An Age of Reform

Ch. 25.4

Laissez-Faire

• Economic policy of letting owners of industry and business set working conditions without interference.

• Free Market enterprise without government regulations.

• French phrases, meaning “Let do” or “Let people do as they please.”

Adam Smith

• The Wealth of Nations (1776)• According to Smith, economic

liberty guaranteed economic progress.

• Smith claimed that government does not need to interfere in the economy.

Capitalism

• Economic system in which money is invested in business ventures with the goal of making a profit.

Thomas Malthus

• An Essay on the Principle of Population (1778)

• Argued that population increased more than the food supply.

• Without wars and epidemics to kill of extra people, most were destined to be poor and miserable.

David Ricardo

• Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817)

• Permanent underclass would always be poor

• If there are many workers and resources, labor and resources are cheap.

• If there are few workers and scarce resources, then they are expensive.

• Ricardo believed that wages would be forced down as population increased.

Jeremy Bentham

• Introduced philosophy of Utilitarianism.

• Argued that people should judge ideas, institutions, and actions on the basis of their utility, or usefulness.

• Argued that the government should promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

John Stuart Mill

• Believed it was wrong that workers should be deprived or starved.

• Wished to help ordinary workers earn more money.

• Favored cooperative system of agriculture and women’s right to vote.

• Lessen the gap between rich and poor.

• Reforms in legal, prison system, and in education

Robert Owen

• Improved working conditions for his employees.

• In Scotland, he built houses, which he rented at low rates.

• Prohibited children under ten from working in the mills

• Provided free schooling

Utopia

• In 1824, Owen traveled to Indiana.

• He founded a cooperative community, called New Harmony

• He wanted it to be a utopia, or perfect living place

• New Harmony only lasted three years

• It inspired other communities

Socialism

• The factors of production are owned by the public and operate for the welfare of all.

• Grew out of an optimistic view of human nature, a belief in progress, and a concern for social justice.

Socialism

• Argued that the government should actively plan the economy

• Government should control factories, mines, and railroads

• Believed this would abolish poverty and promise equality

• Public ownership would help the workers

Karl Marx

• Introduced Marxism (a radical form of Socialism)

• The Communist Manifesto – 23 page pamphlet– Written by Marx and Friedrich

Engels– Engels’ father owned a textile

mill in Manchester

Marx

Engels

The Communist Manifesto

• Argued that human societies have always been divided into warring classes. – The have’s and the have nots– The bourgeoisie and the

proletariat

• The wealthy controlled production

• The poor labored under terrible working conditions

Marx and Engels

• Believed the Industrial Revolution enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor.

• Predicted the workers would overthrow their owners.

The future according to Marx

• Capitalism would self-destruct– Factories would drive out small

businesses– Workers would revolt seize

factories and mills from capitalists

– Workers would share in profits and bring economic equality for all.

– Workers would control the government in a ‘Dictatorship of the proletariat”

– A classless society would eventually develop

Communism

• Complete socialism• Production is owned by the

people– Land– Mines– Factories– Railroads– Businesses

• Private property would cease to exist

• Goods and services shared equally

Revolutions

• The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848.

• Inspired revolutions – Russia– China– Vietnam– Cuba

Capitalist Ideas

• Progress results when individuals follow their own self-interest

• Businesses follow their own self-interest when they compete with one another for the consumer’s money

• Each producer tries to provide goods and services that are better and less expensive than those of competitors

• Consumers compete with one another to purchase the best goods at the lowest prices.

• Market economy aims to produce the best products and the lowest prices

• Government should not interfere with the economy

Marxist Ideas

• All great movements in history are the result of an economic class struggle.

• The Haves take advantage of the have nots

• The Industrial Revolution intensified the class struggle

• Workers are exploited by employers

• The labor of workers creates profit for employers

• The capitalist system will eventually destroy itself.

• The state will wither away and a classless society will develop.

Unions

• Unions were created to fight for and protect workers’ rights.

• Collective bargaining – negotiations between workers and their employers. – Bargained for better working

conditions and higher pay. – If factory owners refused, union

members could strike.

Skilled Workers

• Typically led the unions because their special skills gave them extra bargaining power. – Carpenters, printers, spinners

• They were hard to replace.

Great Britain’s unions

• At first, the British government outlawed unions.

• Factory workers joined unions anyway.

• Finally, the British government unhappily tolerated them.

• There were at least 1 million people who belonged to a union.

America’s Unions

• AFL (American Federation of Labor)– Won a series of successful

strikes for higher wages and shorter hours

Factory Act of 1833

• In 1832, England investigated child labor.

• As a result, they passed the Factory Act of 1833. – Illegal to have children under 9

years old– Children ages 9-12 could not

work more than 8 hours per day– People from 13-17 could not

work more than 12 hours

Mines Act 1842

• Prevented women and children from working underground.

Ten Hours Act 1847

• Limited the workday to ten hours for women and children who worked in factories.

Child Labor Laws

• 1904, National Child Labor Committee

• Argued child labor lowered wages for all workers

• Wanted to ban child labor• The federal government

rejected law in 1919, but allowed states to create their own laws against child labor.

William Wilberforce

• Member of Parliament who led the fight for abolition – The end of the slave trade and

slavery in the British Empire– Parliament passed a bill to end

the slave trade in the British West Indies in 1807.

• Wilberforce continued his fight against slavery– Britain finally abolished slavery in

its empire in 1833.

Slavery ends

• US slavery ended in 1865 • Puerto Rico slavery ended in

1873• Cuba abolished slavery in

1886.• Brazil abolished slavery in

1888.

Women’s Rights

• Women were only paid 1/3 of a man’s salary

• Women activists around the world formed the International Council for Women in 1888.

Horace Mann

• Free public education for all children

• By 1850s, states established a public school system

• In Western Europe free schooling became available in the late 1800s

“If we do not prepare the children to become good citizens…if we do not enrich their minds with knowledge, then our republic must go down to destruction.

Prisons

• Reformers took on the challenge of prison reform, emphasizing the goal of restoring prisoners to useful lives.