Introduction to Chapter 4 - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1
Slide2

Introduction to Chapter 4Slide3

Chapter 4 Issue – 3 SectionsSlide4

Classical liberalism and the Industrial Revolution transformed British society

. A society based on agriculture and the landed classes

, interventionist

government, and humanitarianism became a

society based

on industry and the middle classes, laissez-faire government,

and the pursuit of industrial efficiency.Slide5

The Opposition

The entrepreneurial ruling elite that flourished under

classical liberalism

may have lived more democratically than the old

landed ruling

elite, but the new ideology of laissez-faire capitalism

was primarily concerned with industrial efficiency and the accumulation

of wealth

. These goals were considered to be more important

than equality

.Slide6

The Opposition

Factories and businesses were designed to facilitate

industrial processes

, and workers were viewed as one component of production.

Decent wages and working conditions did not lead to

increased efficiency

(or profits), and were therefore not considered.

Government had

no responsibilities in this area because it was not expected to

play a

role in the economy. Thus not all people saw the

Industrial Revolution

and classical liberalism as positive developments.Slide7

Out of the Opposition...Slide8

Grassroots Movement

Protests against the effects of classical liberalism and capitalism

were many

and varied.

Not

all of these developed into complete ideologies

, but they reflected the general discontent of the times among

various groups

of people.Slide9

Luddites

By the early 19th century, skilled textile artisans were being

replaced by

machines operated by cheap, relatively unskilled labourers.

The replaced

workers formed a protest movement. Claiming to be led by

Ned

Ludd

, who was thought to have been the first person to

have destroyed

industrial machinery in 1779, disgruntled textile

workers formed

the Army of Redressers in 1811

.

Over

a six-year period,

various Armies

of Redressers broke into factories and destroyed over 200

of the machines that would make their labour redundant and threaten their employment. The first attacks occurred in Nottingham.

The idea quickly caught on, and the movement known as

Luddism spread across the textile industrySlide10

The Luddites

The government responded by declaring machine-breaking

a capital offence (punishable

by

death) and

ordered 12 000 troops

into the areas where Luddites were active.

A

typical attack occurred

on April

20, 1812, when several thousand men attacked a mill

near Manchester

.

The

mill owner, Emanuel Burton, had known that

his purchase

of power looms would anger the weavers, so he had

hired armed

guards, and these guards killed three of the Luddites.

The Luddites

returned the following day for another attempt. Failing to break into the factory, they burned Burton’s house. When the military arrived, it killed seven men.Slide11

The Luddites

Violent confrontations continued throughout

textile-producing areas until 1817, when the government finally managed to suppress the movement through the use of force and the law. Many more Luddites were killed or captured. Those captured were either executed or transported to penal colonies.Slide12

Chartists

Chartism

was a working-class movement in Britain that focused

on

political

and social reform.

Flourishing

from 1838 to 1848,

Chartism got

its name from the People’s Charter of 1838, which outlined the

six essential

goals of the movement:

• universal suffrage for all men over 21

• equal-sized electoral districts

• voting by secret

ballot

• an end to the need for property qualifications for Parliament

• pay for Members of

Parliament

•

annual electionsSlide13

Chartism

The electoral system had been reformed in Britain in 1832,

at which

time the vote had been extended to some of the male

middle classes

but not to members of the working class.

The right to vote

was considered

the key to all kinds of improvements for the working class

, and

a variety of organizations, both moderate and radical, united

in their

support of Chartism as a way to modify what they considered

the undesirable

effects of classical liberalism.Slide14

The Chartists

The major initiative of the Chartists was presenting the Charter

to Parliament

in 1839, with 1.25 million signatures. The House

of Commons

rejected the Charter by a vote of 235 to 46. When some

of the

Chartist leaders threatened to call a general strike, they

were arrested

and imprisoned in

Newport, Wales. Slide15

The Chartists

Their supporters marched on the prison demanding the release of their leaders, at which point troops opened fire on them, killing 24 people and wounding 40. A second petition with 3 million signatures was rejected in 1842. The rejection of a third petition in 1848 ended the movement, and many of the Chartists then channelled their efforts into socialist movements.Slide16

