"The Making of the English Working Class"

Paper Summary:

"The Making of the English Working Class", by the 20th century British Marxist historian E.P. Thompson, attempts to chronicle the political, social and economic effects of the industrial revolution in modern English society. This paper presents a review and critique of this book and concludes that studying this book provides readers with a new perspective on the era.

From the Paper:

"Far from interpreting the actions of the members of Parliament, such as the Honorable PM Pitt as noble, he sees such half-measures as reflective of their desire to acquire social and political capital through their positions, and to render the lower classes subject classes to their emerging power in England. (Thompson, p. 197) Far from a bloodless transition from one form of economic society to another, the history of England, he writes, is a history of social civil wars. During this transition English society could emerge into a place embodied either by the Jacobites of France or the English middle class."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Thompson, E.P. The Making of the English Working Class. New York: Vintage, 1963.

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• Cause and Effect Essay # 75258 : " German and English Reformation of the 16th Century"

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