Consumerism In The Nineteenth Century

The nineteenth century is marked with many advances, particularly in the realm of industrial growth. Great Britain was the first country to begin its industrialization process in the late eighteenth century where it has since grown steadily with the gradual introduction of new technologies. This industrial growth led to social and demographic changes that started to rapidly increase during the Second Industrial Revolution during the later years of the nineteenth century. With the large increase in the demand for workers in the factories, along with middle-class business owners, the sizes of cities grew and with them came the demand for necessities to survive. The aspect that this paper will note is the reasoning behind the increase of consumerism and product demand. Previously, imports and many manufactured goods were reserved for the wealthy classes because of the limited resources and lack of sufficient technologies that were available. However, with the introduction of improved transportation and machinery, it made more foreign goods available to a larger audience due to the resulting deflation of
Advances in science and overall improved health led to less infant deaths which prompted more families to hold off on new births. In many urban homes, both amongst the working and middle-classes, there was a decrease in this statistic because by having fewer children to support, a family could have a better standard of living. In England and Wales the average number of children per marriage dropped from 6.16 in 1861 to 3.30 by 1900, almost in half. Another factor was the Education Acts of 1870 and 1880 that made primary schooling compulsory for English youth. A good education was not cheap and therefore by having to send fewer children to school, and was a focus in many households because a good education related to being a more skilled worker, which in turn would lead to better