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

2. 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

3. The Second Industrial Revolution

4. 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

5. 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)
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

6. 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

7. Politics
Trade Union Organizations greatly improved the lives of the working class between 1850 and 1914
Unregulated trades saw 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