Chapter 23 Mass Society in an “Age of Progress,” 1871 - 1894.

Chapter 23

Mass Society in an “Age of Progress,”

1871 - 1894

Timeline

The Growth of Industrial Prosperity: New Products & New Markets

Mass SocietyIn the late 19th century, human progress was measured with material progress and consumption of material goods

Europeans began to value leisure activities and the weekend (free from work)Lower and middle class began to take trains to amusement parks and the beach

Mass PoliticsAfter 1871, the focus of European life became the national state

Growing sense of nationalism and popularity of sports Extension of universal male suffrage leads to nationalism to influence the masses

First Industrial RevolutionTextiles, railroads, iron, and coal

Second Industrial RevolutionSteel, chemicals, electricity, and petroleum

Possible Test Question

In late nineteenth-century Europe, human progress was increasingly identified with

War.

Economic inequality.

Material progress or greater consumption of material goods.

Sport.

Spiritual beliefs and practices.


By 1871, the focus of Europeans’ lives had become

Their weekends.

Their schools.

Their favorite sports teams.

The national state.

Their church.

Substitution of steel for iron1860 – Britain, Germany, France, Belgium produced 125,000 tons of steel1913 – the total rose to 32 million tons

ChemicalsGermany led the market in production of dyes & photographic plates

Electricity (powered 2nd Industrial Revolution)Thomas Edison (1847-1931) and Joseph Swan – light bulbAlexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) – telephone, 1876Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) – radio waves across the Atlantic, 1901Used for transportation – railways, streetcars, subwaysTransformation of factories

Possible Test QuestionBetween 1860 and 1913, western European steel production went from

5000 tons to 1 million tons.

35,000 tons to 2 million tons.



10 million tons to 100 million tons.

Internal Combustion Engine (1878-Gas & Air)Automobile and airplane

• Henry Ford (1863-1947) – mass production (assembly line)• Zeppelin airship, 1900• Wright brothers, 1903 (1st passenger air service 1919)

New marketsFocused on consumer goods for domestic marketsPrices of food and manufactured goods decreasedIncreased wagesCompetition for foreign marketsTariff

• Reaction against free trade to guarantee domestic markets for their own industries

Cartels• Companies worked together to fix prices & set production

quotas

Larger factories• Assembly lines


The first internal combustion engine burning a mixture of gas and air was produced in

1798.

1838.

1858.

1878.

1898.

An Age of Progress

New Patterns in an Industrial Economy

Economic Patterns, 1873 – 1914Depression, 1873 – 1895Economic boom, 1895 – 1914

German Industrial LeadershipGermany replaces Britain as the industrial leader of EuropeNew areas of manufacturing (chemicals, electrical equipment)Industrialized later, so they invested in modern equipmentEncouraged scientific & technical education

Possible Test QuestionGermany began to replace Britain as Europe’s industrial leader by the early twentieth century largely due to

Britain’s careless and radical changes made to its industries.

Germany’s cautious approach and doctrine of “sticking to what works” in industry.

Britain’s reliance on cartels to invest large sums of money in new industries.

Germany’s development of new areas of manufacturing including chemicals and heavy electric machinery.

Britain’s loss of empire during and after the Boer War.

European Economic ZonesAdvanced industrial core of Great Britain, Belgium France, the Netherlands, Germany, western part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and northern ItalyLittle industrial development in southern Italy, most of Austria-Hungary, Spain, Portugal, the Balkan kingdoms, and RussiaSurplus grain and cheap transportation caused a sharp drop in agricultural prices.

The Spread of IndustrializationIndustrialization in Russia and JapanJapan’s government took the lead in promoting industry

Emergence of a World EconomyEurope was importing goods from around the worldForeign countries were used as markets for the surplus of manufactured goods

Possible Test QuestionThe Second Industrial Revolution experienced

A drop in agricultural prices.The shift from a three-field to a two-field crop rotation system due to better chemical fertilizers.The emergence of a new class of agricultural production leaders called coloni.A sharp increase in agricultural prices.To stabilize agricultural prices at the level attained in 1850.

