New inventions and technologies played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. They changed the way things were powered, how goods were manufactured, how people communicated, and the way goods were transported.Factories and the machines that they housed began to produce items faster and cheaper than could be made by hand. As the supply of various items rose, their cost to the consumer declined (see supply and demand).Industrialization brought with it countless positive and negative effects. Products were cheaper, cities flourished, and more jobs were available. On the flipside, child labor and poor working conditions were two very real issues courtesy of industrialization.
