PREMIÈRE SECTION EUROPÉENNE DNL History & Geography: 2015

Tuesday, 27 October 2015

Poverty and politics in industrial societies (LESSON 2)

Pages 12 and 13

A. Victorian society: a world of contrasts

Teacher’s introduction:

In the 19th century, economic changes (industrialisation) brought many social changes (from a rural to an urban lifestyle) and political changes (a very slow increase of power to the working class).

The industrial revolution created immense wealth, but it was not fairly distributed; the contrasts in income and living conditions between the wealthiest and poorest members of Victorian society were very strong.

During the reign of Queen Victoria (she died in 1903), the living and working conditions of the workers in the UK were indeed terrible: slum housing, disease (cholera epidemics), lack of education, dangerous and badly-paid jobs, etc. This lead to social conflicts but also to efforts at political and social reform.

Social reformists (religious charities and leaders, paternalistic industrialists, philanthropists, politicians, intellectuals, artists and writers such as Charles Dickens, workers themselves organized in workers' unions and societies, Suffragettes) pushed for reforms to improve the working and living conditions of the poorest members of society (the sick, disabled, old, children, women, unemployed, unskilled workers).

Read and translate the title, introductory paragraph and key question.

Answers to questions 1 and 2:

According to Robert Giffen in his Essays in Finance of 1887, the purchasing power and living conditions of the working class improved during the 19th century. Giffen was firm believer in “laissez-faire” economics (i.e. minimum State intervention in the economy). William Booth’s sociological study In Darkest England and the way out of 1890 contrasts with Giffen’s analysis. He notes that there are hundreds of thousands of extremely poor people living in London alone.

Giffen’s study is in fact accurate because he describes the status of skilled workers which did indeed improve during the Victorian era. He does not, however, mention the awful plight of unskilled workers. These were often newly arrived from the rural areas and were mostly concentrated in the East End of London; the very poor represented about 15% of London’s population of 4 million.

Logsdail's painting juxstaposted on a Google Street View photo

Answer to question 3:

This 1888 oil painting by William Logsdail is in a realistic style (it looks almost like a photo snapshot) comments on the social inequality of Victorian London. The central figure is a sad-looking flower girl. Behind her, a wealthy mother and child pass by. Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields is a church in Trafalgar Square (London). The work highlights the plight of child street sellers. The painter seems to ask through his work if it is fair that a very young girl has to work whilst others live in luxury (he is probably also questioning the role of the Church). It would also have reminded contemporary audiences of the 'Bloody Sunday' demonstrations which had taken place in Trafalgar Square a few months before; thousands of people, demanding the right to free speech, were brutally attacked by armed police and troops.

B. Social reform and the rise of the Labour movement

Teacher’s comments:

Workers, in order to improve their living and working conditions, set up trade unions. These became legal in 1871. Following the London Dockers’ strike in 1889, trade union membership increased.

The TUC (Trade Union Congress), set up in 1868, brought together most of the trade unions. The TUC and other socialist organizations set up a political party which became the Labour Party in 1906. It defended workers’ interests in the Westminster Parliament. James Keir Hardie was its first leader.

Read the FACTFILE

Comments on document 4:

The pioneer of most social reform was Germany. Otto von Bismarck, the most powerful German politician of the second half of the 19th century, passed legislation in favour of workers (mostly to counteract the influence of the SPD, the socialist party, set up in 1875). France implemented major social reform only after the Second World War.

In the UK, many social reform laws (retirement pensions, unemployment and health insurance), laying the foundations for the modern welfare state, were passed by the Liberal government (a centrist party) between 1906 and 1911. David Lloyd George was the most important political figure at that time.

Comments on document 5:

This is an extract of an article by George Bernard Shaw, the famous playwright and a member of the Fabian Society (a British socialist organization which contributed to the founding of the Labour Party).

The cost of membership, according to Shaw, prevented the British trade unions from growing; only after the successful Great Dock Strike of 1889 did membership increase markedly (note that there had also been a strike by the London matchgirls in 1888). Dockers were unskilled laborours.

The unions subsidized Labour politicians. In a sense, the Labour Party became the political branch of the unions In other countries, socialist parties were more independent from the unions.

