Unit 6-1815-1914
Industrialization begins in Britain
The Industrial Revolution indicates a fundamental change in the way goods were made for sale, from goods made by hand to goods made by machines
Reasons Industrialization Began In Britain
Agricultural Revolution: Led to an increase in the food supply
Happened in general throughout Europe but people in Great Britain spent less money on food leaving them with more expendable income left over to buy manufactured goods
Abundant Supply of Capital
Many entrepreneurs had grown wealthy on the back of the Cottage Industry
These folks had plenty of scratch to invest in a new way of manufacturing goods
Majority of the factory owners were those who had been successful in running the cottage industry and the putting out system
a pre-industrial production method where raw materials were distributed to individuals or families to produce goods in their homes, rather than in a centralized factory
Britain had a well designed central bank which could loan capital to entrepreneurs who didn´t already have them
Abundance of Entrepreneurs
Because England rejects absolutism in the last period, their parliament was able to create a favorable environment for economic innovation
The industrial Revolution in Britain was largely driven by private investors rather than the government
Favorable government policies
Many business-minded folks felt the freedom to pursue new opportunities when the time was right because parliament passed laws favorable to entrepreneurship
Due to reforms made in 1832, the House of Commons had more power in the parliament and that is the house that represented the interest of most of the folks in the folks in the working industry
Repeal of the Corn Laws: A significant act which levied steep tariffs on imported grain
With these gone, cheap grain could be imported from elsewhere leading to more people leaving the farms and looking for work in the city mainly in factories
This repeal was only the beginning of a larger movement in Parliament to enact free trade agreement, and in doing so, manufacturing became even more important because exporting manufactured goods became even cheaper
Rich in Mineral Resources
Rich in coal and iron oil
Great Britain had those two minerals in abundance beneath its soil
Due to the relative small size of the island, in addition to the amounts of New Roads and canals that were being built, coal and Iron could be transported throughout the country at great speed
Abundance of Markets
Used to sell their goods
Britain spent a long time building their empire meaning that here were ready markets allover the world to purchase their manufactured goods
Incentives for investors
Industrial revolution´s success was dependent on the new technology invented to drive it and institutions
British Royal Society of The Arts: awarded prizes for innovations in technology and Agriculture
The government also awarded prizes
There was incentives to produce new technologies
Inventions giving rise to the Industrial Revolution
Spinning Jinny: invented by James Hargraves 1764
Made the production of manufactured textile exponentially faster and cheaper
Steam Engine: invented by James Watt 1769
Used coal and steam to turn turbines which could then power machines
Both of those inventions were crucial to the rise of the factory in Britain´s Industrial economic dominance
All these reasons put together meant that Britain both began and dominated the first part of the Industrial Revolution
Great Exhibition
An internation celebration to put Britain’s dominance/greatness on display in 1851
Resembled a world fair and at the center of this exhibition was a massive structure built of Steel and glass called The Crystal Palace
Almost as large as Three City Blocks, used to put Britain´s capacity on full display for all to see
Inside palace, there were exhibits from all over British Empire which is how they got a giant tree growing indoors
Meant to show that the British had completely mastered nature wit their industrial money
The Revolution Spreads
Industrialization spread to the European continent, various factors determine how quickly it would take root
France: wanted to join industrial revolution
It wasn´t until after 1815 that industrialization moved to France, and the it was slow to adapt
Main reason was France´s relative lack of coal and iron deposits
Prior to ousting in 1815, Napolean laid foundations for French Industrialization yet due to exile, he never got to witness it
Napolean: Destruction of the Quentin Canal
A major waterway that connected Paris with the iron and coal fields of the north
Frech government sponsored railroad construction which was the key to the transportation of those minerals and transportation of manufactured goods
1830: Technology had been adapted in France and that not only established the cotton industry but also revived the French silk industry
The slower pace of industrialization in France meant that the massive social upheavals that occurred in Britain were more tempered
Southern and eastern Europe were lower to adapt to industrialization