Map 23.1: The Industrial Regions of Europe by 1914

Women and Work: New Job OpportunitiesWomen sought the “Right to work”Ideal of Domesticity – working class organizations supported traditional roles for womenSweatshops – subcontracting work out to women at homeWhite-Collar Jobs

Increase in white-collar jobs created a shortage of male workers opening up opportunities for women (After 1870)Expansion of service sector jobs - secretaries, teachers & nursesFreedom from domestic patterns

ProstitutionMany lower class women became prostitutes in big cities as a way to surviveLondon – 1885 – an estimated 60,000 prostitutesContagious Diseases Acts in the 1870s & 1880s

• Called for inspection of prostitutes for venereal diseases• Acts were repealed over complaints that men were not being checked

Possible Test QuestionEmployment opportunities for women during the Second Industrial Revolution

Changed in quality and quantity with the expansion of the service sector.

Declined dramatically as prostitution became illegal.

Increased greatly with working-class men pushing their wives to work outside the home.

Declined when piece-work was abandoned as inefficient and “sweatshops” were outlawed.

Declined because labor unions forced governments to restrict most employment opportunities to men only.

New Jobs for Women: The Telephone Exchange

Organizing the Working ClassTrade UnionsFirst half of the 19th Century

Trade Unions functioned as mutual aid societiesLate 19th Century

Formed labor unions and political parties based on ideas of Karl MarxTrade unions are increasingly aligned with socialist parties

Socialist PartiesGerman Social Democratic Party (SPD)

• Largest German political party by 1912

Growth of socialist parties – spread to other European countriesSecond International – united socialist organization

• Struggled due to internal differences• Two divisive issues: nationalism and revisionism

Possible Test QuestionThe trade union movement prior to World War I

Was strongest in France after the dissolution of the Second International in 1890.

Occurred despite trade unions being banned by most state governments.

Varied from state to state, but was generally allied with socialist parties.

Was primarily for unskilled laborers, especially the New Model unions.

Focused entirely on wages and working conditions negotiated directly with employers without any government involvement in the process.

Evolutionary Socialism (Revisionism)• Eduard Bernstein (1850-1932)

Member of the German Social Democratic Party who spent years in exile in Britain

Argued that Marx had made fundamental mistakes and socialists needed to stress cooperation and evolution rather than class conflict and revolution

Stressed the need to work through democratic politics to create socialism, not revolution.

The Problem of NationalismVariation of socialist parties from country to countryFocused on issues in their own countries instead of a unified workers movement

The Role of Trade UnionsNational variations

• German unions were the strongest

Unions and political parties

The Anarchist AlternativeMore popular in less industrialized nations (Italy, Spain, Russia, & Portugal) where people saw no hope of peaceful political changeInitially believed that people were inherently good but got corrupted by the state and societySocialist parties and trade unions became less radical so some people turned to anarchism as a means for a social revolutionMichael Bakunin

• Russian anarchist who advocated violence to dissolve state institutions


Anarchist movements were most successful inIndustrialized countries like Great Britain and Germany.

Toppling national governments through assassinations.

Restoring legitimacy to radical movements through peaceful dialogue with political opponents.

Less industrialized and less democratic countries where ordinary people could see no hope of peaceful political change.

Countries with revolutionary traditions like France.

“Proletarians of the World, Unite”

Emergence of a Mass SocietyPopulation Growth

1850 270 million1910 460 millionPopulation growth 1850-1880 – caused by increasing birth rateAfter 1880 – caused by declining mortality rate

• Medical discoveries and environmental conditions Smallpox vaccination

• Improved publication sanitation Reduced deaths from diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid fever, cholera

• Improved nutrition Better nutrition & food hygiene Faster shipment of food Pasteurization of milk

EmigrationEconomic motives

• Oppressed minorities went to other countries (especially U.S)Political motives

• Lower class citizens seeking more freedom


Between 1850 and 1910, European population

Increased from 270 million to 460 million.

Actually decreased slightly.

Increased from 45 to 60 million.

Stagnated, causing severe problems for the development of leisure industries.

Declined significantly because of the pollution engendered by increasing urbanization.

