Urban Reforms

The Street-Sweepers Answering to the Inspector’s Call

Sketch By Paul Franzeny

I. Improvement of Health and Living Conditions

A. After 1850, it became clear the workers would eventually crumble due to abusive working conditions

1. Parliament took action in response to Cholera epidemics

2. Public Health Act of 1875a. All towns forced to pave, light, and clean the streetsb. Had to appoint a Medical Officer of Healthc. A Surveyor and Sanitary Inspector appointed to advise on

problems with sewage, water supplies, diseases, food, and housing conditions.

B. Urban Conditions Improved Dramatically1. New discoveries

a. How to find uncontaminated water suppliesb. Use of filters to purify water

I. Improvement of Health and Living Conditions

2. Sewers built and streets cleaned by teams of sweepers

3. Public baths and wash-houses set up4. Food quality regulated5. Soup kitchens to feed the hungry6. Establishment of Metropolitan Police Force in 1829

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

II. Labor Laws

A. Reform Act of 18321. Before 1832, only landowners could vote2. As factory owners in cities became richer, they demanded to be

represented3. The Reform Act allowed industrial cities to elect their own

members of Parliament B. Sawyer Committee

1. Held hearings on child labor in factories a. Testimony shocked upper and middle classes

C. Athorp’s Act1. Banned employment of children under 9 years old2. Limited workday to 9 hours for children 9-13 and to 12 hours for children

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II. Labor Laws

D. Mines Act1. Women, girls, and boys under 10 could not work in mines

E. Factory Acts1. Further limited working hours of children and women2. Mandated school attendance for children3. Ordered factory owners to fence their machinery

English workers marching in Trafalgar Square in 1887

III.Union Movement

A. In 1700s. Trade Clubs, or Combinations, were formed by skilled workers to bargain with employers

1. In response, labor union meetings banned until 18242. After 1824, unions could legally exist 3. In the next 50 years, workers of many trades formed

unions B. Union Consolidation

1. In 1868, five large unions came together to form the Trade Union Congress

2. In 1870s, unions won the right to strike3. Membership expanded to include all workers

III. Union Movement

C. Benefits of Unions

1. Threat of strike as bargaining tool

2. Unemployment insurance and retirement benefits through paying of union dues

3. Unions fought for better pay, shorter work days, and better working conditions

D. Limits on Union Power

1. Government usually supported employers, while prosecuting unions

2. Union funds not protected and picketing illegal

E. Growth

1. 1871: 290,000 workers were union members

2. 1901: 2,000,000

3. 1914: 4,000,000

An Allegory of Class Struggle

IV. Class Struggle

A. 1848: The Communist Manifesto1. Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels2. Argued that wealth becomes concentrated in fewer and fewer

members of the bourgeoisie (Upper classes)3. The proletariat (workers) would continue to grow and become more

angry at being exploited4. The workers would unite and overthrow the bourgeoisie in a violent

revolution5. Dictatorship of the Proletariat

a. Worker rule and ensure that all power has been stripped from the bourgeoisie

b. A classless society emerges

6. Under communism, no one would be exploited and all wealth would be distributed equally

IV. Class Struggle

B. Development of Communism1. In 1864, the International Workingmen’s

Association founded2. Its goals included fostering proletariat unity,

overthrowing the bourgeoisie, and abolishing capitalism and private property

3. Socialist political parties created in many European countries from 1875 to 1905

Robert Owen’s Model Textile Mill

V. Robert Owen

A. Successful Welsh businessman who owned several textile mills

1. He thought changing the poor working conditions would make workers happier and healthier, enabling them to work harder

2. He created his own community for his workers3. Provided food, decent housing, education for workers

and shorter work days4. His ideas influenced other to experiment with creating

communities in later years