Many of these regions lacked the mineral deposits necessary for industry
Portugal, Spain, southern Italy and Greece lacked large deposits of coal and iron
The persistence of old economic arrangements
Landed nobility and the peasants working their land which was difficult to dislodge
Elite refused to support industrialization if that meant many of th people working their land moved to the cities for manufacturing jobs
Elites controlled the government in these areas so there was no chance of state sponsored industrialization
Serfdom abolished in Russia and the Habsburg Empire, many people remained landless and poor
In these places that hadn’t industrialized, they still practiced primitive agriculture, and in a few cases, the result was massive and deadly famines
Irish potato famine 1840-50s was devastating
Potato was a stable in manor Irish households and when there was a shortage of it, millions of the Irish poor died of starvation and millions fled to the US and other places
A nation´s ability to industrialize could have serious consequences
6.3 Notes: Second Industrial Revolution and its effects
Second wave of industrialization occurs
Factory Dominance
1914: The factory system became the dominant mode of production in Europe
Krupp Family: Eastern Germany
16th century: They began manufacturing weapons and by the time of the Second Industrial Revolution, they perfected the process of making steel
1870: States from all over Europe and the world were buying weapons from crop industries which led the family to dominate the steel industry for a century
Manchester: First real industrial city nd
First industrial Partk was created which was a designated area built specifically for manufacturing
They specialize in making machines that made other machines
Manchester was a city built for industry and as a result many of its inhabitants saw their standard rise and wealth came pouring in
Second Industrial revolution Technology
Electricity revolutionized the communications industry
1840: an American inventor named Samuel Morse invented the Telegraph
1870: Telegraph wires was laid across the Atlantic connecting Britain with the US which had the effect of further linking the economies on both sides of the Atlantic
Chemical engineering led to improved materials for manufacturing
Vulcanization: a chemical process that made rubber harder and therefore, more durable
A big deal because rubber was used widely in factories to make machines turn + became an effective coating for electrical wires as well
Railroad revolutionized the transportation industry
Railroads showed up in significant ways in the first industrial revolution but by now they began to dominate the landscape
When industrialization first took route, the dominant mode of transportation for both raw materials and finished manufactured goods was by water
During 2nd industrial revolution, 1k of new miles of tracks were laid which increased commerce by linking distant parts of a country into a national economy and railroads also facilitated more people moving from the country into cities aka urbanization
The internal combustion engine grew in dominance
First revolution was powered by steam
Second industrial Revolution was increasingly powered by gasoline which is how internal combustion engines ran
This would to gas-powered tractors for farming, and Automobiles for transportation
New Industries
Due to all the new technologies, new industries developed alongside of them
Advent of the internal combustion engine created the occasion for the automobile industry and the most significant being the American Henry Ford
Although he was American, he established an automobile manufacturing site in Manchester England
Street cars: Allowed for better transportation through cities which was an industry in itself
Leisure travel industry on the rise
Advertising Industry: due to different companies producing similar goods at massive scales advertising executives had to figure out ways to make their products stand out from the rest
Last half of the 19th century, industrialization led to a significant increase in the demand for consumer goods
Consumerism
Department stores: massive stores that carried a large amount of clothing and furniture and toys and anything else a consumer might want
A person can spend hours in a department store which they did which made shopping become a leisure activity amongst middle class women at the time
Advertising was crucial to keep people shopping
Higher demand for consumer goods, the more incentives for creating even more which led to more advertising
Economic Troubles
19th century last quarter: Both the US and Western Europe experienced the Long Depression
Long Depression
One of the major causes was a scarcity of money
paper money was backed by gold which meant the government only issued the amount of paper money that represented the gold in their national coffers
Because of wars and the increasing amount of money demanded by consumers to buy manufactured goods, money became scarce
Led to bank refusing to loan money to investors wanting to build their factories which further led to increasing unemployment and a global crisis that was long and correcting itself
