A.Britain, the pioneer: why did it begin when and where it did? The book lists a number of factors—make sure you catch them all, and understand the contribution of each to industrialization
B.Variations in late industrializers: what were they, and why did they come about?
C.Technological changes and their role in industrialization: textiles: spinning jenny, waterframe; energy: Watt and the steam engine; transportation: railroads
II.Effects of the Industrial Revolution
A.The new class system: the new classes (proletariat vs. bourgeoisie), their values, their self-understandings: Malthus, Ricardo and the “iron law of wages,” Smiles and self-help
B.Work conditions, living conditions, family life. Was the proletariat exploited?
C.Labor unions: Combination Acts, Robert Owen and the GNCTU
D.Urbanization, city life, and advances in public health and living conditions
III.Responses to Industrialization
A.Politics and Government
1.Reforms in Great Britain—what were they? why no revolution?
a)The British political system: What were the parties? What role did the various classes (aristocracy/nobility, middle class, working class) play? How democratic was it?
b)Laws to regulate working conditions: Factory Act, Mines Act, Ten Hours Act
c)Political reform: the Corn Laws and the Anti-Corn-Law League, the Chartist Movement, the Reform Bill of 1832
d)The Irish Potato Famine and its effects
2.Political moderation, nationalism, and the triumph of liberalism: note the policies of Disraeli, Cavour, Bismarck
3.The Responsive NationalState:
a)New government responsibilities: what were they?
b)The “social question”—what was it, and why did it become the dominant issue?
B.Ideas
1.Socialism: Some names: Fourier, Saint-Simon, Marx, Engles, and The Communist Manifesto. What are the principles of socialism? (Note the difference between utopian and Marxian socialism) What are its roots? How does it change over time and why?
2.The Feminist movement: How successful was it?
3.Science: How did the development of science in the 19th century differ from the original Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, and what were the effects of its 19th century development? Be sure to understand the impact of Darwinism, including Social Darwinism.
