Industrial Revolution Flashcards
Urbanization
The movement of people from the countryside to cities. Rural to Urban. Between 1850 and 1900 the population of London increased from 2.5million to 6.5 million people.
Tenements (SA)
Multistory buildings, Tiny 1 or 2 room apartments, No running water, No sewage or sanitation system. Workers Organizations. Organized by trade. Workers reforms. Collective Bargaining.
labor unions
During the early Industrial Revolution, there were no labor unions, organizations of workers who bargained for better pay and working conditions.
Luddites
Groups of textile workers, Felt machines were costing them their jobs, Broke into factories, smashed machines, set fires.
Methodism
Religious movement influenced by the Industrial Revolution. John Wesley, Founder, Personal need for faith, Somber, moral lifestyle…improvement. Promised forgiveness of sins and a better life to come. Sunday school for workers. Helped channel workers’ anger away from revolution to form.
working conditions (factory) - (SA)
Bad air, Sick workers lost their jobs, Exhausted. No safety devices. Working in a factory system differed greatly from working on a farm. In rural villages, people worked long hours for low wages, but their work varied according to the season.
working conditions (mines)
Worse than factory conditions, Darkness, Coal Dust, Explosions.As the demand for coal and iron grew, more mines were opened. Although miners were paid more than factory workers, conditions in the mines were even harsher than in the factories.
children
Started working at 7 and 8, Sometimes as young as 5, Changed spools - small hands. Crawled under machinery… Sat in darkness, opening/closing air vents. Hauled coal carts. Children were frequently hired to work in mines because they could climb through narrow shafts. Many spent their days on all fours or carried heavy baskets of coal up flimsy ladders.
“factory acts”
In the early 1800s, Parliament passed a series of laws, called “factory acts,” to reform child labor practices.
- part 2) laissez faire
A policy allowing business to operate without government reference. “Let them alone”
Adam Smith
Scottish economist, Wealth of Nations, Free-Enterprise Capitalism, Self-Interest, Competition, Efficiency.
Free market + Capitalism: As the Industrial Revolution spread, later supporters of this free-enterprise capitalism pointed to the successes of the early Industrial Revolution, in which the government had played a limited role.
Thomas Malthus
Anglican Clergyman, Essay on the Principle of population, Population increasing faster than food supply, Poverty,famine, & misery are unavoidable. Only checks on population growth were war, disease, and famine. Families should have fewer children. Discouraged charitable handouts and vaccinations. was a laissez-faire thinker whose writings influenced economic ideas for generations.
David Ricardo
Rapid population growth leads to, Competition for jobs, Lower wages, Unemployed. Iron Law of Wages, Wages increases were futile. When wages are high families often have more children instead of raising their standard of living.Dedicated himself to economic studies after reading Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.
Utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham -British philosopher, Society should work for “the greatest happiness for the greatest number.” Laws should be judged by their usefulness.The idea that the goal of society should be “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” of its citizens. Jeremy Bentham was advocating utilitarianism… Bentham’s ideas influenced the British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill.
socialism
The belief that the means of production should be owned by society. Who represents society? The government.
utopianism
The belief that work was shared by all and property was owned in common. No difference between rich and poor. Everyone lived in cooperation with each other… Robert Owen. The wealthy Welch manufacturer. Competition caused society’s problems. Cooperation would improve life.
Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels
Karl: German philosopher, Scientific Socialism, Forced out of Prussia then left Paris and settled in London.
Friedrich: The condition of the working class in England. Collaborated with Karl Marx
communism
The Communist Manifesto. The belief that the means of production should be owned and controlled by the people. Directly. Not the Government.
proletariat : Working class Poor - “Have Nots” in society.
Bourgeoisie: Industrial Middle Class - “Have” in society.
social democracy
1860s - German socialists. Political ideology in which there is a gradual transition from capitalism to socialism. Not a sudden overthrow. Marxists - revolution was needed to end capitalism. Social Democrats - peaceful reform.
Nations that embraced Marxist Ideals:
Russia, Soviet Union, China, Cuba