Response to Long Depression
Corporations
To address this issue, some corporation attempted to create monopolies in their industry
Those who could afford to do so bought up all their competitors and when they were the last corporation standing in a sector, they could set their prices at wherever they deemed appropriate
Prices were always benefitting the corporations and not consumers
Government
Address the crisis with Protective Tariffs
Tariffs is attacks on imports and when a country slaps them on imported goods, it is so the foreign goods will be more expensive increasing domestic sales
often led to a trade war in which protective tariffs were used in retaliation which was horrible for consumers
States developed the Free Trade Agreements
Pt the Kibosh on protective tariffs between those two nations and allowed them to trade without being taxed significantly
Industrialization in Prussia
Significant because the economic unification that occurred because of industrialization will later lead to the political unification of all the German states
Germany was a collection of hundreds of states, most powerful being Prussia
Because of the massive deposits of coal and iron, it took only industrialization very affectively
Built railroads and a lot of factories
Trade throughout German state suffered because of political tension between them
To rectify the situation, Prussia engineered the Zollverein agreement 1834
The effect of this Zollverein agreement was to lower barriers to trade, barriers like tariffs and customs and thus to unite the German states economically
proved to be very affective and with the lowering of barriers, the wealth of industrialization only increased
National System: engineered by an economist named Fredrich Liss
The nascent German industry needed to be protected from competition from the British across the channel
Did this by imposing tariffs on imported goods, but those tariffs would only remain in place until their manufacturing sector could compete on equal footing with Britain which they did by the 20th century
6.4: New classes arise
Development of classes
In the most industrialized states in Western and Northern Europe, industrialization led to the development of self-conscious classes because there was a very clear division of labor between who did what kind of work
Proletariat
working class- worked in factories and mines
Due to industrialization, many of them were individuals who migrated from rural areas to urban areas aka urbanization
Due to commercialization of farming, less people were need on the field and more people in the factories
Urban cities were not ready for the mass migrations occurring in terms of place to live
Tenements: Hastily constructed apartment buildings with poor ventilation and no indoor plumbing
Proletariat were crammed in these apartments
Tuberculosis: occurred due to the poor ventilation and spread rapidly
No plumbing = disposing of waste through the window
Due to awful conditions, a sense of solidarity between the working class
Consciousness of class was occurring
Middle class banded together to provide the support they were lacking
Created Mutual aid societies in which they pledged to help each other in times of need
Bourgeoise
White collar workers of the age: worked more with their intelligence rather than build things
Most lived in the cities where they worked, but some had the option to move outside the citifies to the suburbs
Also became increasingly conscious about the class difference
Less about helping each other and more about the activities they partook in
Activities
Formed philanthropic organizations to endow public works like museums, schools, nd hospitals
Gathered into social organizations like the Freemasons which by this time was a fraternal organization that middle class men could join to help each other pursue their common interests
All the information above mainly applied to Western and Northern Europe
Eastern and Southern Europe Class Development
Industrialization was slow to take place meaning that what led to class developments did not really exist
Older agricultural economies continued to be dominated by the agricultural elites
Socially speaking, in northern and western Europe, the changes between 1750-1850 were massive and disruptive, but in Southern and Eastern Europe, social structures remained largely unchanged during that century
Family Life
Bourgeoise
Nuclear Family: Parents and children only, no extended family was nurtured
Women and children did not work
Middle class Gender Roles: The men worked and the women stayed home and raised the children and this became known as the cult of domesticity
status symbol: if a man made enough money, his wife and children did not have to work like those of the lower classes
Proletariat
Every family member worked including the children
Many of the folks migrated from rural areas where they were farmers, and in farming, they needed everyone to work, even the children
This concept came with them when they migrated to urban areas