The Chartists

The significance of the Chartists lies in their demonstration of

the discontent

that gripped Britain at the time. The

government

saw

them as an unruly mob reminiscent of the French Revolution, but most

of their

demands were eventually implemented in the Reform Acts

of 1867

and 1884.Slide17

Socialist Ideologies

The term

socialism,

when used generally, refers to any ideology

that believes

that resources should be

controlled by the public for

the benefit

of everyone in society and not by private interests for the

benefit of

private owners and investors.Slide18

Socialist Supporters

Socialist supporters value

economic equality

among citizens. This equality is

achieved

by providing

income security for all through guaranteed employment and

guaranteed living

standards.

Co-operation

is favoured over competition.

The implementation

of these beliefs is dependent on a high degree

of state

involvement in the control and direction of the economy.Slide19

The Conflict.....$$$

The great wealth produced by industrialization in

19th-century society

was recognized by many people as a wonderful achievement.

What was lacking, however, was a fair and just distribution of wealth

to all

who contributed to it, especially the workers.Slide20

Socialist Starting Point

The starting point for socialist ideologies was the reform of

the political

, social, and economic structures of 19th-century liberal society.

Socialists rejected the

lack of equality

and

humanitarianism

in

classical liberalism

and deplored the social injustices that resulted.

They were

concerned with the same ill effects that the Luddites and

Chartists were

, but unlike those movements, various forms of socialism

became effective

ideologies.Slide21

Utopian Socialists

In 1516, Sir Thomas More wrote a book called

Utopia, which

outlined

his

concept of the ideal society. The word

utopia has since been used to

refer

to any imaginary, perfect world meant to serve as a model for

real life

. In the 19th century, Utopian socialism was applied to a school

of socialist

thought that emerged in opposition to classical liberalism.Slide22

Utopian Socialism

The

Utopians

were essentially

humanitarians

who advocated an end to the appalling conditions of the average worker in the industrial capitalist

countries of the time

.

Utopian socialists were

quite practical

and did

not intend to overturn the basic political, economic,

and social

systems.Slide23

Utopian Socialism

Individuals such as

Robert Owen

in Great Britain,

Charles Fourier

and

Claude Saint-Simon in France, and Horace Greeley

in

the United

States believed that education and improved working

conditions could

peacefully

eliminate the

worst aspects of

capitalism

and lead to

an ideal socialist

society where everyone would live happily.

Saint-Simon is credited

with advocating the idea of a “

science of society,” in which the natural laws of society, just like the natural laws of the sciences, would be used to guide progress.Slide24

Robert Owen

Robert Owen (1771–1858) believed that the harshness of life

under

laissez-faire

capitalism

made

human

nature

corrupt

.

Owen

exemplified the classical liberal belief

that individuals

could realize their potential if they were free to pursue

their own interests.

He was apprenticed when he was 10.

By

the age of 19, Owen had opened his own business

.In 1800, Owen became mill manager of the Chorton Twist Company inNew Lanark, Scotland, the largest cotton-spinning business in Britain. He eventually

bought the business with several partners.Slide25

Robert Owens‘ Accomplishments

Own believed that education was key to a humane society. He established the

Institute for the Formation of

Character, a community education center similar to childcare today.

Infants were cared for while

their parents

worked, and children attended school until the age of

10.

At 10 years of age, they worked a

10- hour

day

(rather than 13),

leaving them time

to continue

their education in the evening. Adult education was

also available

.

In

addition, the Institute sponsored free medical care

, concerts

, and dancing.Slide26

Owens’ Accomplishments

Owen also improved the living conditions of the workers.

Existing houses

were renovated, and new ones were built with an eye to

comfort rather

than economy. The streets were paved and regularly cleaned

. Company

shops with reasonable prices replaced private ones

charging high

prices. The village was landscaped so that the villagers could

enjoy outdoor

activities in their leisure time. Fines were imposed

for disruptive

social behaviour such as drunkenness. Owen wanted

to improve

all aspects of the workers’ lives, including their moral character.