AP EURO: LECTURE OUTLINE pp. 574-577
STANDARDS OF LIVING:
Big historical debate = how did the I.R. affect the standard of living
1. Standard of living involves wages, prices, and consumption
2. In the first half of the 19th century there was widening of the gap between rich and poor
3. Wages and prices fluctuated widely between 1780 and 1850
4. The middle class benefited the most from the early I.R.
5. Eventually…after 1850 wages and standard of living improved for the workers
EFFORTS AT CHANGE - THE WORKERS:
Workers formed labor organizations to gain
1. Better wages
2. Better working conditions
1799 and 1800 the British govt passes the Combination Acts = outlawed associations of workers
These laws failed to prevent the creation of trade unions
The new/first trade unions -
1. Formed by skilled workers in new industries - cotton, coal mining, iron work
2. Tried to limit entry of new workers into the trade
3. Gain benefits from employers
4. They had limited goals
Workers begin to use strikes to achieve their goals
1824 the Combination Acts are repealed - but laws are passed to keep an eye on and regulate trade unions
1820-1830’s union movement focuses on the creation of national unions
Robert Owen
1. Rich wealthy cotton entrepreneur
2. Social reformer
3. Believed that cooperation was better than competition
4. Helps to form the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in 1834
5. The GNCTU worked/planned strikes to demand the 8 hr workday
6. Effort failed and the GNCTU collapsed
The Luddites -
1. Skilled craftspeople in the Midlands and northern England who attacked machines to stop industrialization
2. Believed that the machines/industrialization was threatening their jobs and way of life
3. Totally failed to stop the rise of the machines
Chartism -
1. The first important political movement of working men in the 19th century
2. They wanted political democracy
3. The “people’s charter” = a national petition written in 1838 demanding
A. universal male suffrage
B. payment for members of Parliament
C. annual sessions of Parliament
4. The petition was signed by millions of people and presented to Parliament in 1839 and 1842
5. Parliament rejected the petition both times
6. After 1848 the Chartist movement faded away
7. Chartism did not threaten the British government/establishment
8. The significance of the Chartist movement was that it marked the beginning of the working class
Interest/involvement in politics
9. Created a sense of unity and working class consciousness among industrial workers
EFFORTS AT CHANGE - REFORMERS AND GOVERNMENT:
Interest in reform and improvement of conditions of the industrial factory system also came from outside of the working classes
People of conscience and reform minded people began to campaign against the evils of the factory system
1. The first step was to document and report on the problems
2. The first reforms were passed between 1802 and 1819 limiting labor for children between the ages of
9 and 16 to 12 hrs per day/and employment of children under 9 forbidden
3. New laws said children must receive instruction in reading and math during work hours/and provided a
system of inspection
4. The Factory Act of 1833 = strengthened child labor laws
5. The Ten Hours Act in 1847 = limited working hours for children to ten hrs
6. The Mines Act in 1842 = outlawed employment of small children and women in coal mines