What was different about the urban arrangement of family work was that on the farm the family worked together, but in the factory setting, family members worked in different places
Wages were so low for factory workers, they needed the children to work to survive
19t century: Wages and working conditions began to improve for the working class
A result of several reforms
Reforms
England Factory Act 1833: Mandated tat a child under the age of 9 could not legally work in a factory
Children ages 9-13 could work 9 hours a week. Older=more hours you can work
Children must have at least 2 hours per day of schooling which did not work out because families falsified documents because the families needed the money
This law did have the effect of making people aware that children ought to be protected from the harsh life of the factory
England Ten Hours Act 1840: Limited a number of hours a person can work to 10 hours per day
Prior to this, there was no regulations on how long a person can work
Factory owners used to be in charge of the hours and assigned 12-14 hours a day
Factory workers did not want the hours cut
Children worked those long hours as well
A reform minded Parliament passed the Ten hours Act which restricted the total number of work hours to ten for children age 13 and banned anyone under thirteen from working at all
The act was difficult to enforce and many families broke the laws because it did not address the more fundamental issue that these families had their children working because they needed the money
Leisure Culture: Cultivated due to the decrease in working hours
Urban Parks were built for strolls and rides on the new invention: Bicycles
Vaudeville Theatres sprang up combining music and dancing in variety of act into one show
Spectator Sports: Boxing, horse racing, and rugby
Family
People began to get married for love especially in middle class and filtered down to the working class
This was because of increased finances and ideals set by Novelists
Jane Austen: made her characters marry for love and not for money
Compassionate marriage became the Ideal
6.5 Notes
Conservative Reactions
Prior to 1815 aka French Revolution: People demanded liberal reforms and when the government did not comply, the people took over, then came the reign of terror, and the defeat of Napolean
After Napolean’s defeat, the Quadruple alliance including Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia wanted to shut down the liberal French movement because it brought execution of kings and the taking down of higher powers
19th-century Conservatism: A political belief that argues that governments are most stable when they uphold traditional and established norms and cultural institutions
in other words, humans are inherently flawed and untrustworthy, therefore, they should not be given the power to govern
Argued it was better to build your society on institutions handed down and vetted like monarchy and aristocracy and religion
Congress of Vienna
Leaders met at this congress to restore Europe to its inherited structure now
Conservatives to know
Edmund Burke: argued that authority and hierarchy was part of natural order to the universe
If those are in place people will flourish
People are capable of governing themselves and believed society should be ordered under a small group of elite leaders
Joseph de Maestro: French conservatism, began as the supporter of the Revolution
Became horrified when it devolved into violence
Upset by the Revolution’s discard of religious authority and the secularizing of France
To him, the political authority must be rooted in religious and moral principles
Argued to return to monarchy after revolution
Concert of Europe
known as the congress system
A period of roughly 50 years in which Europe existed in the image of these conservative rulers and in general there was peace during that time
Conceived and driven by Austrian foreign minister Klemens Von Metternich
Age of Metternich
Believed that only powerful central governments would bring order to the various states of Europe as opposed to the common rabble that disrupted France in the French Revolution
Goals
Aimed to restore the balance of power in Europe by installing legitimate rulers on the various thrones of Europe
Legitimate=old school conservative rulers
Took pains to make sure that European states upheld the rights and prerogatives of the landed aristocracy
Argued for the need for organized religion as the bulwark of the stable states
Maintained Peace in Europe until the Revolutions of 1848 or arguably the Crimean War came along
Conservatism Smashes liberal Revolts
Big part of conservative reaction was against the liberal reforms that occurred during the French Revolution and then spread to the continent
For leaders who created this conservative piece, they used these principles as justification for rulers across Europe who wanted to crush nationalist uprisings and liberal revolts
1819: Austria enacted the Carlsbad decrees which worked to suppress liberal and nationalist movements in the German state
