Introduction
The Industrial Revolution dramatically altered
European society. It expanded the types of employment
available and altered the ways that people lived on
a day-to-day basis. However, along with positive
benefits such as longer life expectancy and increasing
ease of work, came the realities of working in usually
deplorable conditions in factories and mines and living
in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. The
Industrial Revolution also helped to politicize both
the middle and lower classes of society, leading gradually
to expansion in suffrage and demands for the protection
of workers and their rights as citizens.
Objectives
1. To explore, in-depth, the development of
the textile industry in Great Britain, focusing on
the invention of various machines.
2. To link the rapid growth in both the textile
industry and in coal mining in Great Britain to the
development of social ills and the political push
to alleviate some of the atrocious conditions under
which people worked.
3. To connect the process of industrialization
to the expansion of male suffrage through the various
reform bills of the 1800s in Great Britain.
Pre-class prep
1. Divide students into two groups and assign
one group the role of industrialists supporting rapid
economic change and the other the role of artisans
protesting against industrialization. Have them
read the documents linked to below in part two of
the lesson plan before they come to class.
2. Have the students read through the descriptions
of the Reform Bills of 1832, 1867 and 1884 linked
to in section three of the lesson plan. Have
them note who had the opportunity to vote prior to
1832, and who gained the right to vote with each reform
bill.
Lesson Plan
1. Textile Industry in Great Britain
How to do it:
1. Begin with an explanation of the development
of the cottage industry (proto-industrialization)
and background information on the rapid population
growth of the mid to late 1700s.
You may use the following websites for reference.
They provide overviews of
the textile industry in Great Britain: (Note –
from the first site you can also link to brief descriptions
of inventions and short biographies of their inventors.)
http://www.saburchill.com/history/chapters/IR/014.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TEXcotton.htm
http://www.victorianweb.org/technology/technolov.html
2. Then provide an overview of the key inventors/inventions
which spurred the rapid growth in the textile industry
in Great Britain, emphasizing the type of power each
machine utilized, the number of workers it replaced,
and the connections between the machines (i.e. how
the increase in the supply of thread meant that the
demand for a quicker weaving process was heightened).
List of inventors:
http://www.e4s.org.uk/textilesonline/content/6library/report2/key_inventions/key_inventions_inventors.htm
Flying Shuttle & John Kay:
http://www.saburchill.com/history/chapters/IR/009.html
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/history/core/pics/0253/img0051.htm
Spinning
Jenny & James Hargreaves:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TEXjenny.htm
http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/hargreaveso.htm
Water
Frame & Richard Arkwright
http://www2.exnet.com/1995/10/10/science/science.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/arkwright_richard.shtml
Spinning
Mule & Samuel Crompton:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SCcrompton.htm
http://www.todayinsci.com/cgi-bin/indexpage.pl?http://www.todayinsci.com/C/Crompton_Samuel/Crompton_Samuel.htm
Cotton
Gin & Eli Whitney:
http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/cotton_gin_patent/cotton_gin_patent.html
http://www.eliwhitney.org
2. Social Effects of the Industrial Revolution
How to do it:
1. Once students have a good understanding
of the development of the textile industry, teachers
might want to use primary sources to illustrate how
these developments changed daily life for workers.
For example, how did the shift from a rural lifestyle
to an urban lifestyle affect families? How did
the separation of jobs by gender and/or age change
working patterns? What were some of short and long-term
effects of involvement in the industrial workforce
for women and children in particular? To do
this, teachers should direct students to these links:
Link to wage analysis in textile
industry between genders:
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/textile.html
Primary
source descriptions of working conditions in textile
factories and coal mines:
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/workers1.html
Testimony
of women and children who worked in mines:
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/coalMine.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1842womenminers.html
Living
conditions in London (pollution of Thames):
http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/Chem-History/Faraday-Letter.html
2. To emphasize the social
tensions which arose from industrialization, stage
a debate between industrialists and artisans.
Students should read one of the following two documents
prior to class. Once in class, divide them into
groups and have them prepare an opening statement
for the debate and a list of key follow-up points.
The debate could be staged as a public forum or as
a session of Parliament, with each side called upon
to provide testimony.
Letter
from artisans (textile) denouncing increased use of
machinery:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1786machines.html
Explanation of Luddism and the
government's response to it:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRluddites.htm
Letter
from woolen merchants praising the use of machinery:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1791machines.html
3. Connections between the
Industrial Revolution and the expansion of suffrage:
How to do it:
1. Provide an overview of
the major goals of the Conservative and Liberal parties
of Great Britain beginning in 1832, tracing shifts
through the nineteenth century. Introduce the
early efforts of working-class people to organize
politically, including the events of the Peterloo
Massacre, the rise of the Chartist Movement and the
development of trade unions in the nineteenth century.
Documents describing Peterloo:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1819peterloo.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1819bamford.html
List of the Chartist Demands:
http://www.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/ac/chartis.htm
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist3.html
2. Have the students make
a graph noting the increase in population and the
increase in the number of people living in urban areas
versus rural areas during the nineteenth century.
Then have students chart the increase in the number
of people eligible to vote in Great Britain during
the same period. Have them analyze this information.
Terms
of 1832 Reform Act:
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/reform2.html
Terms
of 1867 Reform Act:http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PR1867.htm
Terms
of 1884 Reform Act:http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PR1884.htm |
