Abstract This paper discusses how Thompson's "The Making of the English WorkingClass" can be considered 'bottom up' history in its concern to rescue the working people of the IndustrialRevolution from the economic conditions of the time. It looks at how, central to Thompson's work, is the theme of the emergence of a conscious workingclass between 1780 and 1832 in the context of the proletarianization and political repression. It also examines how Thompson's work fits into Marxist thinking and how Thompson is a good example of a cultural Marxist.
From the Paper "Marx does not focus on cultural history either, but rather economic history and class relationships for this "grand, overarching evolutionary theory of human history rested upon a dialectic of economic transformation" . For Marx what we do is the basis of who we are. Marx's theory is also an example of a 'systematic theory', in that it tries to explain how all parts relate to the whole in their system. There are several main tenets of Marxist theory which I will explain now in order to establish a framework in order to evaluate E.P. Thompson's work. Marx saw society as being evolutionary in that it moved and would continue to do so through successive stages of economic development or modes of production."
Abstract This paper discusses how the IndustrialRevolution in Europe, more specifically, in Britain, was a curse for the working man. It focuses on living, working, and other poor conditions encountered by peasants. It looks at how it paid the least possible wages and how workers were required to pay for their own food and homes, how child labor was abused, and how the invention of machines led to the depersonalization of companies and families.
From the Paper "One way, in which the Industrial Revolution negatively affected the working class, was the abuse of children for labor. One instance of extreme abuse of children was in the mines. The mines preferred child workers rather than adults because children were smaller and therefore the mine's owner didn"t have to pay for constructing large tunnels and extra timbering. Cramped into dark, filthy and damp tunnels with only rags for clothes, hundreds of children actually died due to the conditions that they worked in. Children were often paid less than adults and put in other horrible conditions that some adult workers didn"t even have to face."
Abstract The paper discusses how the IndustrialRevolution changed social familial relations and the economy, introduced a workingclass and made new ideas and concepts very popular in Great Britain. The paper suggests that innovation is likely the greatest conceptual product of the IndustrialRevolution. The paper concludes that the IndustrialRevolution is best described as a period of great growth and change, which created positive ramifications many years down the road for the entire globe, but which also came at a very high cost of human suffering.
From the Paper "During the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, a period of dramatic change took place in Great Britain that is known as the Industrial Revolution. The term is thought to have been developed through comparing the rapid social and economic changes in Britain to the French Revolution, which was also a period of great change, although of a different form (Hudson 2004: 33). A variety of factors led people living in England and Wales to begin moving from their rural homes into new urban areas to seem employment in factories instead of working on the rural farms. The massive migration of people into urban areas and the rapid development of technology and infrastructure created historically unique changes in the way individuals lived their lives. The Industrial Revolution was a time period in which social familial relations changed, the economy switched from being based in agriculture to manufacturing, a working class developed and new ideas and concepts became very popular."
Abstract The aim of this paper is to outline the causes, objectives, and organization of the Luddite movement in the IndustrialRevolution, and the spate of industrial warfare that it set off throughout England. In addition, it seeks to rethink the efficacy of the movement as it affected the IndustrialRevolution by making a case - as Eric Hobsbawn has done so convincingly - for a fairer estimation of the Luddites as a force of coercion against their employers. The limited life-span of Luddism, along with its rapid and crushing defeat, has suggested that machine-breaking was a dismal failure. And in some ways, this is true. But this is only part of the story. This essay will highlight some of the tangible successes of this collective bargaining by riot and sabotage, and will also mention some of the values of the technique as they manifested themselves in contemporary workingclass conditions.
Abstract This essay discusses the main factors that led to the IndustrialRevolution in Great Britain and describes the changes in the social and economic organization of the period.
From the Paper "There were a number of factors, from technology to changing views on human nature, that led to the socioeconomic movement known as the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain during the nineteenth century. The Industrial Revolution basically defines the period when there was a change in social and economic organization resulting from the replacement of hand tools by machine and power tools. This development of large scale industrial production took place in England starting at about..."
Tags: raw materials, coal, railroads, workingclass, middle class, Europe, population, land, agriculture, politics, transportation, labor, energy
Abstract This paper details the poverty and poor working conditions in England during the Victorian Era and how these conditions had a profoundly negative impact on the health and well-being of the workingclass. The paper describes the long hours, hazardous working conditions, and low pay that sentenced the people of the workingclass to a life of inadequate food, housing, medical care, and education. The paper also points out how the Victorian Era is a disturbing example of the consequences of substandard working condition.
From the Paper "Poor working conditions had a tremendous and negative effect on the health of the working class in England in the Victorian Age. The Victorian Age (the nineteenth century) saw the rise of a large working class, where women, men, and children are spent long hours in employment in substandard conditions. Working conditions were poor, and physical mistreatment was common, as were long hours, unhealthy conditions, and poor wages. As a direct result of these poor conditions and ensuing poverty, the health of the average working class Victorian was poor. Nutrition and hygiene were poor, and disease was common, as was malnutrition."
