1. The Victorian Period
1830s-1901

2. Overview Rapid growth of industrialization (Industrial Revolution)
Shift away from land ownership to urban economy: trade & manufacturing
Rapid growth of new technology
Two Main Shifts Resulting from Industrialization
Transportation
Railways
Iron ships
Communications
Telegraph
Intercontinental cable

3. Results from Technological Boom
Increase in textile production—high exports in textiles & other manufactured goods
Advances in printing presses
Increase in agricultural production due to advances in the combine
Photography
Anesthetics
World becomes smaller
Imperialism on the rise

4. Early Victorian Period
Revolt and Reform

5. Modest Reform
Reform Bills expands voting franchise by geography. Make districts more representative by number of constituencies. Eliminates “rotten boroughs” (few voters and no secret ballot made for high levels of corruption). Does not repeal the requirement for voters to own property. Bills affect middle class more than working class.
Factory Act 1833-Limits the working day to 10 hrs for persons under 18. No one under 9 could work un textile mills.

6. Chartist Movement
Revolt of the working poor against continued harsh conditions
Agitation for broader political reform
People’s Charter written primarily by William Lovett of the London Working Men’s Association

7. Poor Law 1815
Continuation of 1601 law that said a parish (local unit of government) was responsible for the poor and indigent. Funded through taxes on middle and upper classes.
Reactions against Poor Law:
Resentment of middle and upper classes. Argued that their money went to lazy people.
Perpetuated numbers of poor by encouraging poor people to have children.
Kept workers’ wages low because employers knew gov’t would supplement poor peoples’ incomes. (Outdoor relief)

8. New Poor Law 1834
Designed to make looking after poor less expensive by concentrating administration of poor relief into a national commission. Professional bureaucrats hired to oversee the laws.
Outdoor relief (cash in lieu of or supplementary to wages) eliminated.
Workhouses instituted instead. Conceived as deterrents. Inadequate food. Hard work. Families separated.