The Early Industrial Revolution and European Society,1800-1850APEURO – Lecture 5E

Mrs. Kray

Some slides taken from Susan Pojer

Capital and Labor in the Early Industrial Revolution

The Factory SystemAs the factory system spread,

the putting out system disappeared

Early factories exposed workers to: Rigid schedule 12-14 hr/day Strict rules punished tardiness &

fraternization Dangerous conditions. Mind-numbing monotony.

Factories had no safety requirements and workers had little job security

The Use of Women and Child Labor

The demand for cheap labor led to widespread employment of women and young children especially

because cottage workers refused to work in the factories

Child “hurriers”

Factory Wages in Lancashire, 1830

Age of Worker Male Wages Female Wages

under 11 2s 3d. 2s. 4d.

11 - 16 4s. 1d. 4s. 3d.

17 - 21 10s. 2d. 7s. 3d.

22 - 26 17s. 2d. 8s. 5d.

27 - 31 20s. 4d. 8s. 7d.

32 - 36 22s. 8d. 8s. 9d.

37 - 41 21s. 7d. 9s. 8d.

42 - 46 20s. 3d. 9s. 3d.

47 - 51 16s. 7d. 8s. 10d.

52 - 56 16s. 4d. 8s. 4d.

57 - 61 13s. 6d. 6s. 4d.

Conditions of Work: Were Workers Exploited?

Working in the factory meant more discipline and less personal freedom Urban factories attracted whole families, as did coal mining, and tended to

preserve kinship ties Ultimately, however, the IR turned the family from a unit of production to one of

consumption

Parliament acted to limit child labor 1802: banned use of pauper children Factory Act of 1833 – limited child labor and the number of hours children could

work in textile factories Required factory owners to establish elementary schools for the children of their

employees

1792-1820: little improvement in real wages for workers Evidence that living conditions actually decline during this period After 1840 wages there’s substantial improvement in real wages

Diet probably improved along with the supply of clothing but housing did not

Middle-Class Prosperity: Industrialization created new social

classes

The bourgeoisie (middle class) enjoyed unprecedented prosperity, political power, and leisure time The haute bourgeoisie included wealthy

bankers, merchants, and industrialists The petite bourgeoisie included

shopkeepers, skilled artisans, professional men, and the clergy

Although few in number, they set a social tone of frugality, respectability, and hard work exemplifying the ideal of social mobility through self-help.

The Proletariat Unskilled working class

Their growth paralleled that of the bourgeoisie

Owned no capital or personal property

Forced to sell their labor at a disadvantage b/c the supply of workers continued

to grow and employers freely dismissed those deemed unproductive or troublesome

Remained a relatively small segment of the population in Europe until after 1850

0

Exercised little political influence

“Upstairs”/”Downstairs” Life

“Separate Spheres”The Sexual Division of Labor

The man emerged as the family’s primary wage earner Married women were much less likely to work outside the house after the first

child arrived – particularly among bourgeoisie Women that did work were confined to low-paying, dead-end jobs

Historical debate over the causes of this division Deeply ingrained “patriarchal tradition” which grew out of preindustrial craft

unions Factory discipline conflicted with strong incentives on the part of mothers to

concentrate on child care This theory centers on the claim that women saw division of labor as the best

strategy for family survival in an industrialized society Effort to control the sexuality of working-class youth

The Growth of Cities

UrbanizationFactory system transformed many

small towns into crowded cities

Between 1800 and 1850, the number of European cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants rose from 22 to 47 Manchester – population surged from

45,000 in 1760 to 300,000 by 1850.

Cities found their infrastructure could not keep pace with the rapid growth Workers lived in crowded slums that

lacked sanitation Entire families lived in a single dark

room

Industrial Staffordshire

Worker Housing in Manchester

Early 19th Century London

Worker Housing in Newcastle

TODAY!!!

The Problems of PollutionCramped housing and

diseases, such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid, reduced life expectancy by half compared with rural areas.

Air and water pollution rendered even breathing and drinking dangerous activities.

The Silent Highwayman -

1858

The Capitalist System:Supporters and Critics

Adam Smith, 1723-1790The Father of Laissez-Faire Capitalism

Wrote The Wealth of Nations, 1776 Insisted that supply and demand would act as

an “invisible hand” so that selfish individual acts would ultimately benefit the whole society Forces of self-interest and competition

Favored free trade Division of labor yielded greater efficiency

Became the basis for classical British economic theory This theory opposed government regulations

that interfered with the competitive free market Believed government policies should be limited

to enforcing contracts, protecting private property, and ensuring national defense

Thomas Malthus, 1766-1834 Essay on Human Population, 1798

Argued human population grows geometrically while food supply expands arithmetically

Insisted that human population growth would inevitably outpace the food supply thus making famine and misery inevitable

