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The Industrial Revolution
Caused by….
• Advancements in agriculture led to more food production, and thus a greater population
• Enclosure of common fields displaced farmers who moved to the cities to look for work
In the beginning…
• The revolution began in Great Britain in the 1780’s
• Changes in the textile industry and transportation lead to an end to Cottage Industry
• Why would these radical changes begin in Britain?
James Watt changes the world!
• Invents the steam engine circa 1774
• Running water no longer necessary to build a factory
• Leads to increased urbanization
Man and Nature
• More people are city dwellers
• Nature seen as something to conquer
• Urban problems of poverty, housing shortages, squalor, sanitation, clean water, and many more, increase
New Social Classes
• Industrial working class created (proletariat)
• Had to work 12-16 hour days, 6 days a week, with a ½ hour off for meals
• Taught to respond to the work whistle, not the ebb and flow of nature
Woes of the Proletariat
• No minimum wage• No job security• No compensation
for injury• No sick days• At odds with the
idea of Natural Rights and that laissez-faire improves society
The Government Intervenes
• When the Napoleonic Wars ended, large land owners feared renewed competition from Europe would decrease the price of their crops
• Parliament passed the Corn Laws, a tariff on imported grain, in 1815
The Impact of the Corn Laws
• As the price of grain products increased, people used all their money on food
• Without extra income, industry went into a recession and workers were laid off
The People Respond
• On August 16, 1819, 60,000 peaceful protesters met at St. Peter’s Field in Manchester
• A charging Calvary cleared the field in 10 minutes, killing 10 and wounding 400
• Peterloo Massacre
Do Hungry Citizens Matter?
• While the government hailed the actions at St. Peter’s as a victory for law and order, hungry citizens did make them nervous
• Workers continued their protests• Divisions within the ruling class
became more pronounced• Tory=Conservatives=House of Lords• Whig=Liberal=House of Commons
Reform Act of 1832
• The Commons won an “Enlightened” victory: redistricting, suffrage expanded to middle class, slavery outlawed, and child labor ends
Let’s Make More Reforms
• 1834—Poor Laws made creating work houses and separating families
• Chartest Movement—attempt to give all men over 21 the vote and a secret ballot
• Calls for general strikes and some riots
• 1846—A scared Parliament repeals the Corn Laws
A Second Revolution
• Industry was revolutionized again in the 1870’s
• Inventions include steel, electricity, petroleum and advances in chemistry
Woes of the Proletariat grow
• Factories can now run 24-hours a day
• Every advancement in industry often leads to a cut in the work force
• 1867—Second Reform Bill provides education, sanitation and doubles suffrage
England’s Era of Reform
• 1871—Trade Union Act gives workers the right to strike
• 1884—Third Reform Bill expands suffrage again
• 1918—Universal male suffrage
• Why does England escape revolution?