19th Century Labor and Industry

• 19th-century cities were unplanned, unregulated, and overcrowded centers of industry with poor living conditions.

Industrial Revolution Labor

• The laboring classes faced poor working conditions, low wages, child labor, and unsanitary housing.
• Urban factory workers faced long hours, rigid schedules, and poor conditions.
• Village dwellers experienced a more flexible agricultural lifestyle
• Factory working conditions included dangerous machinery, long hours, and widespread child labor.
• The Ten Hours Act in 1847 limited working hours for women and children to ten hours per day.
• The New Poor Law Act established workhouses where the poor received basic needs in exchange for labor, often under harsh conditions.

Sabotage & Artisans

• General Ned Ludd was the mythical leader of the Luddites, who opposed industrialization by destroying machinery.
• Artisans felt threatened by mass-produced goods.

Conservative Thought & Liberalism

• Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" advocated for tradition, gradual change, and opposed radical revolution.
• Liberalism focused on individual liberty, constitutional government, and freedom of the press.
• Liberalism advocated for political rights and participation for the middle class.

Democracy & Socialism

• Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" analyzed democracy’s strengths and weaknesses, especially in the United States.
• Thomas Paine believed legitimate government derives from the consent of the governed.
• Socialism advocated for greater equality and co-operative ownership models.
• Saint-Simon proposed a society guided by scientific and industrial leadership.
• Charles Fourier envisioned harmonious, self-sufficient communities.
• Robert Owen believed in the transformative power of education and improved working conditions.
• Louis Blanc advocated for state-supported workshops to guarantee employment.

Nationalism & Reaction

• Nationalism represents belief in a distinct national identity based on language, culture, and history.
• Metternich sought to suppress nationalist movements to maintain conservative order.
• The Congress of Vienna (1815) was established to restore balance of power and prevent revolutionary uprisings.
• France was treated leniently to avoid future conflict.
• The Concert of Europe was an alliance system aimed at preserving conservative order across Europe.

Industrial Revolution Figures

• Hargreaves, Arkwright, Crompton, and Cartwright were innovators of textile manufacturing, inventing the spinning jenny, water frame, spinning mule, and power loom.
• England pioneered industrialization due to resources, political stability, and innovation.
• Early factories were built near water sources; later steam power became dominant.
• Manchester was a major textile production center during the Industrial Revolution.

Revolutions & Ideologies

• 1848 was filled with widespread revolutionary activity demanding national independence, constitutional government, and social reform.
• Karl Marx's "Das Kapital" analyzed exploitation and class struggle.
• Marx viewed religion as a tool of oppression.
• Communism advocates for a classless society, common ownership, and abolition of private property.

Napoleon Bonaparte

• Napoleon's march on Moscow was a disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, weakening his forces.
• The Napoleonic Code promoted equality before the law and merit-based advancement.
• Napoleon retained revolutionary ideals like meritocracy but also centralized power.
• Napoleon sought to expand French influence through conquest and alliances.
• The Hundred Days in 1815 was Napoleon’s return from exile, ending with his defeat at Waterloo.