Industrialization in Europe: tilting the balance of power (LESSON 1)

The UK’s dominant position started to be challenged in the 1850s, especially by the USA and, to a lesser extent, by Germany. The USA and Germany pioneered the second industrial revolution which started in the middle of the 19th century (i.e. increased automation, steel, petroleum, electricity, internal combustion engine, automobiles, chemicals, railroads, telegraph, telephone, radio, improving social conditions, expansion of middle class).

Periods of economic growth (“boom”) during the age of industrialization were the 1830s to about 1870, and again from 1896 up to 1929. WW1 and WW2 were destructive but nonetheless very profitable to certain industries (armament, chemicals, oil, steel, building, etc.).

1873 to 1896 was a period of economic downturn (the "Long Depression"). So was the Great Depression from 1929 (Wall Street Crash) to 1939 (start of WW2).

Answers to the questions on the bar chart (cf. Skill n°3, p. 116), document 1, p. 10:

1) The UK was the principal economy in 1860 (20% of world industrial production). The US was the principal economy in 1938 (more than 30% of world industrial production).

2) The UK in 1860 had 20%, in 1870 it had 32%, in 1885 it had 27%, in 1913 it had 13%, in 1929 it had 10%, and in 1938 it had only 9% of world industrial production. Germany in 1860 had only 5%, in 1870 it had 12%, in 1885 it had 13%, in 1913 it had 15%, in 1929 it fell to 12%, and in 1938 it had 11% of world industrial production. France in 1860 had 9%, in 1870 it had 10%, in 1885 it had 9%, in 1913 its share had fallen to 5%, by 1929 it stagnated at about 6%, and in 1938 it had dropped to 4% of world industrial production. The Soviet Union became a major economy by 1938 with a sharp increase to 20% of world industrial production. The graph shows us that, after 1885, the UK was no longer the dominant industrial power in the world (the USA gained the leading position and has maintained it ever since, even during the Great Depression). Germany’s economy started to outperform the UK’s by 1913. If Europe’s main economies (UK, Germany, France) are considered as “one”, it could indeed be argued that Europe’s economic power ruled the world up to WW1.

3) The USA lost 10% of its share in world industrial production. The UK, France and Germany suffered an economic downturn, but less dramatic than that of the US. The Soviet Union gained 15% of world industrial production. Japan’s economy picked up slightly by 1938 (4% of world industrial production).

Cartoon by John Tenniel in Punch

Comments on document 2, p. 10:

Germany’s economy challenged the UK’s dominant position from the mid-19^th century on because of Germany's investment in new industries. This cartoon, dated 1896, criticises England, shown as a skinny (poor) old lady dozing (inactive), for being insufficiently competitive. Germany is personified as a stout (i.e. successful) travelling salesman who, on his way to the “market” (i.e. world trade), takes advantage of the situation to “cut” into Britain’s share of world trade (the petticoat representing “British trade”). John Tenniel, the Punch cartoonist, wanted the UK to “wake up” and react to Germany’s opportunism (it is taking advantage of British “laziness”). Tenniel’s accusation is justified because though Germany’s share of world industrial production had only grown by 1% between 1870 and 1885, it was rising fast so that by 1896, date of the cartoon, Germany felt like a real threat. By 1913, Germany had 15% of world trade compared to the UK’s 12%.

Forging files, Cyclops Steel and Iron Works

E. F. Skinner (1914-1918)

Comments on document 3, p. 11:

What is the title, who is the artist, when was it made? What is the historical context? What does it show and how has the artist chosen to depict the scene (effects on the observer, then and now)? Who was the painting commissioned by and for what reason?

This oil painting (in a Realism style) by E. F. Skinner (a little-known artist), made sometime during WW1, shows a Sheffield workshop where iron files are being made. A (steam?) engine (unseen) turns axles; wheels positioned along these axles run driving belts which activate the individual forging presses below.

The artist shows in detail the working conditions (and we can see how files are made). The men are concentrated and working diligently. The workshop is clean and well-ordered though undoubtedly noisy and full of smoke. The men do not wear protective clothing and the lighting is inadequate. The work is repetitive and uninteresting (the men work long hours, for low pay, and they are probably bored and tired). The central figure (he is "spotlighted" by the artist) can be seen either as a docile worker (and lucky because he has a job) or as a victim of dehumanising work.