Tags: toiling, factories, industrial, revolution, workforce, difficult, grueling, damaging, health
Abstract The paper describes the IndustrialRevolution as a particularly important period in human history with more changes in the manner in which goods were produced occurring between 1750 and 1850, than in all of human history prior to that time. The paper explains that in terms of its social impact, the main significance of the IndustrialRevolution lay in its transformation of the nature and effects of work on labourers throughout Britain and later in Europe. This essay compares and contrasts the working conditions of the pre-industrial and industrial periods. The paper presents the thesis that the IndustrialRevolution had a negative social impact upon working conditions.
From the Paper "The Industrial Revolution was a particularly important period in human history, with more changes in the manner in which goods were produced occurring between 1750 and 1850 than in all of human history prior to that time. In terms of its social impact, the main significance of the Industrial Revolution lay in its transformation of the nature and effects of work on laborers throughout Britain and later in Europe. This essay will compare and contrast the working conditions of the pre-industrial and industrial periods."
Abstract The paper looks at the onset of what would become the IndustrialRevolution and highlights the significance of the cotton-spinning jenny and the introduction of steam power. The paper explores the many ways in which the IndustrialRevolution changed English society. The paper notes that aside from economic advantages, a number of social problems and economic weaknesses resulted from these changes.
From the Paper "The Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century developed most rapidly and fully in England. England and other nations of Europe were changed greatly by the possibilities inherent in a developing industrial base and in the changes taking place in agriculture at the same time. Industrial expansion funded political and territorial expansion through imperialist efforts creating colonies in different parts of the world, and this process help disseminate many Western ideas to regions that had been very differently governed before this time. Technological innovation was difficult in many of the states where it occurred."
Tags: cotton, industry, consumerism, imperialism, class, women
Abstract This three page undergraduate papers examines the economic enslavement of women during the IndustrialRevolution. The paper suggests that women worked long hours for low wages, under conditions that can only be described as economic slavery and that many women and their families lived in poverty despite the fact that seventy-hour work weeks were common.
From the Paper "They could be fired or let go at any time, regardless of length of employment. If they were injured on the job or even killed, their families usually received little if any compensation. Employee rights for women were extremely limited, and they lacked any legal means of compelling their bosses to address their grievances."
Abstract This paper discusses how, as a result of a radical restructuring of the society on the economic, social and emotional levels, the industrialrevolution inspired the rise of romanticism in American art. By reviewing some famous works of art such as George Caleb Bingham's "Watching the Cargo", it shows how changes triggered by the industrialrevolution led to the discovery of the American landscape and the democratization of art.
From the Paper "During the late nineteenth century, apart from paintings that imitated European sophistication, the American paintings possessed a folksy quality that attempted to recapture the nostalgic past in response to its destruction by the Industrial Revolution (Lynes 40-41). Thomas Hovenden's "Breaking Home Ties" was one of the most popular pictures on display at the 1893 fair in Chicago. In this painting, a young man leaves his family and home to seek fame and fortune. In the background are five other distraught relatives living in a wooden house. The impression projected is of a traditional rural household. This painting presents one of the most enduring themes in American folklore and is depicted in American arts (Gowans 242). It is another reflection of the impact of the underlying effects of Industrial Revolution: young people are forced to leave home to seek greater fortunes as traditional occupations can no longer provide adequate income for the household (Garrett 25-27)."
Abstract The paper explores the IndustrialRevolution, referring to Richard Hooker's book on IndustrialRevolution; "Family and Social Structure." The paper explains the changes brought about by the IndustrialRevolution, notably a change to a capitalist, urban economy and the many effects of the factory system.
From the Paper "Richard Hooker argues that the Industrial Revolution was the most far-reaching influential transformation of human culture since the advent of agriculture. Hooker maintains that the Revolution impacted almost every aspect of nineteenth century society, family and economic life, including modes of consumption, together with family and social structure."
Abstract There is widespread scholarly disagreement over the process of the British IndustrialRevolution and the dating of precisely when it occurred. This essay will argue that it is difficult, if not impossible, to be precise in discussing the IndustrialRevolution because there does not exist an academic consensus over exactly what the term includes and the relative importance of each component.
Abstract This paper discusses the IndustrialRevolution as it took place in Great Britain. In particular, the paper looks at the impact the IndustrialRevolution had on a number of social aspects including fertility rates, familial relationships, social legislation, traditional occupations supplanted by the rise of mechanization, public health, and urban housing.
From the Paper "The social aspects of the Industrial Revolution are many. In the interests of brevity, the following paper will focus specifically upon the Industrial Revolution as it took place in Great Britain. In particular, the paper will look at the impact of the Industrial Revolution upon fertility rates, familial relationships, social legislation (especially as it pertained to the urban poor), traditional occupations supplanted by the rise of mechanization, public health, children forced to fend for themselves in a sometimes hostile, industrial environment, and urban housing. With this in mind, it is to a discussion of these issues that this paper now turns."
Abstract This paper reviews one of the most extraordinary events in Western history, the First IndustrialRevolution, which began in Britain in the later 18th and early 19th century. This event involved so much change that it certainly deserves the title revolution. The paper discusses how it changed the shape of the entire world, beginning in Britain and spreading outward. In effect, massive technological changes sparked equally massive socioeconomic and cultural changes. The world we live in now would be utterly different if this revolution had not occurred.
Abstract The purpose of this paper will be to discuss the social and political conditions in 18th and early 19th century England that made the IndustrialRevolution possible in this particular country. Also, an assessment will be made concerning why England was the most likely country to experience an upheaval of this kind.
