Activity 1

Conflict over industrialization and its consequences began almost as soon as it began. Consider, for example, these two documents from the early years of the Industrial Revolution: the Leeds Woolen Workers' Petition of 1786 and the reply of the Leeds Cloth Merchants in 1791. What is the point of disagreement between these two groups? What interests do they represent? What does each group see as the consequences of industrialization? Now read this excerpt from The Philosophy of the Manufacturers (1835), by Andrew Ure. What is this "philosophy" as Ure represents it? What is Ure's attitude toward it? Do you think he would be more likely to support a group like the Leeds woolen workers or one like the Leeds cloth merchants? Finally, take a look as some remarks concerning English women miners (1842) and weaving mill girls (1832-48) in Lowell, Massachusetts. How did these women experience industrialization. How was the experience of the English women miners similar to and different from that of the girls who worked on the Lowell weaving mills?

Activity 2

By the seventeenth century the agricultural revolution had gained considerable momentum in England. Enclosure and new methods of land use had placed more land under more productive cultivation. Read Of Agriculture, by the English poet and essayist, Abraham Cowley. What is Cowley's attitude toward agriculture? What is its value to the individual and to the state? Does Cowley appear to be aware of the momentous changes in agriculture you have studied? If so, how does he perceive them? If not, why do you think he misses them? One element of the agricultural revolution was the introduction of new crops. One of the most important crops to arrive in Britain during this period was the potato. Brought east from South America, the potato quickly became a staple food crop for many peoples of Great Britain, particularly the Irish. Read the following remarks on the so-called potato revolution. What role did the potato play in the development of British agriculture? What were the perceived benefits of the crop? How, in particular, did Adam Smith view the potato and its place in capitalist system? How do these writers envision agriculture, and how do their visions differ from that of Cowley?