HIST363 Study Guide

Unit 5: The Social and Political Impact of Industrialization

5a. Describe how the growth of industry led to increased urbanization in Europe

  • John Merriman discusses how European cities differ from American cities in the way that social classes inhabit those cities. What does he say about this?
  • How did industrialization change the way European cities were structured?
  • How did industrialization and urbanization go hand-in-hand in 19th-century Europe?
  • What role did the labor of women and children play in the Industrial Revolution?

Industrialization in Europe helped intensify the urbanization of European society, as more factories and industrial production moved from the countryside and city periphery into the urban centers. Factory owners preferred this centralization since it promoted social control of the working classes, who may have had more independence if they had lived further from their workplace.
 
During this time, successful working-class entrepreneurs and small businessmen emerged as an expanding urban middle class. These individuals were not part of the traditional aristocracy or the peasant or working classes but created their new middle-class culture.
 
Industrialization also meant many families had to supplement their meager wages by employing women and children. Women were still responsible for running the household: those employed outside the home primarily worked as domestic servants, but some worked in factories, especially if they were unmarried. In addition, children were often needed to supplement the family income as factory workers.
 
To review, see Urbanization and Its Challenges, The Transformation of Cities and the Urban Experience, and 19th-Century Cities.

 

5b. Explore the impact of child labor on the larger society

  • What is child labor?
  • Why was child labor used?
  • How were children employed outside the home?
  • What were some of the political responses to child labor, and why were they made at that time?

At the time of the Industrial Revolution, it was not unusual for children to work outside the home. For example, children would often be apprenticed to artisans to learn a trade – especially in rural areas. With the rise of the factory system, however, some families sent children to work in factories out of necessity to help make ends meet.
 
Some children began working long hours in similar conditions to adults. The harm to them was obvious: many children died or were badly injured or sickened by working in factories. Harming children by exploiting their labor began to be viewed as a significant social problem. In response, governments enacted legislation to protect child laborers. Initially, the legislation limited things such as the length of a child's workday or the ages when children could work. Eventually, child labor laws became much more protective.
 
To review, see The Children That Lived Through the Industrial Revolution, Child Labor during the British Industrial Revolution, and Child Labor.

 

5c. Dissect the evolving role of women in the industrial workforce

  • What were typical roles for working-class women as the Industrial Revolution began, and how did they change over time?
  • What was the significance of the emergence of women's working roles, such as nurses and typewriters, and how did those roles come about?

Toward the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, working-class women labored outside the home as fieldhands, coal miners, and factory workers. They were usually paid significantly less than men, although they did much of the same work. However, with the rise of the middle class, opportunities for women employed outside the home began to change – especially in and around new urbanizing centers. For example, women (particularly married ones) became domestic servants. As technology changed and middle-class women were not always able to find husbands – or be entirely supported by their families – new roles emerged that became acceptable work for women, such as nursing and typewriting.
 
To review, see:

 

5d. Examine the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the political ideologies of the middle and working classes

  • What characteristics distinguished the Victorian middle class from the working class and aristocracy in England?
  • What socioeconomic values did the expanding English middle class hold in the 19th century?
  • How did the passage of the Reform Acts expand political participation and enfranchisement of the English middle class during the 19th century?
  • Describe some of the ideas of the Utopian Socialists. In what way were they a reaction to the industrialization of European society in the 19th century?
  • Define Chartism. What reforms did the Chartists seek to enact? Why did Chartism decline?

Industrialization in England created a new and expanding middle class that developed a unique social identity based on the concept of merit rather than privilege and inheritance. Many began to encourage a new belief in personal and social progress. The emerging middle-class valued principles of competition, thrift, prudence, self-reliance, and personal achievement. They also emphasized personal responsibility, freedom of action, and individual self-reliance as avenues to success. These values were distinct from the social norms of the aristocracy, which were based on privilege, hierarchy, and social class status.
 
