelled: the advanced technology and immense productivity of its factories; the unbelievably primitive, cramped, and diseased hovels; the vitality of its magnates; the feebleness and despair of their workers.”(1.5). This description and another reporter’s comment on the revolution help to summarize the basic idea that, although many ingenious and productive systems and products evolved from the Industrial Revolution, many of the citizens we subjected to horrendously poor conditions which were extremely harmful to human health. This disgusted the Americans who both admired and sought ideas from this event but were also repelled by the idea of this type of subjugation on their own citizens.
Because of this, the Americans took it upon themselves to build an improved version at the end of the War of 1812. As stated by Kasson, the American planners “shared their faith with some of the