The Victorian Period The time in the United Kingdom when Queen Victoria ruled. A response to the Romantic Period: How?? Enlightenment: Development of science & technology Romantic Period: Resisted science, embraced human emotion & nature Victorian Period: How do you think people might have responded now??

Awareness of social problems: slavery, women’s rights, child labor Evident in Victorian literature Individual >>>>> community More people were becoming educated Easier access to material objects

Some events that occurred: (1836) The Alamo: A group of about 200 Americans living in Texas revolted for independence. They lost to the Mexican army (about 1500 soldiers). 2 Americans survived, about 1000 Mexicans survived. (1837) Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist: Through his novel, Dickens showed the poverty and crime that was occurring in England’s factories.

(1884) Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Showed the racism that was prominent after the US Civil War. (1868) Britain Stops Deporting Convicts: For about 80 years, Britain shipped tens of thousands of convicted criminals to Australia. ( ) European Nations Divide Africa: Britain, Spain and France divvied up Africa amongst themselves.

Riots and Reforms, The Reform Bill of 1832 gave male land-owners the right to vote. Poor factory workers couldn’t afford food during the 40s, so Parliament repealed the bread tax, avoiding a revolution. Prosperity, After the depression, new policies of free trade brought wealth to the upper class. A series of factory acts improved working and living conditions for the poor. More people learned to read and write

A Society of Propriety (Good Manners) The Victorian people thought that if life was more organized and refined, it would improve. Instead of rejecting advances in science and technology, they embraced them, believing that would lead to an end of social problems.

What social and political factors affected life in Victorian England? What did Victorians value? How did discoveries in science affect people’s religious beliefs? How did Victorian writers respond to issues of their time?

The importance of politeness and manners seen in Victorian culture was a reaction to the unsettling changes that threatened traditional social structures. Think about the changes that have occurred in our society regarding technology (cell-phone, internet, GPS, etc.). Have we changed our attitudes about morality and acceptable social behavior? Has our reaction been similar or different from the Victorians? Write 2-3 paragraphs explaining your views.