Industrial Revolution in Europe

Assignment

You and your study groups have been magically transported to Europe in the early 1800s.  All around you, changes are occurring in the way goods are manufactured and the way people work.  You have been decided to write an editorial to report on whether these changes have been harmful or beneficial, and to determine what new laws may be necessary to improve life for people in the new industrial society.

Task

Click here to watch the Crash Course to the Industrial Revolution

Read each of the following:

• Downs, Books that Changed the World -- pp 244-254

• Downs, Books that Changed the World -- pp 288-300

• Karl Marx Euro Spark Notes    

• P&S Reader - Industrial Revolution and Social Change

Research the changes that occurred in society as a result of the Industrial Revolution. You and your group will each be responsible for writing an editorial for your local newspaper from the perspective of someone living in Europe during the late 18th century. 

Complete the following:

• ONE editorial/position paper (2 pages) — One that either defends the effects the Industrial Revolution has had on European society as a whole, or one that criticizes the effects the Industrial Revolution on the working class, environment, or politics.

• Editorial/Position Paper — An editorial is an article by a news organization newspaper or magazine that expresses the opinion of the editor, editorial board, or publisher.

• Topics you might want to consider in writing your editorial pieces:

  • Unions, strikes, and the rise of Socialism/Marxism

  • Women

  • Child labor

  • Health factors

  • Factories and mass production

  • Economic effects

  • Perspective of Middle Class and Upper Class Capitalists and Factory Owners

  • Perspective of a Conservative Upper Class who see Industry as problematic since it leads to social changes (especially among the Middle Class), and growth of Liberalism.

Below are links you can use to find information about the positive and negative effects of industrialization.

Overview Reading:

Frederick Engels, Conditions of the Working Class in England (1844) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1844engels.asp

General Info:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook14.html#Social%20and%20Political%20Effects

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution

http://www.allfreeessays.net/student/The_Effects_of_the_Industrial_Revolution.html

British Industrial Revolution Links:

Spartacus Educational - http://spartacus-educational.com/IndustrialRevolution.htm 

Women, Children, and Wages

http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/textile.html