Carlsbad decrees: the decrees outlawed nationalist organizations, forcibly dissolved radical student organizations and removed liberal college professors from their posts
Russia: one of the most conservative states of the era
Zara claimed to rule through divine right, they made prodigious use of secret police to out dissent and use of conservative consensus to uphold serfdom which was different than slave
6.6 Notes
Age of Metternich
All Europeans fell under conservatism
1848: Revolutions across Europe will rise to challenge that conservatism
Early Revolutions
1848: Discontent erupted but there are ramblings of this discontent early in the 19th century
Greek War of Independance
1821: Greece was ruled by Ottoman in the first part of the 19th century, and the ottomans were a conservative government
For 11 years, Greek nationalists engaged in a series of rebellions in order to gain their independence
Nationalism: the desire of a group to have their own nation defined by their own language and shared cultural and historical heritage
Greeks were no match for the ottoman empire and in the beginning the ottomans were powering over the Greeks
But eventually Britain, France, and Russia allied with the Greeks and helped them with their war against the ottomans
Reasons for British, French and Russian help
saw an opportunity to weaken their shared enemy: the ottoman empire
Greece gained their independence in 1832: first ramble which foreshadowed The Storm of 1848
Decembrist Revolt
1825: Russian Tsar Nicholas 1st rose to power
Inherited the throne from Alexander the 1st who had grown increasingly conservative in his rule
Due to this change in the throne, a group of Russian officer emerged known as the Decemberists who were influenced by liberal ideals attempted a coup
However, Nicholas forced proved to be superior and the revolt was crush
In response to the rebellion, Nicholas wanted to crush descent and significantly increased his usage of the secret police
July Revolution
French Charles 10th was extremely conservative Monarch who wanted to bring France back to its pre-French revolution structure
July 1830: he stripped much of the middle class of voting rights and made efforts to censor the press
Middle class liberals and working class folks flooded the capital streets and staged an insurrection for 3 days
there was rioting and fighting in the streets
Upon realizing he was in danger, Charles fled abdicating his throne and was replaced by Louis Phillippe
Louis Philippe: restored some of what Charles took away but other than that, he was as conservative as his precoders
Revolution of 1848
Began in France
With Louis Philippe maintaining the conservative status quo, many people began demanding a more liberal government
Bread shortage which got people fired up so they took to the streets leading to the king responding with military force, killing 50 of them
In response, Parisians flooded streets and built massive barricades for protection
At the end of this, louis Philippe abdicated the throne and a provisional government restored the French Republic and enacted liberal provisions demanded by the people
However, within this provisional government, class division began to weaken
French Republic
One of the major disagreement was between the Liberals and the Socialists concerning the poor
The socialist pushed for government-sponsored workhouses which would give employment to those out of work, and as a result of their efforts, many of these were established across France
But in the next election, a majority of middle-class men were elected to the National Assembly and they shut most of the workhouses down
Resulted in uprising in the streets
while military was contending with them, the National assembly completed a new constitution which provided for a strong executive and to that office, they elected Napolean Bonaparte’s nephew
Crowned himself Emperor Napolean III
Revolution of France in 1848 was a failure
Revolution erupts into the German states
German States
Inspired by what they saw in France, revolutionaries in prussia and other German states began to demand more liberal reforms as well, including constitutional reforms and voting rights, but most of all the unification of the German states
Tensions were the highest in Prussia which was one of the strongest German states
King of Prussia: Fredrick William IV suppressed the revolution with force yet agreed to make some reforms that the liberals demanded
Delegates from German States got together in the Frankfurt Assembly and drafted a new Constitution that would unify German states
However, conservative monarchy was able to divide the delegates along class and party lines so they were unable to come to any significant decision which Frank William refused to accept
Frankfurt Constitution crushed the remaining protests and then the revolution took hold in Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was home to many different ethnic groups, all of whom, taken by a wave of nationalism, longed for the right of self-rule
Summary: Various groups revolted for different reasons
With Russia’s help, Austria was able to defeat them
