Data

Copy and paste the text below. It is read-only. Select All

Squirearchy 1688-1832, British govt. in the hands of the wealthy landownwers - "gentlemen of England." Significance: helped foster a total transformation of farming - an agricultural revolution without which the industrial revolution could not have occurred. Enclosure Acts Parliament, controlled by landowners, passed these to encourage improved methods of cultivation and stock-raising to increase productivity(Agricultural Revolution). `The old village system was an obstacle to these so in the 18th century the squirearchy was able to ensure that more of the common land would come under private ownership - by the already landed wealthy. Enclosure reached its height in the Napoleonic wars. Led to the increased productivity of land and labor but also released labor for other wage earning pursuits(became available as factory workers). John Kay 1733, a Brit who invented the fly shuttle. Made it possible for one person instead of two to operate a loom in textile manufacturing. It increased the output of woven material and therefore also the demand for yarn. James Hargreaves 1764, a Brit who invented the spinning jenny - hand operated, sped up spinning by forming eight threads at one time thus increasing output of yarn. Richard Arkwright 1769, a Brit who patented the water frame - a devise for multiple spinning of threads. Arkwright's frame was water driven . Samuel Crompton 1779, a Brit who combined the best features of the spinning jenny with the water frame -> spinning mule/Crompton's mule. Edmund Cartwright 1785, a Brit who invented the power loom which was water-powered and provided for rapid and automatic weaving. Eli Whitney 1793, an American who invented the cotton gin. Hand operated at first, sped up removal of seeds from the raw cotton fiber. Made American cotton a more viable alternative to Indian cotton for British textile manufacturers -> increase in cotton textiles (& also in importance of slave labor in southern United States). Thomas Newcomen 1705, a Brit who invented the first CRUDE steam engine. It served chiefly to operate pumps draining water from coal mines. James Watt 1769, a Scot who greatly improved on Newcomen's designe and constructed the FIRST EFFICIENT steam engine thus opening the AGE OF STEAM. Robert Fulton 1807, an American, successfully launched the Clermont, the first steam powered paddle ship, on the Hudson River. Steamboats soon appeared on rivers and along coasts on both sides of the Atlantic and in 1838 the Great Western was the first to cross the Atlantic - took 15 days. George Stephenson 1814, a Brit who built the first successful steam locomotive. By 1829 his Rocket travelled on the world's first railroad line from Manchester to Liverpool at average speed of 16mph. By the 1840s the era of railroad construction had begun in Europe and the US. Factory Act of 1802 Pushed through by elder Robert Peel - a cotton magnate himself. Was supposed to regulate working conditions of pauper children but not enforceable - no inspectors. England short of bureaucrats to deal with effects of industrialization. Belief in local self management was strong among the rising industrialist class. Malthus In 1798 in his Essay on the Principle of Population he wrote that population was increasing at a geometric rate while the food supply was growing at an arithmetic rate. This, he predicted, could only lead to misery. He advocated "moral restraint" to limit population growth. He was a part of the "classical school of economics" sometimes referred to as the Manchester School of Economics since many of its adherents received their experience/training in the birthplace of industrialization. Ricardo's Iron Law of Wages Also of the Manchester School, Ricardo said that workers should not make more than the bare minimum living wage because if they received more that would cause them to have more children who would eat more and cause the worker to then fall below subsistence level and therefore add to level of human misery. Ricardo suggested that discontented workers should see the folly of changing this "natural" system, grim as it was. Laissez-Faire The Manchester School of Classical Economics in effect was advocating the laissez-faire of Smith and the physiocrats in an elaborate form. It operated according to natural laws of supply and demand and diminishing returns. It predicted that if the individual was free to follow self-interest, unencumbered by govt regulations/interference, then the sum total of all in the business class being free to do this would lead to improvement in the general welfare of all as well as liberty for the individual. Govt was to serve function of providing law and order - policeman govt and should leave business, education and charity to private interests. Free Trade This was a feature of the laissez-faire theory. Meant disposing with all trade barriers - tariffs and other restrictions. If trade were unaffected by political or national barriers then the natural laws of the economy would lead to maximum wealth. Production would be determined by comparative advantage if trade unimpeded. Free Trade was supported by the classical economists of the Manchester School. Gothic Revival In the arts this was an aspect of the movement known as Romanticism which stressed genius, intuition, feeling,emotion. The past and the distant were appealing to the followers of Romanticism. People saw genium in art of the past and this demonstrated int he architectural revival of Gothic. ex. Houses of Parliament, London. Liberal Term first used in Spain for those in opposition to Napoleon, then in France for those opposing the restoration of the Bourbons. In England many Whigs were becoming increasingly liberal -> Liberal Party formed in 1818. Usually, Liberals were men of business and professional class and progressive landowners. Liberalism Movement in support of representative institutions which would lead to the improvement of society. Pro freedom of press, speech, etc. Pro constitutional monarchy(except in England) where wanting written constitution. Not democrats in terms of wanting univeral suffrage . Pro rights of man. But especially concerned with the rights of property and tended to support the Manchester School of Classical Economic and laissez-faire. Disapproved of labor unions. Thought wealth, increased production, science and invention would all lead to human progress. Often tended to frown on organized religion and wealthy aristocracy as obstacles to advancement. Pro tolerance and education, anti war since it interfered with business. Pro change being accomplished through the legislative process. Anti revolution. Liberals on the Continent admired the political and economic developments in England. Philosophical Radicals In England in the 1820s, included working class leaders and many new industrial capitalists not yet represented in Parliament. Took up where English "Jacobins" like Thomas Paine left off. But were discredited because of the Napoleonic Wars. They were like the French philosophes before the Revolution. Followers of Jeremy Bentham. They sought to deduce the right institutions for society through better understanding of the very nature of man. Term "radical" means root - seeking very "roots" of man. Thought it necessary to reconstruct everything in society. Wanted to change all traditions and were in favor of democracy.