Table 23.2: European Emigration, 1876 – 1910

Map 23.2: Population Growth in Europe, 1820-1900

Transformation of the Urban Environment

Urbanization of EuropeMigration from rural to urban 1800 – 21 European cities with a population of 100,000+1900 – 147 European cities with a population of 100,000+People moved to the cities for job opportunities

Improving Living ConditionsReformers: Edwin Chadwick and Rudolf VirchowPointed to relationship between living conditions and diseaseBuildings begin to be inspected for problemsPublic Health Act of 1875 in Britain

• Clean water into the city• Private baths (Hot water) became accessible to people in 1860s• Shower appears in 1880s• Sewage System

Housing NeedsReformer-philanthropists focused on relationship of living conditions to political and moral health of the nation – built homes for the poorGovernment support – increase in regulationsDemolition of old, unneeded urban defensive walls and new, wider streetsOctavia Hill rehabilitated old homes and built new ones designed to give the poor an environment they could use to improve themselves

Redesigning the CitiesMajor European cities were redesigned after the example of Paris in the 1850sConstruction of streetcars & commuter trains created suburbs


Reforms in urban living included all of the following except

The development of pure water and sewerage systems.

Model homes built for the poor by wealthy philanthropists.

The demolition of old, unneeded urban defensive walls, replaced by wide avenues.

A concerted effort to clean up all polluted rivers and lakes.

Some increases in governmental regulations.

Working-Class Housing in London

The Social Structure of the SocietyThe Upper Classes

5% of the population that controlled 30 to 40% of wealthPlutocrats – aristocrats who made their money on investments in railroads, public utilities, government bonds, & businessesAlliance of wealthy business elite and traditional aristocracyCommon bonds – wealthy middle class kids admitted to elite schools

The Middle ClassesUpper middle class, middle middle-class, lower middle-classProfessionals (law, medicine, civil service)

• New professionals – engineers, architects, accountants, chemists

White-collar workers (product of the 2nd Industrial Revolution)• Sales reps, bookkeepers, bank tellers, telephone operators,

secretaries, department store clerksMiddle-class values came to dominate

• Concerned with traditional Christian values and work ethic

Possible Test QuestionThe middle classes of nineteenth-century Europe

Were composed mostly of shopkeepers and manufacturers who barely lived above the poverty line.

Offered little opportunity for women in improving their lot.

Were very concerned with propriety and shared values of hard work and Christian morality.

Viewed progress with distrust as they did not wish to lose their economic gains.

Were sinking in economic and social security because of the increase of plutocrats.

The Lower classes

80 percent of the European population

Agriculture

• Many were landholding peasants – sharecroppers, laborers

Urban working class: Skilled, semiskilled, unskilled workers

• Skilled artisans – cabinet makers, printers, jewelry makers

• semiskilled artisans – carpenters, bricklayers, factory workers

• Unskilled laborers – day laborers, domestic services

A Middle-Class Family

The “Woman Question”: The Role of WomenTraditional Values

Marriage the only honorable and available careerDecline in the birth rate in part to some birth control1840s-invention of vulcanized rubber made birth control an optionElizabeth Poole Sanford encouraged women to avoid being self-sufficient. Thought women should embrace domesticity and dependence on their husbands.

Middle-Class and Working-Class FamiliesGlorified DomesticityDomestic ideal for the family emphasized togetherness with time for leisureStressed functional knowledge for their children to prepare them for future roles.Daughters of working class families worked until married1890 – 1914: higher paying jobs made it possible to live on husband’s wages

• Limit size of the family• Reduced work week


For Elizabeth Poole Sanford, women should Avoid being self-sufficient.

Strive to become equal to men.

Accept their roles at home until new governmental reforms were instituted.

Make it known to their husbands that they were dissatisfied.

Take employment outside the home to become economically self-sufficient.

Education in the Mass SocietyExpansion of Secondary EducationUniversal Elementary Education

States began to offer public educationBy 1900, most were free and compulsory at the primary levelStates assumed the responsibility for teacher training

Liberal Beliefs About EducationPersonal and social developmentNeeds of industrializationDifferences in education of boys and girls

• Girls - less math & science, more domestic skills• Boys – humanities plus carpentry & military drill

Political motives• Need for an educated electorate• Instilled patriotism and nationalized the masses

Female TeachersIncreased Literacy from mass educationGrowth of Newspapers


By 1900, most European educational systemsWere free and compulsory at least at the primary level.