The painting was one of six on the theme of industrial production by Skinner commissioned by the Cammell Laird shipbuilding company. Perhaps the paintings were used as "adverts" by the industrialists to show their clients their products and the "decent" conditions in which the products were made? The paintings were photographed and the photos used to make postcards which were sold in aid of the Red Cross. The (propaganda) postcards were used to show that workers were essential to the war effort.

The painting shows that production is not large-scale, there is no assembly line, the semi-skilled workers work alone, and the product is standardized but hand-made (no automation). Production is slow and inefficient. This primary source document illustrates the fact that the UK economy at the start of the 20^th century was still based mostly on “traditional” industrial production (here, metallurgy), and the production methods have not evolved. The British economy failed to reform and innovate and was thus overtaken by Germany (and the USA).

Comments on document 4, p. 11:

This extract from Harold Baron’s 1909 book informs us that, in contrast to what was happening in the UK (cf. doc. 3), in Germany industry was large-scale, dynamic, innovative (chemical manufacture) and efficient. The second industrial revolution was pioneered (along with the USA) in Germany and enabled it to become Europe’s leading economy by WW1.

Wednesday, 9 September 2015

The age of industrialization in Europe, introduction

Use the DNL textbook: Classes européennes, History Geography, Le Bris, Hatier, 2012

Teacher's comments:

What is “industrialisation”?

It is when a society changes from an agriculture-based economy to an industry-based economy. There is an increase in production brought about by the use of machines and it is characterized by the use of new energy sources. A large working class is created. Wealth increases but is not equally shared...

What period is the “age of industrialisation”?

We associate it with the 19th century, but it in fact covers the 18th, 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. There were two industrial revolutions during this period (the first overlapping the second).

The FIRST industrial revolution (i.e. coal-mining, development of machines and factories, shipping then railways) started in the UK in the 18th century (giving it a head start) and continued, in Europe, for over a hundred years.

In 1800, the UK started to import and export massively thanks to large sailing ships and, increasingly, coal-powered steamships; it had the biggest merchant navy in the world. It was the most powerful economy and created the largest empire (in which to sell its goods and from which it took resources). The first steam railways date from the early 19th century and were pioneered in England. London was the first major centre of the industrial revolution, which spread to the rest of England, then to Wales and Scotland, then to the rest of Europe and the United States.

The SECOND industrial revolution (i.e. oil, electricity, chemicals, the telegraph, etc.) started in the 1850s and lasted up to 1914 (in Western societies, later in other parts of the world).

From the 1870s, the USA started to overtake the UK as the most powerful industrial nation.

Why did industrialization occur?

In the UK, from the mid-17th century (later in other nations), the Agricultural Revolution (i.e. improved farming methods) resulted in more plentiful and more nutritious food. Because people were better-fed, they were healthier and lived longer. More babies survived into adulthood (i.e. the child mortality rate declined). Also, sanitary conditions improved and there was medical progress. The mortality rate declined (people lived longer) and the population grew: in Europe, in 1800, there were about 150 million people (about 15 million in Great-Britain and Ireland), and, by 1850, about 215 million people in Europe (about 30 million in Great-Britain and Ireland);
because there were more people, there was a greater demand for goods (food, clothes, building materials, etc.);
the workforce increased, therefore there were enough people to produce the goods (supply of goods could increase to meet the growing demand);
because the number of consumers grew, factory owners could sell their goods to make profits;
agriculture became more mechanised during the age of industrialization, therefore the need for farm workers decreased and people could go to work in the factories that were being set up in the towns and cities (this is called rural exodus);
profits from the sale of food surplus could be invested in economic activities other than farming (i.e. several of the wealthy land owners invested in the building of factories);
the expansion of industry (the cottage industry of the 18th and early 19th centuries became small-scale production, which then became large scale, i.e. industrial, production) was also made possible because of the availability of coal as a cheap, plentiful and efficient source of energy to run the steam machines;
the Empire was expanded to create "captive markets" and to exploit the natural and human resources of the colonized countries;
the development of dense and efficient transport (rail, shipping, road, canal) networks and means of transport (huge ships and ever-faster train locomotives) allowed the mouvement of goods (and people) within the UK and to foreign markets (including the colonies);
the notions of progress and "hard work" (and nationalism) became dominant in society and so scientific discoveries, exploration and technical progress were encouraged (allowing mass-production of increasingly diverse goods using ever-improved machines and more efficient production methods, notably in textile and steel manufacture);
industrialisation also occured because the economic, political and intellectual elite made it happen;
several social reformists (politicians, Church leaders, intellectuals and artists, union leaders, paternalistic capitalists) supported industrialisation, hoping it would raise standards of living for all (however, the age of industrialisation was not, in the end, a time of social progress for the low-skilled workers...).

