CAMBRIDGEASHISTORYREVISION

THEINDUSTRIALREVOLUTIONBY1800

2.4 POLITICALEFFECTSOFTHEINDUSTRIALREVOLUTIONUPTO1850

THE 18TH CENTURYBritain: monarchy with some constitutional controls; power in the hands of nobility (wealthy landowners).France: absolute monarchy.Germany: rulers of states had absolute control.Effects of industrialisation: created a middle class (industrialists) that demanded political power and a working class that wanted to improve conditions by gaining political rights.

BRITAIN1832 Reform Act: some industrial towns given the right to elect members of parliament; franchise extended to property owners (i.e. factory owners as well as landowners).Chartists: 1836 – London Working Men’s Association formed by William Lovett – wanted political rights for working class; put down by government.Changes in later 19th century: most of the Chartists’ demands were eventually met; working-class men given the vote; secret ballots in elections; constituencies set up to reflect distribution of population; growth in power of trade unions.

FRANCEJuly Revolution 1830: poor harvests and unemployment upset working class; middle class angry about lack of voting rights and free trade; King Charles X replaced by Louis Philippe.1848: economic problems and unrest; government refused to extend franchise to lower middle class and working classes; Louis Philippe ed to Britain.Second Republic 1848–52: All men over 21 given the right to vote; reforms of employment conditions; wealthier people alarmed and Napoleon III became emperor in 1852.1870: revolution against Napoleon III.

GERMANY1848 revolutions: universal male suffrage granted to Prussian Landtag, although Prussia remained an authoritarian state controlled by king and landowners.Bismarck: fearing an alliance between working and middle classes, Bismarck gave working men the vote and created welfare state.

MARXISMThe Communist Manifesto 1848: written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; predicted a revolution by the proletariat (industrial working class).Influence: stronger in France and Germany than in Britain.