Industrialisation and urbanisation radically changed nineteenth century English society, sometimes for the better, more often for the worse. Discuss.
Industrialisation and urbanisation radically changed nineteenth century English society, sometimes for the better, more often for the worse. Discuss.
The industrial revolution was the first step in modern economic growth and development, altering both the appearance of land and establishing a different way of living and working for the majority of families. Britain’s production moved from its traditional agricultural locations in the countryside to large industrial cities where the factories were based, in turn, large percentages of the population began relocating from the country to the towns. Around 1851 there was roughly half the countries population living in an urban environment and this had raised to approx. 80% by 1900 (The Victorian Web 2003). Industrialisation led to the rise of the middle class, giving them political power and improving their quality of life, but although industrialisation was good for some, mainly the middle and upper classes, it led to urbanisation and along with the benefits of an industrial society came the disadvantages of urban dwellings and poor working conditions for the working class.
The growth of cities and economy brought many new members to the “Middle Class Community”. The term was used to describe those members of society who were below the aristocracy but above the workers; “the middling sort”. The middle class spread wide across the population from small shopkeepers to large factory owners. They made great fortunes during the industrial revolution through mass production, trade and commerce, property and investment in innovation. A good example is Wedgwood Pottery. Wedgwood began to produce and market their goods to the middle class. As they began to live better lifestyles the demand for better quality goods grew. The working class wanted to live the middle class lifestyle and so it was a case of ‘keeping up appearances’ that stimulated consumerism. The money from enterprises such as Wedgwood equaled success which was often then converted into political power.
The 1832 Reform Act gave the vote to a large proportion of middle class; the ability to vote meant the manufacturers now had more impact with the governance of Britain. This political power was then often used to ensure that policy reflected that of the middle class (The Victorian Web 2003). “The middle class regarded itself as the moral heart of Victorian society, a conviction assisted by the shift of the economic center of gravity in it’s direction, it took the understandable position that what was good for it was “ipso facto” good for the nation” (R Altick 1974 pg 29 sited on the Victorian Web 2003). ‘It was their enterprises that expanded the national product; it was their improving standards of living that created much of the demand for domestic manufactures; it was their savings that financed the railways and much of the growing volume of overseas investment; it was their anti-intellectualism, their puritanical moral code which shaped the attitudes of mind which we tend to regard as characteristic of victorianism’ (Deanne, pg 284). The 19th Century showed an enlargement of local government, this provided job opportunities for a vast range of officials from teachers to doctors. Some members of the middle class used their new found wealth to buy land or stately homes, but the major benefits of wealth were the higher levels of income, the lower levels of adulteration to food making it safer to eat, better housing, better sanitation, private water supplies, comfortable working conditions and a better education. This led to an overall higher standard of living which in turn decreased the death rate in infants and increased the average life expectancy, leading to an increase in their population ‘The Rise of the Middle Class’.