Revolution of 1848
We see a widespread Rebellion against the conservative status quo
At the same time, these revolutions failed and in the states where they occurred, the response often involved an increase in conservative measure
Revolution in Russia
Experienced similar rumblings but their revolution which didn’t occur until 1905 had a different result
Tsar Alexander II: stressed that Russia’s loss in the Crimean War and realized that Russia had to transform itself
Alexander enacted some potent liberal reforms
Emancipated the serfs of Russia
Created independent courts which ensured equality before the law for all Russians
Modernized Russia’s military by increasing Russia’s industrial capacity
Alexander II gets assassinated and his successor, Alexander II was not interested in liberal reform
Alexander III
interested in Russian greatness and made gains on industrializing Russia
His finance minister, Sergey Vita: modernized Russia’s economy by enacting protective tariffs to boost domestic purchases and place the Russian currency on the gold standard
Although Russians appreciated a better economy, many of them were still living in absolute poverty under an authoritarian Czar which led to revolution of 1905
Revolution of 1905
Demanded a more liberal government and under pressure, Alexander appointed Vita to draft some reforms which were codified in the October Manifesto
October Manifesto
Universal Suffrage for men
Citizenship to all Russians
Freedom of Speech
Representative body named the Duma
Even so, the Tsar retained absolute right to veto any law and eventually rolled back some of the reforms established in the Manifesto
6.7 Notes
Liberalism
Context
Social and political disruption began occurring in Europe at the end of the 18th and into the 19th century
Part of this was due to the massive shift in power and social structures that came along with the Industrial Revolution.
Another part was because was due to the significant rupture in the status quo caused by French Revolution
Another part was caused by the suppression of nationalists revolts by states during the conservative Age of Metternich
As social and political disruption occurred, many people began embracing and creating new ideologies demanding change
Liberalism
An enlightenment idea
emphasizes the individual and their natural rights and popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty: the power to govern is in the hands of the people
Liberalism=limited government
Emphasized enlightened self interest
A person acting in the interest of society, is also acting in the interest of his or her own interests
People to associate with liberalism
British Philosopher James Bentham: conducted work prior to this period, yet his works would set the stage for liberalism in the 19th century
Developed Utilitarianism: Argued that actions should be judged based on whether they increase the happiness of those affected by the action
Departed from Christian morality which established actions as right or wrong based on scriptural sanctions
John Steward Mill: Built o Bentham’s work
Emphasized not only acting for the happiness of individuals but for society as a whole
Liberal Arguments
Liberals debated how far their principles should reach and to whom
in many places, liberalism shifted to the Elite Class who prized it because it kept government out of their business
Some liberals argued that fundamental right like the right to vote should be limited to those who owned land, because they were the ones with the real stake in society
Chartism
a movement of England demanding Universal male suffrage and full citizenship without respect to wealth, title, or property ownership
Despite their efforts, by mid 19th century, many of the reforms for which they fought would be won by other groups
Women in liberalism
Women showed up in liberal minds as being worthy of their reform
John Stewart Mill: his Book the Subjection of women which he argued that women ought to stand upon equal grounds with men
argued women should have the right to vote, hold property and work in professional careers
Flora Tristan: worked for rights of workers and laid foundation extending suffrage to women as well
Socialism
Ideology demanding that a society’s means of production should be owned by the community as a whole, not private individuals
called for redistribution of a society’s wealth
emerged out of the industrial revolution
Industrial revolution made certain people wealthy while others were extremely poor
Utopian socialism
Henri de saint Simon: argued that Society ought to be given to the workers and taken from what he called the parasites aka the aristocracy in the church who produced no value to the world
argued that if the world’s institution was in the hands of the workers and that they would organize just society where there were no longer any poor
Writings were popular and provided a template for later socialists
Called Utopian socialism because the ideas were too grand to work in reality and Simon never attempted to do it
Charles Fourier and Rober Owen: attempted to put ideas into practice by creating intentional communities
