Urban Reforms

The Street-Sweepers Answering to the Inspector’s Call Sketch By Paul Franzeny

Improvement of Health and Living Conditions After 1850, it became clear the workers would eventually crumble due to abusive working conditions Parliament took action in response to Cholera epidemics Public Health Act of 1875 All towns forced to pave, light, and clean the streets Had to appoint a Medical Officer of Health A Surveyor and Sanitary Inspector appointed to advise on problems with sewage, water supplies, diseases, food, and housing conditions. Urban Conditions Improved Dramatically New discoveries How to find uncontaminated water supplies Use of filters to purify water

Improvement of Health and Living Conditions Sewers built and streets cleaned by teams of sweepers Public baths and wash-houses set up Food quality regulated Soup kitchens to feed the hungry Establishment of Metropolitan Police Force in 1829

Government inspector visiting a factory in England to regulate child labor in the mid 1800s

Labor Laws Reform Act of 1832 Before 1832, only landowners could vote As factory owners in cities became richer, they demanded to be represented The Reform Act allowed industrial cities to elect their own members of Parliament Sawyer Committee Held hearings on child labor in factories Testimony shocked upper and middle classes Athorp’s Act Banned employment of children under 9 years old Limited workday to 9 hours for children 9-13 and to 12 hours for children 13-18

Labor Laws Mines Act Factory Acts Women, girls, and boys under 10 could not work in mines Factory Acts Further limited working hours of children and women Mandated school attendance for children Ordered factory owners to fence their machinery

English workers marching in Trafalgar Square in 1887

Union Movement In 1700s. Trade Clubs, or Combinations, were formed by skilled workers to bargain with employers In response, labor union meetings banned until 1824 After 1824, unions could legally exist In the next 50 years, workers of many trades formed unions Union Consolidation In 1868, five large unions came together to form the Trade Union Congress In 1870s, unions won the right to strike Membership expanded to include all workers

Union Movement Benefits of Unions Threat of strike as bargaining tool Unemployment insurance and retirement benefits through paying of union dues Unions fought for better pay, shorter work days, and better working conditions Limits on Union Power Government usually supported employers, while prosecuting unions Union funds not protected and picketing illegal Growth 1871: 290,000 workers were union members 1901: 2,000,000 1914: 4,000,000

An Allegory of Class Struggle

Class Struggle 1848: The Communist Manifesto Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Argued that wealth becomes concentrated in fewer and fewer members of the bourgeoisie (Upper classes) The proletariat (workers) would continue to grow and become more angry at being exploited The workers would unite and overthrow the bourgeoisie in a violent revolution Dictatorship of the Proletariat Worker rule and ensure that all power has been stripped from the bourgeoisie A classless society emerges Under communism, no one would be exploited and all wealth would be distributed equally

Class Struggle Development of Communism In 1864, the International Workingmen’s Association founded Its goals included fostering proletariat unity, overthrowing the bourgeoisie, and abolishing capitalism and private property Socialist political parties created in many European countries from 1875 to 1905

Robert Owen’s Model Textile Mill

Robert Owen Successful Welsh businessman who owned several textile mills He thought changing the poor working conditions would make workers happier and healthier, enabling them to work harder He created his own community for his workers Provided food, decent housing, education for workers and shorter work days His ideas influenced other to experiment with creating communities in later years