The Exploits of the Working Class in the 19th Century

 

 In the 19th century, the idea that the working class was considered inferior to the bourgeoisie did not reflect the real situation. Not only did the upper middle class and the rich need the lower classes to support them they exploited their financial status by keeping the working-class poor and oppressed. The bourgeoisie continued to do this to be able to have cheap labor and maximize their profits.

           In the 19th century, the rich and the bourgeoisie treated the working class and poor as a nuisance to society. They blamed the working class for their circumstances. That somehow it was their fault they were poor and had nothing. “In the minds of the bourgeoisie, as the labor movements and socialist parties grew, the demands of the working class for shortened working days spoke not to their exhaustion and exploitation, but to their laziness and lack of work ethic.” (“Western Civilization A Concise History Volume 3” 92) How did they know that they were lazy or had poor work ethics when the rich and upper middle classes had only very limited contact with the lower classes. The rich and bourgeoisie took it one step further by not wanting the government to get involved. They wanted the market to function naturally or by having a “laissez-faire.” “The principal and most permanent cause of poverty has little or no relation to forms of government, or the unequal division of property; and as the rich do not in reality possess the power of finding employment and maintenance for [all] the poor, the poor cannot, in the nature of things, possess the right to demand them; [these] are important truths flowing from the principle of population. . .. And it is evident that every man in the lower classes of society, who became acquainted with these truths, would be disposed to bear the distresses in which he might be involved with more patience.” (Malthus,T, 1803)

           This view expressed has limited validity. The working class and poor were oppressed by the rich and the upper middle classes. They were forced to work in abhorrent conditions within the factories at unreasonable hours and, in some cases, were not allowed to leave once they were finished working. “Many skilled workers or artisans experienced the factory system as a disaster, bringing in its wake subjection to harsh work discipline, the degradation of craft skills, long hours, cheap wages, and the abuse of young women and children (who worked under the same conditions as did adult men).” (“Western Civilization A Concise History Volume 3” 37) Many of the reasons why these things happened were due to ignorance, lack of education, and the most obvious, greed. The rich and the upper middle classes also did not want the working class and the poor to come together and unionize because they knew they would be outnumbered and lose control. Flora Tristian encouraged the workers to do just that. “Workers, you must leave behind division and isolation as quickly as possible and march courageously and fraternally down the only appropriate path—unity. . .. The workers, the vital part of the nation, must create a huge union to assert their unity! Then, the working class will be strong; then it will be able to make itself heard, to demand from the bourgeois gentlemen its right to work and to organize.” (“The Workers Union”) Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels put it in a similar fashion. They suggested in their book German Ideology that “The alteration of men on a mass scale is necessary, an alteration which can only take place in a practical movement, a revolution; this revolution is necessary, therefore, not only because the ruling class cannot be overthrown in any other way, but also because the class overthrowing it can only in a revolution succeed in ridding itself of all the muck of ages and become fitted to found society anew.” (“The German Ideology”)

    Due to the socialist movements that were popping up at this time, many wanted the government to get involved and protect the people. There were many petitions that were written, like the London Workingmen’s Association, who petitioned the British government in order for males 21 years and older to register to vote “without owning any land qualifications.” (Petition to Parliament for the People’s Charter) During this time, the bourgeois upper middle class and the rich made it customary the needing to own land to have the right to vote. They did this to keep the working class and the poor impoverished so they would have no voice within the government to improve things within their class. Alexandre Millerand, a member of the French national legislature, made a speech in 1896 stating how socialism would bring two things to every man. That is liberty and property. That men will continue to pursue elections, so they reach that final goal of pure liberty and freedom. To have that recognition within the government, they deserve. (Millerand, A. 1869)

            Lastly, it wasn’t just the men who were treated horribly women were treated worse. Not only were they expected to work just as hard as the men they got paid less doing the exact same job. The reason for this is during this time women were not treated as equals, and they didn’t even have the right to vote. “Women industrial workers were still expected to carry out domestic labor as well, tending to children, cooking, and cleaning, a nearly impossible combination of demands that made life for women in the industrial cities even harder than it was for men.” (“Western Civilization A Concise History Volume 3” 39) There were women who decided to fight back. Pauline a French writer and a political activist wrote a letter to an editor to a newspaper in 1851 stating that not only women should have a right to work as men do but should be independent from men in general. She stated that women should have freedom of choice and should not be confined to her home if she doesn’t choose to do this. Most importantly she emphasized that when a woman becomes of age, she should have free will do with her life as she chooses.

            In conclusion the rich and upper middle bourgeoisie class through ignorance treated the working class and the poor with pure cruelty. They needed the poor and working class to help line their pockets with money and wealth to continue a lifestyle they wanted to have. Their malevolent treatment towards the working class and the poor to keep them subjugated was nothing short of appalling. St Amand Bazard a French social theorist said it best “It is said, “everything balances out in the end.” But until this balancing process has run its course, what do we do with the thousands who are starving? Will they endure their misery with patience because the statistical tables assure them that they will have bread in a few years?” (Bazard, A 1828) Their suffering was brought on to them unwillingly and the poor and working class certainly didn’t deserve it.

Resources:

Western Civilization A Concise History Volume 3. Dr. Christopher Brooks, 2022.

“Principle of Population” second edition. Thomas Malthus, 1803.

The Workers Union. Flora Tristan, 1843.

The German Ideology. Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels, 1845-1846

London Workingmen’s Association “Petition to Parliament for the People’s Charter,” 1838

Alexandre Millerand, member of the French national legislature, speech, 1896.

Pauline Roland, French writer and political activist, letter to the editor of the French newspaper Universal Well-Being, 1851.

Source: Saint-Amand Bazard, French social theorist, public lecture, 1828.