established in Scotland and its members enjoyed eight-hour work days sharing property and free education for the children
despite the relative success of the community never caught onto the rest of Europe
Scientific Socialism aka Marxism
Karl Marx: goals were common with the utopian socialism
deeply distressed at the injustice of the society where there was such a large gap between rich and poor class
believed utopian socialists failed because they didn’t understand capitalism worked
aimed to produce a socialism that developed according to the same rigor and standards that scientists use in their description of the natural world
Friedrich Engels: published these ideas in an influential book known as the Communist Manifesto
Marx and Engel’s history: obeys laws just as the physical world obeys laws of physics and argued that history moves through patterns and stages until one day it would reach its ultimate goal to them
Driving force of history is class struggle over economic wealth
Industrialization had exacerbated the division between the two classes: the bourgeoisie and proletariat and thus a new societal arrangement was necessary
Bourgeoisie: owned means of production and exploited the proletariat for their own benefit
Once the proletariat became conscious of this arrangement, they would rise up in a cataclysmic movement of Revolution and overthrow the bourgeoisie, which would mark the end of class stroke
Scientific socialism: equal rise for men and women which led to women becoming significant Marxist leaders during this time
In Germany, Clara Zetkin: led the charge against Privileges of the bourgeoisie and worked on reform on behalf of women
In Poland, Rose Luxemburg: worked to secure rights for the working class and even led a revolution which failed
Anarchism
belief that all forms of governmental authority were unnecessary and should be overthrown and replaced with a society based on voluntary cooperation
Russia
Mikhail Bakunin: Russian revolutionary who argued that secret societies ought to lead to revolutionary movements to destroy the state and replace with self-governing workplaces and communes
France
George Sorel: worked along a similar event, taught that once people rose up and destroyed the governing authorities, all property should then be transferred to labor union
Became known as syndicalism
6.8 notes
Mass produced Political Parties
In response to social woes created by industrialization, some Europeans turned to politics and political parties to create meaningful reform and make their lives more fulfilling
As European nations extended the right to vote to more and more people, political parties had to appeal to more voters’ interest to win offices
Conservative Party
only cared about the interest of the landed Elite
Liberal Party
increasingly represented the interest of the working class
as more of the working class gained a right to vote, the liberal party grew in influence and Power
19th century: people of England turned to the liberal party to enact policies for a national education system and public health benefit
Social Democratic Paty
In Germany
Built on Marxist principles of class struggle and work to improve the lives of the German working class
Marx understood that class struggle would eventually result in a violent revolution
Some Germans believed Revolution was inevitable
Some believed that class struggle could be alleviated by social reform
able to make some modest gains for working class including improved standards of living and working
Labor Unions
promote a social and economic reforms and some of them would turn into political parties themselves, especially in England
1870: Labor unions gained the right to strike and stuck in 1888
Female workers organized a strike in the match industry
1889: London Dock workers did the same
By the time WWI came, 3-4 million workers organized themselves into labor unions in England
Became one of the primary ways that workers agitated for reforms to their wages and their working conditions
General German Worker’s Association and Social Democratic Workers’ Party
merged to form a political party that worked for the rights of the working class aka Social Democratic Party
Women’s Rights
Pressed for legal, economic, and political rights as well as improved working conditions
Came about because women of this age were exceedingly involved in broader reform movements that gave them motivation to begin questioning their own roles in society
Barbara Smith Bodichon
In England: gathered a group of women together known as the Ladies of Langdon Place
Worked together to extend voting right to women and recognize women’s right to property apart from their husband
Flora Tristan: worked for women’s equal rights in France but because she was a utopian socialist, her ideas did not seem workable in the real world
therefore, her ideas remained confined to the margins of society
Building on her work the Women’s social and Political Union emerged in Britain in the early 20th century
Created by the Pankhurst family: organized rallies for women’s equality
