The context of the Second Industrial Revolution.
Between the middle and the last quarter of the XIX century, the division between the Western Europe industrialized and the Eastern Europe and southern, whose economy continued to be based on agriculture for some time. After the crackdown on 1848 and the economic expansion that followed, decreased the Social conflict.
The working class
In the following decade, however, the activity of the labor movement increased. The composition of the working class it diversified due to the increase in types of employment, especially in the cities, where trades multiplied and coexisted with old craft activities.
However, the living conditions for most of the workers remained harsh: along with job opportunities, poor hygiene and overcrowding increased, and more women and children joined the workforce.
The first unions
The workers They did not take long to develop their own organization, with the aim of joining forces to face the dizzying changes that were taking place in the best possible way.
In Britainin 1875, the unions either trade unions reached one million members. They were a source of pressure to achieve the electoral reform of 1867, which expanded the right to vote to reach a third of adult males. The unions also obtained legal recognition, the legislation of the right to strike and the regulation of
relations between employers and workers.
In Francethe labor organization it was more disaggregated, due to the spatial dispersion of the industry. The sectors with the most union activity were metallurgical and mining. In 1864, they managed to legalize the workers’ associations. In France there was a large peasantry, which was, in general, owner of their land, and, therefore, had a more conservative attitude and was not so prone to mobilization.
In Germanythe industrialization, late but fast, produced industrial concentrations and an exodus of peasants to the cities. In the 1860s, two important workers parties: the General Association of German Workersfirst Socialist Partyand the Social Democratic Labor Party. These were united in 1875 under the name of German Social Democratic Partywho actively participated in national political life.
Germany It was the first country to incorporate the social security system managed by the State. Insurance was also introduced to cover risks of accidents, disability and old age. These advances did not reach all the inhabitants, but, fundamentally, those who were employed in the most concentrated industrial sectors.
and whose unions they had more power of pressure than the others.
The workers constituted a numerous and diverse social sector, which acquired importance union and politics in the 1880s, when specialized workers (technicians, clerks, teachers, tertiary sector workers) and workers not specialized.
This variety and amount of workforce active contributed to giving the labor movement a social power that had not reached until then. Even so, the conquests were slow and costly. For example, by 1914, the demand to establish a maximum of eight hours for the duration of the working day had not yet been realized.
Read more about this historical period in the following articles:
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imperialism in the XIX century: the Cast of the World
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wars of XIX centuryabstract (from 1800 to 1848)
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Japan’s mid-century reforms XIX century
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The industrial Revolution
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Characteristics of Nation States
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