Reference no: EM133399577
Assignment:
The Industrial Revolution
- What are some of the factors that made the Industrial Revolution possible?
- Why did the American economy, at least in the North, begin to move toward industry and away from agriculture?
Working Conditions Before and During the Industrial Era
Read the Blacksmith apprentice contract for a perspective on pre-industrial working conditions.
- What was life as an apprentice like, based on this contract?
Read the Daily Schedule of an 1850s factory.
- What does this schedule tell you about working conditions in these types of factories?
- How is this different from or similar to the situation of the apprentice?
Look at the 1850s Cotton Manufacturers Wage Table.
- Look at Massachusetts. How much money does a male worker earn in a month? How much does a female worker earn?
- Which states pay the best wages? Which pay the worst?
- Are there more men, or more women, working in cotton manufacturing?
Look at the 1850s Woolen Manufacturers Wage Table.
- Look at Massachusetts. How much money does a male worker earn in a month? How much does a female worker earn?
- Which states pay the best wages? Which pay the worst?
- Are there more men, or more women, working in textile manufacturing?
Labor and Protest
- Read the piece by Harriet Robinson. Why did the "girls" of Lowell decide to go on strike?
- How did Robinson feel about her role in the strike?
- How did the "turn out" end? Were the demands of the girls met?
Immigration
Read the story of the Irish mother.
- Why did this mother immigrate to the United States?
- What did she do when she arrived here?
- What does this piece tell you about American attitudes towards immigration?
Nativism
Read the 1840s Employment Ads and the platform from the Know Nothing party.
- What attitudes towards immigrants do you see in these sources?
- Specifically what rights does the Know Nothing Party want to take away from immigrants?
- What does the Know Nothing Party say about religion?
- Compare these pieces to the story of the Irish mother. What is similar or different in the attitudes towards immigration in these pieces?
Free African Americans in the Workplace
Read the speech by Maria Stewart.
- According to Stewart, what kinds of jobs are available to African American women?
- Why, according to Stewart, is the African American community "wretched and miserable?"
- What are the impacts of "continual hard labor" on the African American community?
- What does Stewart think the African American community needs to do to change its situation?
Reflection
Based on these readings, would you rather work as an apprentice, or get a job in a factory? Why?
In this era, many Americans began to define freedom as the ability to get a job and earn good wages.
- What impact did the Industrial Revolution have on ideas of equality, liberty and freedom?
- What do you think is the role of economics in freedom?
Like the Americans of the early 1800s, we are also living through an era of rapid technological change. And as in the 1800s, this is impacting the social and political institutions of our country. Do you see any parallels between the experiences of Americans in the early 1800s and our own times? Are there any lessons we can learn from this period of American history that might provide lessons for today?