David Ricardo, 1772-1823

Influenced by Malthus’ pessimism

“Iron Law of Wages” Labor is a commodity whose price is

determined by the law of supply and demand Argued if you increases wages then workers

just have more children. More children creates a large labor surplus that

depresses wages. Argued in the long run humanity could not

produce a higher standard of living

Left no room for a better future for working class families Provided strong support for opposing labor

unions and refusing the raise wages

Early Critics of CapitalismRomantic poets William Blake and

William Wordsworth protested the life of the workers and the pollution of the land and water

Friedrich Engels The Condition of the Working Class in England, 1844 Written during his 2 yr. stay in Manchester Argued that the industrial revolution made

workers worse off He shows, for example, that in large industrial

cities mortality from disease, as well as death-rates for workers were higher than in the countryside

Blistering attack on the middle class

Early Critics of Capitalism:The Luddites, 1811-1816

Named after Ned Ludd Mythical figure who lived in

Sherwood Forest

Rejected mechanized labor Broke into textile factories and

smashed machinery

Parliament quickly passed a law making the destruction of machines a capital offense

Rejecting Laissez-FaireArguments in support of laissez-

faire policies Every economic system has bad side

effects Tampering with the free market would

only create more suffering in the long run

Reformers feared in nothing was done to fix the horrid working and living conditions moral breakdown or revolution could occur.

Jeremy Bentham, 1748-1832Developed philosophy of UtilitarianismThe goal of society is the

greatest good for the greatest number.

There is a role for government intervention in the economy -- provide some social safety net.

The Peterloo Massacre, Aug. 1819

St. Peter’s Field, Manchester, England

Pressure generated by poor economic conditions, coupled with the lack of suffrage in northern England, had enhanced the appeal of political radicalism. Manchester Patriotic Union, a group agitating for parliamentary reform,

organized a demonstration to be addressed by a well-known radical orator, Henry Hunt.

Shortly after the meeting began, local magistrates called on the military authorities to arrest Hunt disperse the crowd.

The Cavalry charged into the crowd of 60,000-80,000 with sabers drawn Killed 15 and wounded 400-700

One of the defining moments of its age Created a national outrage But its immediate impact was a government crackdown (the Six Acts)

The Peterloo Massacre

“Let us die like men, and not be sold as slaves!”

The British Government Responds 1832: Abolished of slavery in the colonies to

raise wages in Britain

Reform Bill [1832] – broadens the vote for the cities.

Sadler Commission to look child labor in mines and factories Led to Factory Act of 1833 – factory inspections,

limitation on hours, 2 hrs of education per day for children

1834: New Poor Law significantly modified the existing system of poor

relief from one which was administered haphazardly at a local parish level to a highly centralized system which encouraged the large scale development of workhouses

The Early Labor Movement

It became clear that as individuals, workers could do little to blunt the capitalist system. To exert collective power, laborers formed unions

Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800

Working-class solidarity and class consciousness developed – particularly in Northern England

Employers felt unions were a form of restriction on industrial growth and fought them

Combination Acts outlawed unions and strikes Workers continued to organize and strike

Under pressure from labor and middle-class reformers, Parliament repealed the Combination Acts in 1824

Grand National Consolidated Trade Union (GNCTU)

Robert Owen and others attempted to create a national union of workers

Tried organize all industrial workers for strikes and labor agitation

Hindered by Combination ActsRobert Owen,

1771-1858

“New Model Unions”:The Craft Unions

Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level Example: Amalgamated Society of

Engineers Usually skilled workers

After 1851, craft unions won benefits for their members Better working conditions, higher

pay

The Chartists Movement A workers political movement that sought

universal male suffrage, shorter work hours, and cheap bread

The People’s Charter, 1838 Drafted by William Lovett. Radical campaign for Parliamentary reform

of the inequalities created by the Reform Bill of 1832. Votes for all men. Equal electoral districts (rotten boroughs) . Abolition of the requirement that Members of

Parliament [MPs] be property owners. Payment for Members of Parliament. Annual general elections. The secret ballot. A physical force—

Chartists arming for the fight.

British Reform BillsBritish Reform Bills

Edwin Chadwick, 1800-1890

Edwin Chadwick, 1800-1890 The Sanitary Condition of the Laboring

Population, 1842

Highlighted the need for improved sewage and sanitary conditions in cities

Public Health Act of 1848 Sanitation systems and public health

boards for inspections

The Chartists

The Chartists

Key

        Chartistsettlements

         Centres of Chartism

      Area of plug riots, 1842

The ChartistsThe Chartists

A female Chartist

The Utilitarians:Jeremy Bentham & John

Stuart Mill

The Utilitarians:Jeremy Bentham & John

Stuart Mill× The goal of society is the greatest good for the greatest number.

× There is a role to play for government intervention to provide some social safetynet.

Jeremy BenthamJeremy Bentham

The Socialists: Utopians & Marxists The Socialists: Utopians & Marxists

× People as a society would operate and own themeans of production, not individuals.

× Their goal was a society that benefited everyone, not just a rich, well-connected few.

× Tried to build perfect communities [utopias].