Unit 5: c. 1750-1900

Main Ideas:

In response to the changes caused by the Industrial Revolution, many industrial workers organized to campaign for reforms

Many workers hated the new social hierarchies → Promoted Karl Marx's communist ideology

In response to the expansion of industrialization, some states (Ottoman & Qing Dynasty) sought to reform their economies to match that of Europe

Some women & children had to work, but other women had roles limited to the household

In response to poor economic & working conditions, factory workers organized themselves in labor unions to campaign for better working conditions
- Workers faced poor working conditions: Long hours, strict supervision, little pay,
- Workers campaigned for better working conditions, less hours, higher pay, etc.
- The Luddites were a radical group of textile workers in Britain that destroyed textile factories to campaign for better working conditions in early 1800s

In response to worker strikes & other factors, many governments implemented social & economic reforms
- Children were being forced to work in coal mines → Governments passed mandatory education laws for children to keep children safe
- Governments passed laws to limit working hours for women & children, improve working conditions, etc.
  - British Factory Act of 1833 limited working hours for children

Discontent with the poor social & economic standing of the working class → Many workers promoted Karl Marx's communist ideology
- Karl Marx was a radical who believed that the capitalists (bourgeoisie) were constantly exploiting the working class (proletariat) → Believed the proletariat would eventually rebel to overthrow the bourgeoisie
  - Such an event would be called a proletarian revolution, or a communist revolution (it happened in Russia in 1917)
- Many workers supported Marx's ideas as they wanted to overthrow the capitalists to boost their social standing

Qing Dynasty (China) organized economic & military reform movements to try to boost their economy to European standards, but failed
- Qing Dynasty sought to Westernize its economy through its "Hundred Days' Reform" program in 1898
- Qing Dynasty failed as it was devastated from the Taiping & Boxer Rebellions, and many elites in the Qing Dynasty refused to support the reform movements

Ottoman Empire organized an economic & military reform movement (Tanzimat) to try to boost their economy to European standards, but failed
- Ottoman Empire launched a reform program called the Tanzimat to westernize almost all aspects of society to try to catch up to European standards of living
- Many Ottomans resisted the reform efforts → Tanzimat reform failed

Industrialization led to the creation of a distinct middle class and a large working class
- A lot of people got jobs in industrial factories & coal mines → These people were part of the working class (a poor class that lived paycheck-to-paycheck & had poor living conditions)
- The factory owners and merchants had some extra money to use for pleasure purchases → Part of a new distinct middle class

Many women & children had to work (to supply money for the family), but other women who didn't work had roles focused on housekeeping & child rearing
- Many women & children were forced to work since they needed to supply for their family
- Many middle-class women did not work, so they were restricted to the domestic sphere of the household → Focused on housekeeping & raising their children