14.1 The Social Impact of Industrialization
The 19th century was a period of tremendous economic, social, and political change brought on by industrialization. The economic change saw the growth of an economy based on industrial capitalism. The political change saw the transition from absolutism to parliamentary representative government. What follows is an outline/narrative overview of the social impact of industrialization.
I. Emergence of a New Urban Working Class
The emergence of the working class is considered in the reading “The Industrial Revolution: An Overview” and need not be repeated here. The working class tended to consist of three groups.
- The great majority of the working class were factory workers, miners, and other unskilled laborers.
- A much smaller component were artisans, such skilled workers as carpenters, masons,plasterers, plumbers, etc.
- About 10 % of the working class were household and other domestic servants.
The working class would come to be commonly identified by the Marxist term, “proletariat.”
II. Population Growth and Urbanization
A. Population Growth (statistical source: Palmer et al., 556)
Overall there had been a general growth of the European population since the mid-1600s (increased by almost 400 % between 1600 and 1900). This both accelerated and stabilized in the 1800s
1650- 100 million
1750 - 150 million (50 % increase since 1650) beginning of the Industrial Revolution
1850 - 263 million (57 % increase since 1750)
1900 - 396 million (66 % increase since 1850)
Between 1750 and 1850 the population of Britain tripled from 10 million to 30 million.
There are several factors that explain this growth.
1) A general trend towards political stabilization: the rise of centralized governments exercising sovereignty meant less social disruption from civil unrest.
Changes in military strategies (state-directed professional armies) lessened the destruction wrought upon civilian populations during wars.
2) The gradual lessening of endemic disease such as plague and smallpox. (The use of vaccination against smallpox - developed by Edward Jenner - was introduced in Britain in the late 1700s and early 1800s.)
3) Improvements in agricultural technology and scientific farming produced more food.
4) The industrialization of transportation – the railroad and steamship – lowered the costs of rapidly moving large amounts of foodstuffs. Steamships enabled foodstuffs to be imported from overseas. The development of refrigeration (by the 1880s railroads and steamships had refrigeration cars and compartments) prevented spoilage in the movement of foodstuffs. In the more developed regions of Western Europe famine became a thing of the past.
B. Urbanization: rapid growth of new industrial cities
In 1785 there were only four cities in Britain of over 50,000 people; by 1860 there were 31 cities of that size. In 1772 Manchester was a market town of some 25,000 inhabitants. By 1851 its population numbered 455,000, an increase by 18 times in 80 years. Manchester was typical of urban development throughout an industrializing Europe.
Early 19th Century: Before the 1870s cities were overcrowded, unsanitary, and unsafe. Because cities grew faster than government could respond to developing conditions, there was little or no attention to civil planning, police, or fire protection. Cities lacked paved streets and sewage systems. There were no codes regulating building and housing construction. The “dark satanic mills” belched clouds of heavy coal smoke and other contaminants into the air. Local rivers and streams filled with industrial and human wastes. Working class families huddled in hastily constructed, dark, and unheated tenements where it was not uncommon for an entire family to share one room.
Late 19th Century: By mid-century conditions in the cities began to improve and by the end of the century what is herewith described was characteristic of most European cities. Conditions changed faster and improvements in the quality of urban life were more evident in Western Europe (those areas that had been the first to industrialize) than in Eastern Europe and Russia.
National and municipal governments imposed building and zoning codes for housing and business. Commissions were established to provide police and fire protection and the construction and maintenance of sewage, street, gas (the fuel commonly used for heating and lighting), and public transit systems. Further planning and development led to the creation of parks and other recreational areas. In addition to being the location of offices and banks, city centers saw the development of restaurants, hotels, theaters, arenas, libraries, and museums. Of course, all urban neighborhoods had one or more saloons or pubs, which were the social centers of working class leisure. Churches, religious, and other philanthropic organizations provided spiritual and social services, including some degree of welfare. (Few 19th century national governments provided welfare services.) Educational opportunities improved as municipalities established public schooling systems. By the end of the century, the more advanced states (Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium) had compulsory public education systems. Improvements in labor laws and a general expansion of wealth produced by industrialization led to increased wages and a lessening of the massive poverty of the majority of urban residents. Nonetheless, compared to the great wealth held by the owners and managers of industrial capital, large segments of the working class remained in abject poverty.