Were expensive to operate, and charged high tuition.

Were backward and lacked good teachers.

Still taught a “medieval” variety of subjects.

Had declined because of lack of governmental interest and support.

Mass LeisureAmusement Parks

Music and Dance Halls

Thomas Cook (1808-1892)Pioneer “father” of mass tourism

Offered vacations to Europe

SportsBoy Scouts (1908) “The real boy scout is not a sissy.”

Became organized with rules

Professional sports leagues emerged

Boys were encouraged to play sports to toughen them up


A new development in the age of mass leisure was

The newspaper and novel.

The excessive consumption of alcohol.

The theater.

Carnival.

Professional sports.

Western Europe: The Growth of Political Democracy

Reform in Britain: William GladstoneReform Act of 1867: Suffrage extendedEnglish Reform Bill of 1884

• Gave English agricultural workers the right to vote Redistribution Act of 1885: Reorganized the election boroughsSalaries paid to members of the House of Commons, 1911

• More people could run for office

Charles Parnell (1846-1891)• Leader of the Irish representatives in Parliament• Called for Home Rule for Ireland• This would have established a separate Parliament for Ireland• English conservatives voted against home rule

Resulted in terrorist attacks by the Irish


The English Reform Bill of 1884Enfranchised women.Gave English agricultural workers the right to vote.Did not dramatically increase the size of the electorate.Increased the total number of members in the House of Commons.Increased middle-class representatives in Parliament.

Reform in FranceLouis Napoleon’s 2nd Empire ended with his defeat in the Franco-Prussian WarUniversal male suffrage in 1871 enforced by Bismarck

• People elected a new National Assembly

Radical republicans formed an independent government in Paris known as the Commune

• Fighting broke out between the Commune and the National Assembly• National Assembly massacred thousands of members of the Paris

Commune• Brutal suppression of the Paris Commune created a split between the

working class and the middle class

Establishment of the Third Republic, 1875Monarchists, Catholic clergy and army officers opposed the Third RepublicGeneral Georges Boulanger - leader of a proposed coup d’etat

• Lost the courage to carry it out and fled the country• Boulanger crisis rallied French citizens to the republic

Possible Test QuestionSplits between the French working and middle class

Were largely solved by the liberal reforms of the Third Republic.Enabled the Third Republic to elect a new monarch in 1875.Led a strong parliamentary system of government.Were further widened by the brutal suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871.Ended in light of continued Prussian threats to France’s national survival.

ItalyHad pretensions of great power statusSectional differences in ItalyItalians were loyal to their family, towns and regions, but not their countryChronic turmoil beyond the government’s controlNo universal male suffrageItaly & Spain

• Both remained second rate European powers

Central & Eastern Europe: Persistence of the Old Order

GermanyTrappings of parliamentary government1871 constitutionEmperor commands the military in Prussian traditionBismarck’s conservatism

• Used coalitions to get what he wanted & then he dropped them• Kulturkampf - “struggle for civilization” an attack on Catholic

Church• Tried to weaken Social Democratic Party by passing

antisocialist law• Tried to woo workers from socialism by passing social welfare

programs


Which statement best applies to Germany under chancellor Otto von Bismarck?

Prussia lost much of its influence on state politics.

Coalitions were used by Bismarck to get what he wanted and then he dropped them.

Socialism was almost completely stamped out by the Prussian army.

Almost all regional differences disappeared under the charismatic leadership of Bismarck.

The emperor became merely a figurehead and lacked any political power and influence.

Austria-HungaryAustrian constitution of 1867 (in reality it was still an autocracy)

Problem of minorities worsened with universal male suffrage, 1907

RussiaAlexander III, 1881-1894: Overturns reform and returns to repressive measures (autocracy) after assassination of Alexander II

Nicholas II, 1894-1917: Believed in absolute rule


The policy pursued by Russia’s Alexander III and Nicholas II after the assassination of Alexander II was a policy of

Liberalism.Nationalism.Socialism.Militarism.Autocracy.

Chapter 23 Mass Society in an “Age of Progress,” 1871 - 1894.

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Transcript of Chapter 23 Mass Society in an “Age of Progress,” 1871 - 1894.