The Workplace
The Industrial Emotion: Lecture 5
Introduction
Overview of the industrial revolution and its impact on ordinary life.
Key Questions
What was life like for ordinary people on the eve of the industrial revolution?
How did the industrial revolution transform work?
How did workers react?
What were the consequences for global capitalism?
The Field Laborers
Categories of Field Laborers:
Skilled Shepherds: Experienced in managing sheep and pastoral roles.
Teenage Farmhands: Young workers assisting in agricultural tasks.
Pauper Labor: Seasonal labor mainly from women, children, or Irish migrants during harvest times.
The Artisans
Included trades such as:
Stonemasons
Carpenters
Wheelwrights
Shoemakers
Blacksmiths
Saddlers
Tailors
Weavers
Characteristics:
Owned their own tools and shops.
Maintained traditional notions of a "just price" for their labor and goods.
The Weavers
Weavers typically manufactured cloth at home, involving the following processes:
Purchase wool from the Cotswolds.
Weave the wool in their households.
Sell the final product.
Advantages:
Controlled their own time.
Operated with minimal labor discipline.
The Rights of the English
The “Glorious Revolution” of 1688:
Resulted in the enactment of a Bill of Rights which included the following rights:
Freedom from arbitrary arrest.
Trial by jury.
Equality before the law.
Limited liberty of thought, speech, and conscience.
Provided constitutional precedent for the right to riot against oppression.
Transformation of Work
Question: How did the industrial revolution change the nature of work?
The New Machinery
Significant inventions included:
Spinning Jenny: Invented in the 1760s by James Hargreaves.
Flying Shuttle: Invented in 1733 by John Kay.
Spinning Mule: Invented in 1779 by Samuel Crompton.
The Invention of Samuel Greg
Established the first cotton mill outside of Manchester in 1784.
Acquired wealth as an enslaver in the West Indies and invested approximately £3,000 to build the mill.
Recruited 90 children from local poorhouses as workers.
Achieved an impressive 18% annual profit on his investment in a few years.
The Weakest Went First
Children and orphans were the first to be employed in English mills, with a typical workday starting at 5:30 AM and ending at 8 PM.
Instances of maltreatment included physical punishment, such as being beaten by bosses or hanging irons around the neck for tardiness.
“The Dark Satanic Mills”
By the 1850s, millions were employed in cotton manufacturing with the following work conditions:
Arriving before sunrise and working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.
Initiation of the practice of “clocking in.”
Beyond the Textile Industry
The factory system endangered every skilled industry beyond textiles, affecting artisans who struggled to maintain their status against both employers and unskilled laborers.
The process of industrialization benefitted specific demographics while marginalizing others.
The Rise of Precarity
A critical observation was that “100,000 weavers doing the work of 150,000” epitomized the conditions of the industrial revolution.
Many families worked just to cover their basic needs, with stories suggesting that it took approximately twelve days of labor to afford four pounds of bread.
The Experience of Degradation
An excerpt capturing the sentiment of impoverished workers:
"You gentlemen and tradesmen, that ride about at will, look down on these poor people…"
This reflects feelings of oppression, exploitation of labor, and demands for change in the face of dire conditions.
Workers' Reactions
Question: How did workers react?
Political Awakening
The Luddites:
Group aimed at destroying technological advancements during the industrial revolution, particularly assaulting factories in 1811.
Made up primarily of skilled machine operators in the textile sector.
Associated with a mythical leader named “Ned Ludd,” although his existence was never verified.
The Owenites
Early proponents of socialism advocating for reforms such as:
An 8-hour workday.
Played a significant role in inspiring the trade union movement of the 1830s.
The Violent Struggle
The government offered protection for industrious weavers who were threatened and harmed by violent groups.
Advertisement details:
A reward of FIFTY GUINEAS was offered for information leading to the conviction of those damaging workers' tools and materials.
Under the 22nd Geo. 3, C. 40, S. 3, such acts were deemed felonies without benefit of clergy.
The Role of the State
During the British industrial revolution, the state played a significant role by:
Supporting capitalists against striking workers.
Utilizing military resources to suppress the Luddites and other uprisings, even during prominent military conflicts, such as the Napoleonic Wars.
At times, more British soldiers were deployed against industry workers than against Napoleon’s forces.
Consequences for Global Capitalism
Question: What were the consequences for global capitalism?
The Ascent of the British
From the 1700s, British cotton exports surged by 200 times, with 94% of this increase occurring between 1780 and 1800.
Analysis of British Cotton Exports
Graphical data showing cotton exports (in millions of pounds sterling) indicates a significant increase from 1700 to 1800.
The Fall of Indian Textiles
Shift in market dynamics leading to the decline of Indian textile production.
Looking Ahead: Impact of Capitalism
Topics for future exploration include:
The Gendered Division of Labor
The Frontier
Key Takeaways
In eighteenth-century England, artisans and weavers valued their independence and craft.
The industrial revolution began in Northern England with Samuel Greg’s establishment of the first cotton mill, funded by profits from slave plantations.
For many workers, the era led to worsening poverty and undermined dignity.
Workers responded by destroying machinery and forming trade unions to advocate for their rights.
The British state responded with military force, asserting its power to maintain social order during the industrial upheaval.
This period solidified Britain’s position as a leading global power.