Analysis of document, page 8 (see also skill n°2, page 115):

This document is an oil painting in colour by C.R.W. Nevinson (1889-1946). Nevinson was (is) best known for his powerful WW1 paintings. It dates from 1930 (the start, in the UK, of the Great Depression). The (strange) title is: “Among the nerves of the world”. It is a view of Fleet Street, the centre of newspaper production in the UK, from above (cf. “News” and “Daily”).

We see, below tall buildings, red and white double-decker buses, black taxi cabs and cars, a smoking train, and flows of anonymous ant-like crowds (cf. paintings by Lowry).

It is a good illustration of the British capital’s intense activity; Nevinson wanted to show what a busy, “nervous”, place the capital was. One can almost hear and smell the traffic… London was no longer however the "capital of the world", as it had been in the 19th century at the height of the British Empire. It was no longer the largest city (New York City had over 7 million inhabitants by 1925), but it was still the most important financial centre.

The painting shows us that the centre of London was densely populated and its economy centred on tertiary activity (i.e. involving services such as finance, transport, teaching, journalism, etc.).

The artist emphasises the heavy to-and-fro of the traffic and the rushing about of the people using several dark lines (electricity, stairs, lights in the sky) criss-crossing the painting (there’s a hint of abstraction and of the Italian Futurists) and an out-of-focus effect. The painting is about mouvement (cf. people, buses, cars, the train, electricity lines) and communication (cf. Fleet Street, telephone lines).

The title makes London sound like a vital part of a living entity (the world). London (Fleet Street, next to the City) is depicted as an important, powerful place (a centre of decision-making and exchange of information). "Power" means control of resources (cf. the pollution, the electricity cables), of finance (Fleet Street is next to the City, the financial heart of the UK), of information ("knowledge is power" and Fleet Street controls information flows, just like the nerves in a body), of decision-making (Fleet Street is next to Westminster, the political centre of the capital); the painting shows London as the centre of power (the "brain" of the nervous system).

The whole painting is dominated by an over-sized St Paul’s cathedral in the background; it was well-known all over the world (making the setting easily identifiable). St Paul's was depicted in art very frequently during the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. It was a symbol of London.

This work can be seen as an “advert” (propaganda?) for London as a dynamic, modern, and still-powerful centre of the industrialized world. The painting was undoubtedly intended for Londoners themselves, to encourage civic pride, as much as to impress foreigners. It could, however, also be seen as showing the negative effects of industrialization, as a dehumanising (people are like ants in a grey, noisy, world) and destructive (note the pollution) process. The painting can even be considered premonitory of the economic slump of the Great Depression and the horrors of WW2...

Read the FACTFILE

Read, then translate, the "Key question" and introductory paragraph.

Comments on the maps, p. 9:

These two maps show us when and where industrialisation took place in Europe.

The small map shows the industrial revolution started in the UK in the 18th century, spread to France, Belgium and Switzerland in the first half of the 19th century, then to the north of Italy, central and northern Europe, plus the Moscow and Leningrad regions of Russia during the second half of the 19th century. Other parts of Europe became industrialized only after WW1.

The large map shows that industrial regions are mostly centred on large urban centres.

Homework:

Study the TIME-LINE, note the periods of "boom" and "bust" (i.e. economic growth and depression), and when the first and second industrial revolutions took place (nota bene: the first started in the 18th century).
List and learn the dates and what events they correspond to.
Research at least one of the following: