Manchester DBQ

In the time of the Industrial Revolution, Manchester was a developing country, becoming a leading textile manufacturing center after the invention of the cotton mill was created in 1780. But for every action, there is an opposite reaction. Whether it was a drastic growth in population and how that affected Manchester, or the unsanitary conditions that workers went through every day, or how the working class was affected with all the reforms going on, Manchester at the time went through some dramatic issues.

In document 5 (Source: Edward ChadWick) it states that the lower class workers were underpaid and that the wages they received wasn't enough because they were getting under paid. That a lower class worker could not be able to live a long and healthy life span due to the lowe wages they were getting paid and with that in mind the workers wouldn't have enough money to afford a clean and sanitized house with essential utilities to live a clean, healthy life. The workers who worked in the factories would be succumbed to horrible and unjust treatment and unsafe, unsanitary conditions. In document 6 (Source: Joseph Hebergam-interview by Michael Sandler and his House of Commons Committee on 7th July, 1832), The Interview reveals on how bad the conditions for the workers were, and how they were beaten and how they overworked them each day. Joseph states that he started working in a factory at the age seven like most other children at the time would start to work, that he would have to work from five in the morning till eight at night and having only one, thirty minute lunch break at noon. Like most factories and mills at the time these workers would be worked all day long which would cause health issue giving them pain in the arms and legs due to them being over worked, and most of the times the workers wouldn’t

“People were forced to work in harsh, dangerous conditions in order to be able to provide for their families” (Document 8). Although most people were grateful to have a job, the conditions that they were forced to work for in order to provide for their families were unfair to them, and their families. Just because they obtained a job one day, doesn’t mean they would have it the next day, for example, if an employee was sick, or injured and had to miss a day of work the employee wasn’t guaranteed to continually have the job after they finally recovered. “I am at work in a spinning room tending four sides of warp which is one girl’s work” (Document 1) working conditions such as these are very harsh for the employees, not only do they have to keep up with the work of four people. Not only do the employees have to keep up with the sea of work, they also have to attempt not to get injured with the very harsh conditions lots of employees did in fact end up with serious injuries. “5 in the morning till 9 at night…” (Document 7) Those were the harsh working hours according to twenty-three year old Elizabeth Bentley. Long hours such as those were very common for factory workers, which made life hard for employees. Not only was harsh working conditions bad, but also the worst consequence that came about through the Industrial Revolution was child

England in the 18th and 19th centuries changed dramatically as a result of the Industrial Revolution, which had many effects on the social structure of England and increased the gap between the rich and the poor. Because of this, industrialized English towns such as Manchester were both criticized and admired by poets, politicians, journalists, and outsiders, who were particularly from France. The most powerful points of view were from supporters of industrialization, those who opposed industrialization, journalists, and outsiders.

Another great issue introduced by the growth in Manchester was the poor living and working conditions of the lower class. Homes had no furniture or food and the people lacked clothes (Doc.7). Additionally, the work hours were long and the factories were uncomfortable and hazardous. A chart states that the average age at death for workers in Manchester is lower than any that of any other district (Doc.8). At last, Document 5 quotes that “…here civilization works its miracles, and the civilized man is turned back into a savage”.

Wages--thanks mainly to accelerated machinery and improved working conditions--have largely increased. The lavish provision of public parks, baths, and free libraries promotes the health, happiness and culture of the industrial orders. Far seldomer than before do we hear the murmur of popular discontent. Sickness and mortality have been reduced to an extent that is almost incredible” (doc 10 – Abram’s, a journalist and historian, published journal account of the improvements to industrial Manchester.)

Contrary to an average American's belief on how Americans actually came to be, they did not do it completely on their own or the perfect American way. In fact, it all started around the seven years war when Great Britain beat France in the war for world empire. By doing this they also opened the lands west of the Appalachian Mountain for settlement. In order to win this war the british had to rack up a great amount of debt and mortality. They were able to do all of this without the slightest of help from the colonies and afterwards most british people were unhappy with colonists because of their lack of sympathy and support. The colonists simply stopped focusing on Great Britain in general and more on expanding their own territory to the newly opened lands. Almost everyone in the colonies now thought themselves as no longer British and started creating their own American identity.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Manchester had embraced the ideals of the industrial revolution, which led the city to become the industrial heart of England. Since the development of industry was on such a huge scale, there were both pessimistic and positive responses to it. Numerous were concerned about health changes due to the relegate in living standards, as well as the introduction of dangerous and un-hygienic factory, while others were more concerned with the visual appeal that the city had to offer.

Ever wonder about how the Industrial Revolution affected Manchester? Manchester had advanced greatly with many factories and new jobs available to the public. Manchester was advanced yet had many flaws. Industrialization brought many negative aspects such as poor living conditions, illnesses, and uncomfortable and overcrowded spaces.

Many visitors discovered the working and living conditions of the suffering people. “If you visit a factory, it is easy to see that the comfort and welfare of the workers have never entered the builder’s head” (Doc 7). A women’s rights advocate in 1842 implies if you haven’t seen the city conditions, then you can’t appreciate how your belongings are made. People are furthering looking into how workers are being treated since they are working around fourteen hours straight every day of the week ingesting the fumes from the contents their working with. A medical journal presents that life expectancy is lower than rural areas for industrial jobs; In Manchester, an artisan would only live until their late teens, while in Rutland, an artisan would live until their late thirties (Doc 8).

The Age of Exploration was a time of many new settlements throughout the world, of those Charles Town was the most successful, yet difficult settlement in South Carolina. Lord proprietor Anthony Ashley Cooper, wanted to build a settlement called Charles Town, at Albemarle Point along the Ashley river. However, there were various struggles, so he needed funding and support from England. Then when they received support, Charles Town became a successful settlement. What were the struggles of settling Charles Town? It was difficult to settle Charles Town because of the geography, resources, and diseases and conflict with the Native Americans.

In the Report on the Conditions of the Laboring Population of Great Britain, Edwin Chadwick discussed diseases, filth, overcrowding, bad ventilation, and short lives of the laboring classes (Doc 5). Furthermore, individuals spoke against safety and health conditions in factories across Europe. Illnesses were widespread and children suffered from disease as well. Tocqueville (Doc 3) and Tristan (Doc 6), a guest and a ladies' rights advocate from France respectively, remarked on the “physical and moral degradation of this class of the population”, claiming that the factories were creating harmful pollution to the environment and poisoning the people with unsafe contamination; however, the conflict between the French and the English might just have made them enhance and amplify this issue, exaggerating the actual health problems the factories produced. Similarly, Chadwick was plagued and daunted by the foul, filthy work regions of the laboring classes (Doc 5).

From the late 18th century to the mid-19th century, the English city of Manchester underwent a large change under the influence of the Industrial Revolution. It can be described as a large factory, as it was filled with manufacturing factories and workers. Unfortunately, these workers had to live in inhumane conditions while developing the city of Manchester.

This led to miserable living and working conditions for the peasant class, commonly horrifying other members of society. Flora Tristan, a French socialist expressed her surprise at the severity of the conditions in document 2. She states that the workers of Manchester lacked basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, and furniture. She also included a quote questioning if progress had to come at the cost of humanity. Although the conditions in Manchester were surely unideal, her French origins most likely mean she has an inherent dislike of England which could lead to the use of stronger language than normal. The working conditions for the poor were almost worse. One factory inspector in 1836 noted that boys were working thirty four hour shifts with only meal breaks. He goes on to say that he told the master in the factory that he would punish the cruelty towards the workers as much as he could, as seen in document 4. The appalling living and employment conditions the peasants were subjected to alarmed those who did not experience it on a day to day basis. The Industrial Revolution led to a rapid growth in the size of cities causing nauseating conditions for the workers and provoking the outrage of the

In document five, Flora Tristan, a women’s activist, is writing on behalf of all of the working class of Manchester. The conditions that she describes were very unhealthy then, and are considered even worse now. Tristan uses phrases such as “physical suffering”, “shut up in low-ceilinged rooms”, and “moral degradation” to really describe the conditions. The majority of the people in the working class, especially those who worked in manual labor, lived in very unsanitary conditions. Document six reports many of the same things, but this time it is written by a public health reformer, Edwin Chadwick. Chadwick has recognized the bad conditions, and is writing an informative report about it. Since Chadwick works in the realm of health, he should know better than most people how bad it is to live in conditions such as this. With these two first-hand accounts, we can see that the conditions were very bad. A painting by William Wyld also depicts the terrible pollution that plagued the city of Manchester. Wyld painted the skyline of Manchester from Kersal Moor. In the painting, you can see the many smokestacks and large factories. This is good physical proof of the level of pollution of Manchester during the industrial