The Advance of Industry Chapter 16 – Europe in the Late Nineteenth Century: Modernization, Nationalism, Imperialism The Advance of Industry

Modernization Europe had begun to materially modernize with the Industrial Revolution In the late nineteenth century the pace of this change quickened along three fronts State building – strengthening central authority through the absorbing of previously excluded classes into the national community Increased pace and spread of industrialization Urbanization Loosening of traditional ties Mechanization of society (railroads, navies) Work skills Nationalism became the dominant spiritual and emotional force … increasingly extreme and belligerent

The Second Industrial Revolution

The Advance of Industry Several things defined the Second Industrial Revolution: Technological advances (railroads, shipping, combustion engine, telegraph, telephone, radio) Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz Henry Ford, Model T, assembly line New forms of business and labor organization (corporations, unions) The rise of the middle class to political, social, and economic power Decline of traditional groups (aristocrats, peasants, clergy) Dramatic changes for women and the family

Advance (Continued) Two spurts … 1850-1870 and 1890-1914 1850-1870 Move from hand to machine production increased Workers increasingly moving to cities Growth of labor unions Standard of living for most workers rose Worst conditions of Industrial Revolution eased Living conditions improved due to government regulation of sanitation and urban development Women and children moved out of the factory (women to menial jobs – seamstresses, laundresses, domestics – children to state run public schools) 1890-1914 Emergence of corporations led by boards of directors Large scale industrial enterprise “Captains of Industry” Development was uneven, with southern and eastern Europe lagging far behind

Urbanization Cities in NW Europe and America became larger, more populous, and more densely populated London: 5 million by 1880; 7 million by 1914 Paris: 2 to 3 million between 1850 and 1914 Berlin: 500,000 in 1866; 2 million by 1914 Cities were dominated by the middle class who were increasingly active in civic affairs Factory workers also came in large numbers, increasingly distanced from their rural backgrounds; many sought a place for themselves in neighborhoods, unions, and political parties “White-collar” workers emerged; a class of clerks in between the middle class and working class seeking upward mobility

Politics Trade Union Organizations greatly improved the lives of the working class between 1850 and 1914 Unregulated trades saw 70-75 hour work weeks where government regulated ones about 50-55 Some jobs, such as miners and dockworkers, were often life threatening Malnutrition and disease were common Changes resulted from government alarm at health of working class (poor citizens equals poor soldiers, etc) and union agitation Socialist Political Parties Rise of such parties indicated a growing awareness of solidarity among the working class But little cohesion among their own ranks “Orthodox” Marxism – led by the likes of Wilhelm Liebknecht and August Bebel (Germany) and Jules Guesde (France), they believed revolution was the only path “Revisionist” Marxists – influenced by Eduard Bernstein, sought political alliances and fought for rights within the system