Mass Society in an Age of Progress 1850-1914

Second Industrial Revolution Last ½ of 19th century Four major aspects Steel production Oil Electricity Chemicals Created growing demand for experts with specialized knowledge By 1890’s Germany became most powerful industrial economy in Europe Continued to attract huge numbers of workers to cities

New Products & Inventions Electricity Light bulb: Thomas Edison Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell 1876 Gramophone: Edison 1877 Motion Picture: Lumiere 1895 Radio: Guglielmo Marconi 1901 Internal Combustion Engine (Gottlieb Daimler ) Mass production: Henry Ford Zeppelin Airship 1900 Wright Brothers 1903

Women’s Roles “Right to work” Ideal of domesticity New job opportunities Department store clerks, stenographers, secretaries, waitresses, nurses (white collar) Domestic servants By 1900 over ½ of working women were domestic servants After 1850 the work of most wives was increasingly distinct & separate from their husbands Husbands became primary wage earners Wife dominated the home domain Middle-class women began to organize & resist their 2nd class status to husbands

Main Goal: advance the cause of the proletariat (working class) Socialist Movements Main Goal: advance the cause of the proletariat (working class) Saw nationalism as a tool of the rulers Opposed to war Marxism led the negative response to industrialization First International: 1864 Growth after 1871 was phenomenal

Industrialization & the Marxist Response Developed by Karl Marx & Friederich Engles The Communist Manifesto (1848) Considered the “Bible” of Communism The economic interpretation of history Class struggle Theory of Surplus Value Socialism was inevitable Violent revolution “dictatorship of the proletariat” Classless society

Revisionism As workers gained the right to vote & participate in gov’t, their attention focused more on elections that revolutions Unions accepted & focused on bread-&-butter issues Collective bargaining officially recognized as desirable by unions Eduard Bernstein: Evolutionary Socialism (1899) Argued Marx’s predictions of ever-greater poverty for workers & ever-greater wealth in fewer hands had been proved false Eduard Bernstein

Impact of Socialism Impact on politics became profound Germany: Social Democratic Party (S.P.D.) Marxist in philosophy Bismarck forced to institute sweeping reforms to minimize threat from left By 1912, the S.P.D. was the largest party in the Reichstag France: socialists gained seats in Chamber of Deputies England Fabian Society Independent Labor Party Foundations for social welfare state created in decade prior to WWI – meant to guarantee each citizen a decent standard of living

Anarchy Spun off from the mainstream socialist movement Sought to destroy the centralized state Mikhail Bakunin Russian nobleman, became the most influential anarchist Strongest in Spain & Italy Political assassinations by anarchists shook the political world between 1881 & 1901 Deaths of 6 national leaders Alexander II of Russia 1881 King Umberto I of Italy 1900 President William McKinley 1901

19th Century Society Increased standard of living by the 2nd half of 19th century Still huge gap between wealthy & working class Became “golden age of the middle class” Industrial & urban development made society more diverse & less unified Diversity within middle class/bourgeoisie (15% of population) Upper middle-class: bankers, ind. leaders, top gov’t officials Diversified middle class: small businessmen, professionals, merchants, doctors, lawyers Lower middle class (petite bourgeoisie): small merchants, shopkeepers, teachers, clerks, master craftsmen Grew from 7% to 20% of population by 1900 Women worked as store clerks, stenographers, secretaries, nurses

Characteristics of the middle class Emphasized individual liberty & respectability based on economic success Families emphasized frugality & planning for the future Gained political influence through increased landownership (tied to voting rights) Saw family as the foundation of the social order Education & religion were extremely important

Working Class 80 % of the population Less unified & homogenous than middle classes Highly skilled workers at the top (about 15% of population): “labor aristocracy” Construction bosses, foremen, highly skilled craftsmen Semi-skilled workers: carpentry, bricklaying, successful factory workers Unskilled workers & domestic servants (mostly women) were at the bottom By 1900 half of working women were domestic servants

Changing Family Romantic love became the most important reason for marriage by 1850 Middle-class females were monitored extremely closely by parents Chastity paramount Middle-class boys not monitored nearly as much High rate of illegitimacy decreased after 1850 Rate of premarital sex the same, but more couples married if pregnancy occurred Fidelity emphasized in middle class Prostitution: middle & upper class men constituted most of the customers (married late)

Middle-Class Child-rearing Lower mortality rates = parents becoming more emotionally involved in children’s lives Married couples decreased the # of children they had Increase in books published on child-rearing Parents much more intent on improving the economic & social condition of their children

Child-Rearing Working-class families Boys & girls went to work when they reached adolescence Kids did not remain economically dependent on their families (unlike middle-class) Young working-class adolescents broke away from the family more easily when emotional ties became oppresive In 20th century, middle-class youths would follow this pattern

Education State’s role in education increased Further secularization of society Emphasized loyalty & service to the state By 1900 in England, all children 5-12 years old were required to attend school (education was free) In France, the Ferry Laws required children ages 3-13 to attend school (also free) Significant increase in literacy Men had higher rates of literacy Urbanites more literate than rural Higher literacy rate in northern & western Europe Girls had less access to secondary education than boys Education seen as a means of improving economic & marriage prospects for girls

Increased Consumption Increased leisure time & increased money to spend Sports attracted spectators & participants Sports clubs grew Soccer, rugby, bicycle & automobile races, track & field Huge bicycle craze swept Europe Became organized with rules Increased numbers of women took part Women abandoned more restricted clothing Sports culture mirrored the growth of aggressive nationalism Social Darwinists believed that sports competition confirmed the superiority of certain racial groups Increased Consumption

More Leisure & Spending Cafes & taverns Department stores grew Dance halls, concerts, & plays drew thousands of people each week Amusement parks Mass tourism Thomas Cook

Age of Mass Politics The Paris Commune Napoleon III’s Second Empire ends with defeat by Prussia (1870 Franco-Prussian War) New National Assembly created However, a radical communist gov’t (Paris Commune) took over Paris From March-May 1871, the Paris Commune fought a bloody struggle with troops of the National Assembly & lost

3rd French Republic Established in 1875 Constitution provided for a republic Chamber of Deputies had most power. President was weak. Reforms Trade unions legalized Established secular education (public schools & compulsory education) Boulanger Crisis Georges Boulanger gained support of the military Plotted a coup The Republic summoned Boulanger to trial but he fled to Belgium & committed suicide Resulted in greater confidence in the Republic

Eastern Europe: Persistence of Old Order Germany Parliamentary gov’t Bicameral legislature established (Reichstag) 1871 constitution Emperor commands the military in Prussian tradition Bismarck’s conservatism Kulturkampf Sought to limit the influence of the Catholic Party Social Democratic Party (SPD) Bismarck instituted sweeping reforms to minimize the threat from the socialists Despite better standard of living, workers did not leave the SPD

Russia Alexander II Alexander III Possibly the greatest czar since Catherine the Great. Believed serfdom had kept Russia from modernizing 1861: Emancipation Act abolished serfdom Assassinated in 1881 by anarchist radicals who bombed his carriage. Alexander III Most reactionary czar (undo reforms of Alexander II) “Autocracy, Orthodoxy, Russification” Anti-semitism