Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) Social Science Practice Test

One significant effect of the Industrial Revolution in the late nineteenth century in the US was:

1. An increased emphasis on worker health and safety issues

2. An increased emphasis on speed rather than quality of work

3. An increased emphasis on high-quality, error-free work

4. An increase in the number of small industrial facilities

The correct answer is: An increased emphasis on speed rather than quality of work

The correct answer illustrates a critical shift that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. As industries expanded rapidly and the demand for goods surged, there was a pressing need for production efficiency. Factories began to prioritize speed to meet the market's voracious appetite, often at the expense of quality control. This led to the implementation of assembly line production techniques, which streamlined manufacturing processes but also reduced the attention to detail and craftsmanship that had characterized earlier modes of production. While worker health and safety issues became increasingly recognized later on, earlier phases of the Industrial Revolution often neglected these concerns in favor of boosting output. Although there were some movements towards producing high-quality work, the prevailing trend during the late nineteenth-century industrial expansion was to enhance production speeds. Similarly, the trend was away from small facilities toward larger factories that could produce goods at scale, reducing the relevance of small industrial operations in the context of the era's rapid industrialization.