London’s Hyde Park Rally
Most significant women suffrage rally
In response, police attacked the demonstrators and jailed them
Pankhurst continued fighting which eventually pressured Britain’s Liberal Party to add that issue to their platform
As a result, in 1918, the British Parliament passed a law enabling men over 21 to vote and women over the age of 30 to vote
Religious Reform
People seeking to reform their society based on religious principles
Sunday School Movement
Aimed to provide education for working class children and the teaching was done by women
Massive Success
Adults who brought their children to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic often ended learning with them
Led to a more literate and empowered Society
Abolitionist Movement
Sought to ban slavery
Most successful in England
Growing out of the Abolitionist work of William Wilbur by 1838 slavery was abolished across the British Empire
6.9 Notes
London in early 19th century had no indoor plumbing leading to people conducting their business and throwing it out and it was washed away into the rivers leading to government intervention
Laissez Faire to Interventionist
Preceding the industrial revolution, those in power wanted government to stay out of their business
Core idea of Liberalism: government should operate according to laissez faire policy
Mid 19th century: significant problems of overcrowding and crime created by urbanization, people began to demand liberal reform of their government
People wanted to get their government involved in solving their issues
as capitalist societies grew more complex, it was no longer desirable for many citizens that the government stay completely out of things, rather the government was now seen as the chief mover of social reform
Reforms
Public Health Reform
Edwin Chadwick of Britain sought reform for the poor
Claimed that one of the significant factors of the remaining poor was disease
Due to unsanitary living conditions, disease was very high in poor populations
Became the base of Britain’s first Public Health legislation
Britain built modern sanitary systems including sewers and clean water systems
Reforms were very popular amongst the people
British parliament continued enacting reforms due to their populatiy causing the working class to gain trust in the government
This decreases the possibility of violent class struggles
Since many of these reforms were the policies of Britain’s Liberal Party, they grew to have a majority in the Parliament by 1906
Urban Planning
Napolean III charged Georges Haussman with tearing down the old Paris and building a new one
Old Paris: overcrowded, disease was rampant in the poor sections
Over 20 years, Houseman plowed down nearly every building in Paris, widened the Boulevard significantly
Created more space and meant that the revolutionaries couldn’t build their barricades so easily
Built two massive public parks: one on the rich side of town and on the poor side of town
City installed sewers and aqueducts to help in mitigating disease
Due to his success, new Paris became a model for new ventures in Urban planning all throughout Europe
Professional Police Force
Due to overcrowding in industrial cities, it was no longer sustainable to keep order with few officers hired by locals
Mid 19th century: government began training and hiring professional police forces to keep the peace
Governments reformed their Prison Systems
Motivated by works of individuals like Elizabeth Fry in Britain, prisons were now segregated by gender and inmates were given opportunities for education
Overall, reforms were led by governments although they were inspired by public opinions, prominent individuals and charity organizations
Educational Reform
Between 1870 and 1914: Majority of European governments passed compulsory education laws to get boys and girls between age 6-12 into school
Laws were passed for three reasons
Keep public order
Increasing amount of laws were being passed that made it illegal a certain age
so now that they had all this free time, they stuck them in public school to avoid problems
Nationalism
Primary environment to increased nationalism was schools in young individuals
most states public education was seen as a way to shape a generation of children into Patriots for their state
With everyone learning the same language and history, this had the effect of creating a more integrated population
Economic Growth
In the middle of the Second Industrial Revolution, high paying jobs were becoming more technical and specialized, therefore, compulsory education prepared students to be more suited for these jobs
A good example of this reform was the development of kindergartens in Germany
Friedrich Freud: believed that young children ought to be dedicated primarily through playing
established kindergartens which provided opportunity for children to build with geometric blocks and engage in play-based activities
Revolution of 1848 in Germany: caused the government to shut down kindergartens but by then the idea spread to other European states who implemented them with some success