In the early 1800s, utopian socialists were a group of philosophers who envisioned creating a futuristic utopian society built on principles of community, socialism, and classlessness. For example, Robert Owen (1771–1858), a wealthy Welsh textile manufacturer, championed the working class, led the development of cooperatives, and supported trade unions, child labor laws, and free co-educational schools. Charles Fourier (1772–1837), a French utopian socialist, advocated for a society based on natural passions to foster social harmony. He supported the emancipation of women and coined the word féminisme in 1837.
 
The Reform Act of 1832 gave English middle-class men the right to vote but disenfranchised members of the working class. Chartism was the English political movement from 1836–1848 that advocated for the rights of the working class. The Second Reform Act of 1867, the 1884 bill, and the 1885 Redistribution Act expanded the right to vote to even more men so that voting became a right rather than the property of the privileged. English women did not obtain the right to vote until 1918.
 
To review, see:

 

5e. Compare primary source documents to explain the ideals and goals of the Revolutions of 1848

  • What were the Revolutions of 1848?
  • Using primary source documents, discuss the ideals, goals, and achievements of the Revolutions of 1848. What did the revolutionaries hope to achieve? Why did they fail?

It is hard to define one particular reason for the Revolutions of 1848 because the outbreak of rebellion was different in each country, and motivations were unique to each. The revolts primarily resulted from a food crisis and famine that began in 1846, coupled with various political aspirations. While some members of the working class participated, the bourgeois or middle classes led rebellions to protest the privileges of the monarchy.
 
The leaders aimed to create republican or constitutional governments with universal male suffrage and limited government. Many of the revolts were liberal rebellions against monarchical governments, which the Congress of Vienna and Klemens von Metternich (1773–1859), the Austrian diplomat, had reimposed after the defeat of Napoleon. Nationalism played a major role, particularly by the German and Italian liberals who sought German and Italian unification.
 
To review, see Documents of the Revolution of 1848 in France.
 

5f. Discuss the causes, spread, and events of the Revolutions of 1848

  • While a single cause or event did not trigger the Revolutions of 1848, the countries where they occurred did share some similarities. What were the motivations for revolution in France, the area that is now Germany, Italy, and the Austrian Empire?
  • What was the Congress of Vienna? What role did economic issues, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution play in the Revolutions of 1848?

The Revolutions of 1848 were a complex series of events unique to each European country that experienced them. At their core, the protesters were inspired by the political ideals of the French Revolution. They protested various issues, such as the price of grain, economic hardship, and harsh working conditions, and petitioned for the right to vote.
 
These revolutionaries opposed the repressive conservatism that pervaded France after the final defeat of Napoleon and the terms of the Congress of Vienna. Their leaders also protested the industrialization of labor and were influenced by the rise of various socialist movements. However, many participants – the working class and newly developed bourgeoisie – had different goals, and they rarely united in their opposition to conservatism and monarchism. Consequently, the revolutions failed.
 
To review, see:

 

5g. Explain why the effects of the Revolutions of 1848 were felt significantly less in Britain

  • Why were there no revolutions in England (and Russia) during this period when other countries were experiencing them?
  • What was the Reform Act of 1832, and what did it do?
  • What was Chartism?
  • What are trade unions, and what role did they serve in Britain during the Revolutions of 1848?

England avoided revolution largely due to a greater sense of political legitimacy among the public. The Reform Act of 1832 had given middle-class men the right to vote. The Chartist movement provided a way for ordinary people to petition their grievances, and trade unions were formed to protect the health and welfare of the working classes. Meanwhile, the Russian monarchy and state could suppress the peasant and working classes who tried to organize against them.
 
To review, see:

 

Unit 5 Vocabulary

Be sure you understand these terms as you study for the final exam. Try to think of the reason why each term is included.

  • Charles Fourier
  • Chartism
  • child labor
  • Congress of Vienna
  • conservatism
  • constitutional government
  • cooperative
  • French Revolution
  • Klemens von Metternich
  • nationalism
  • Revolutions of 1848
  • Robert Owen
  • social control
  • suffrage
  • trade union
  • unification
  • utopian socialists
  • work for women