C. Population and Family While the overall population continued to grow, birthrates stabilized in the mid-19th century. The population of France, heretofore the most populous European state, was surpassed by Germany in the 1860s and by Britain in the 1890s.
Why the decline of birthrates? Changes in economic and social conditions led to changes in family patterns. Married couples tended to have fewer children, and the two to four child family became increasingly characteristic of family life. Infant mortality decreased as health and medical conditions improved, thus, large numbers of children were not necessary for a family’s well being. By the 1880s, labor laws were such that children could no longer go into the labor force at an early age. With education becoming compulsory, children could not become wage earners, thus their upbringing was at greater expense for their parents. Fewer children would mean fewer burdens on parents and greater benefits for children. Parents saw the value of providing their children with greater opportunities that would enable them to meet the challenges of a competitive world. Smaller families also freed women from a seemingly endless cycle of pregnancy and infant tending. While working class women needed to remain in the workplace, middle class women had more time for education, professional development, and involvement with social or political activities.
III. Ascendancy of the Capitalist Middle Class (Bourgeoisie)
By mid-C19, the middle class …
… held economic power (were the "captains of industry” as the owners, managers, and financiers of industrial capital).
….exercised increased social influence.
…demanded a greater voice in the political process. (The Revolutions of 1848, as expressions of both liberal and nationalist ideals and aspirations, were essentially middle class in their leadership and direction.)
By the end of 19th Century the middle class was the dominant class in Western European society. It …
… exercised economic control (finance, commerce, industry, mining, transport, communications).
… held the dominant political influence (largest representation in European parliaments).
… determined the identity of society through education, ethical and moral values, and spiritual direction.
IV. Rise of Working Class Consciousness/ Activism
A. Workers’ Associations (Unions) In the 19th Century the working class increasingly demanded improvements in working and living conditions. This dissatisfaction was characterized by …
… efforts to form workers' “combinations” or associations (what would later come to be called labor unions) with the right to conduct collective bargaining to secure contracts providing for better wages and conditions.
… attempts to influence industrial owners and managers by such job actions as strikes, boycotts, or work slowdowns.
B. The Government Response to such activism was predictable.
In Britain the 1799 Combination Act outlawed workers’ associations as their activities (strikes) could disrupt the British economy at a time of national crisis – the war with France (that would last until 1815). It would not be repealed until 1824. Britain did, however, conduct parliamentary investigations into working conditions in 1832 and passed legislation affecting child and woman labor in the 1830s and 1840s.
In France worker’s associations (as possible sources of sansculotte opposition to the new Constitution) were outlawed in the 1791 Le Chapelier Act. They remained illegal under the Code Napoleon until 1881.
In Prussia and other German states, workers’ associations were also illegal and were not legalized until 1890.
Once labor unions were legalized, they became a major force pressuring governments for further social reforms. In several countries, unions formed nationwide organizations of labor unions, as was the case in 1895 in France with the formation of the French General Confederation of Labor. There also developed in France a movement called syndicalism (from the French syndicat – “union”) which idealistically believed humanity would be better served were labor organizations to replace government. A more realistic direction for working class activism would be the formation of political parties.
C. The Formation of Workers’ Political Parties
The 19th Century saw the expansion of the franchise to greater portions of the male population. British Reform laws in 1867 and 1884 extended the franchise to almost all adult males. In 1848 the French government extended the franchise to all adult males. In 1850 the government of Prussia extended the franchise to all adult males. In 1871 the new constitution for a unified Germany likewise granted universal suffrage to adult males. With workers able to vote, they formed political organizations through which to pursue their goals. From these organizations emerged political parties. Most of these parties were socialist in their political philosophy and direction.
With their platforms and programs for social reform, these parties made their appeal to the electorate hoping to achieve presence and strength in their countries’ parliaments. The major parties were …
… the German Social Democratic Party, founded in 1875.
… a variety of French workers' parties came into existence in the late 19th Century.
They unified as the Socialist Party in 1905.
… the British Labour Party, founded in 1900.
Sources for the Social Impact of Industrialization
Knapton, Ernest and Thomas Derry. Europe, 1815 – 1914. New York: Scribners, 1965.
Hobsbawm, Eric. The Age of Revolution: 1789 – 1848. New York: Vintage, 1996.
Merriman, John. A History of Modern Europe. New York: Norton, 1996.
Palmer, Robert, et al. A History of the Modern World. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002.
Spielvogel, Jackson. Western Civilization. St. Paul: West, 1997.