Reactions to the Industrial Revolution

Effects on the Working Class

• Factory work was monotonous and prolonged (13-hour days) with minimal pay.
• Led to calls for reform across various areas:
  • Political Reform:
    • Expansion of voting rights increased political influence for the working class.
    • Rise of mass-based political parties representing workers' interests.
    • Conservatives and liberals in Britain and France incorporated social reforms due to increased demand from the electorate.
  • Social Reform:
    • Formation of social societies for insurance and social events.
  • Educational Reform:
    • Between 1870-1914, compulsory education laws were enacted.
    • Prepared children for specialized jobs emerging from the Second Industrial Revolution.
  • Urban Reform:
    • Crowded cities led to sanitation issues.
    • Government investments in sanitation infrastructure, like sewers.

Rise of Labor Unions

• Collective groups of workers to protect interests.
• Prior to reforms, labor unions were illegal, and power was with capitalists.
• Unions enabled collective bargaining for better wages, hours, and conditions.
• Significant growth in union membership by the end of the 19th century in Britain, Germany, and the USA.
• Some evolved into political parties advocating for workers' rights.

Marxist Response

• Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels wrote "The Communist Manifesto" in 1848.
• Marx saw capitalism as unstable with class divisions leading to eventual revolution.
• Predicted a proletariat revolution resulting in a classless society.
• History seen as moving through stages driven by class struggle.

State-Level Responses

China

• Faced trade deficits and Opium Wars with Britain.
• Self-Strengthening Movement aimed at industrialization while maintaining culture.
• Efforts hindered by conservative resistance; deemed a failure after defeat in the Sino-Japanese War.

Ottoman Empire

• Known as the "Sick Man of Europe" due to territorial losses and economic issues.
• Tanzimat Reforms aimed at modernization and industrialization.
• Built textile factories, implemented Western legal systems, and established secular education.
• Young Ottomans emerged, seeking political change and a constitutional government.
• Sultan accepted constitution and parliament in 1876 but retreated to conservatism during war tensions with Russia.

Conclusion

• Industrialization and capitalism inspired various reforms and movements.
• Countries responded differently based on internal and external pressures.
• The era set the stage for modern economic and political systems.