The Condition Of The Working-Class In England In 1844
The Condition Of The Working-Class In England In 1844

Author: Frederick Engels

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2023-08-01

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 9359392766

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"The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844" by Frederick Engels is a powerful indictment of the Industrial Revolution's detrimental impact on workers. Engels meticulously demonstrates how industrial cities like Manchester and Liverpool experienced alarmingly high mortality rates due to diseases, with workers being four times more likely to succumb to illnesses like smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, and whooping cough compared to their rural counterparts. The overall death rate in these cities far surpassed the national average, painting a grim picture of the workers' plight. Engels goes beyond mortality statistics to shed light on the dire living conditions endured by industrial workers. He argues that their wages were lower than those of pre-industrial workers, and they were forced to inhabit unhealthy and unpleasant environments. Addressing a German audience, Engels' work is considered a classic account of the universal struggles faced by the industrial working class. It reveals his transformation into a radical thinker after witnessing the harsh realities in England. "The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844" remains an essential resource for understanding the hardships endured by workers during the Industrial Revolution. Engels' meticulous research and impassioned arguments continue to shape discussions on labor rights, social inequality, and the historical agency of the working class.

The Life of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
The Life of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton

Author: David Bruce

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2013-12-05

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 0739183389

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The social conscience of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786-1845) developed as he operated a brewery in Spitalfields, nineteenth-century London’s poorest parish. His interest and research on penal discipline brought him national prominence and led to a parliamentary career that lasted nearly two decades. Buxton’s association with noted activist William Wilberforce led to his own involvement in the anti-slavery movement, a cause he fiercely championed, resulting in Britain’s abolition of slavery in 1834. Buxton’s involvement in the disastrous 1841 Niger expedition effectively ended his public career and paved the way to British imperialism in Africa. A man of many interests, Buxton also supported Catholic emancipation and ending the Hindu suttee. Few nineteenth-century social reformers have had as much of an impact or have cast as long a shadow as Buxton. At the time of his death, many saw him as the epitome of Christian activism, yet today Buxton remains largely ignored and forgotten. David Bruce examines the life of one of Great Britain’s most prominent social activists. Using his personal papers, and the papers and books of his friends, associates, and contemporaries, The Life of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton paints a portrait of a unique individual driven to improve his world.

The Making of the English Working Class
The Making of the English Working Class

Author: E. P. Thompson

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2016-03-15

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13: 1504022173

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A history of the common people and the Industrial Revolution: “A true masterpiece” and one of the Modern Library’s 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the twentieth century (Tribune). During the formative years of the Industrial Revolution, English workers and artisans claimed a place in society that would shape the following centuries. But the capitalist elite did not form the working class—the workers shaped their own creations, developing a shared identity in the process. Despite their lack of power and the indignity forced upon them by the upper classes, the working class emerged as England’s greatest cultural and political force. Crucial to contemporary trends in all aspects of society, at the turn of the nineteenth century, these workers united into the class that we recognize all across the Western world today. E. P. Thompson’s magnum opus, The Making of the English Working Class defined early twentieth-century English social and economic history, leading many to consider him Britain’s greatest postwar historian. Its publication in 1963 was highly controversial in academia, but the work has become a seminal text on the history of the working class. It remains incredibly relevant to the social and economic issues of current times, with the Guardian saying upon the book’s fiftieth anniversary that it “continues to delight and inspire new readers.”