Middle Class DBQ

In 1850 a new economic system rose in America, Industrial Capitalism. The rise of Industrial Capitalism brought many Changes to America. Cities and transportation, such as automobiles and railroads, become popular during this time. The three social classes became distinct during this time. The benefits of Industrial Capitalism were increase in production, because the creation of the assembly line. More jobs were created and high salaries for workers. This all created a more controlled economy. Despite the Benefits, there were many problems that came with Industrial Capitalism. The biggest problems were social class inequality and that people were unhappy. There were many groups in the next 100 years that would try to solve these problems; Progressives

Most members of the middle class “the bourgeoisie” who made almost 13% of the third estate’s population, some had come from the peasantry background. And the lower middle class consisted of the business men, traders, lawyers and other skilled workers, most of whom were professionals and well educated. The traders wanted personal economic

The upper class were the rich and with the advancement of new technology, became richer. Goods could be created and sold for a cheaper price in their factories. With the working class looking for work, were employed by the factory owners. The advantaged social class that had enjoyed wealth and success, had now achieved a new level of luxury.

The proletarians and the bourgeoisies had very different ways in which they lived during the industrial age. The proletarians lived inside the city where pollution was very bad and overcrowded by a large majority of population, where as the bourgeoisies lived outside the city limits and controlled much of the land. Once the Industrial Revolution came the life in the cities where the proletarians lived became very drastic. Disease in the city became very bad and could destroy a large percentage of the population by causing death. The working class suffered from various types of diseases such as lung disease and many poisonings. The working class would not nearly live as long as the bourgeoisies because they would not be able to receive the medical care that they needed.4 Also crime in the cities became very high because criminals could get away very easily. Eventually law enforcement would be created to slow down the high rates of crime. Another thing

Thus, it was believed that conflicting classes existed because individuals developed an appropriate sense of class-consciousness (Buckler 740). This consciousness is very obvious when looking at the mindset of the middle-class owners. They were primarily focused on production and gave little thought to the environment of their workers. As a result, most early factories contained extremely unpleasant work conditions. Mills and factories were dangerously loud, and they were sweltering hot in the summer while poorly heated in the winter. Work days consisted of endlessly long hours and holidays were rarely granted. Furthermore, no laws or unions stood protecting the early urban proletariat workers. Despite these horrid conditions, the proletariat workers were desperate for jobs and were entirely dependant on their employers. Also, because of class-consciousness, they came to accept their positions in society as grueling factory workers. On top of terrible work conditions, the Proletariats’ living conditions were less than satisfactory due to the rapid population increase in urban cities. Until the Industrial Revolution, most of the continent’s population was rural. However, by mid-nineteenth century, half of all Europeans lived in cities and worked in the new industrial factories instead of farms. This transformation of Europe from a rural to urbanized society depressed the living standards of workers to horrendous levels. In doing so, however, it

The Putrid Conditions of Slum life. The city slums are cramped, dark and dirty. With around 300,000

There was no room for growth for the lower class economically. These families had to send their children to work, in factories instead of going to school, to help pay for their families bills. The economy benefited the wealthy class because it allowed them to practices lawful but bad practices such as creating a monopoly for their business. Another way it benefited the wealthy class is because it allowed them to have a big roll in the government because of their wealth, it allowed for them to buy out many political leaders. The poor we stuck and could not move up in this economic system and the wealth had a tremendous amount of power and wealth in the

The factory workers were made up of the lower class. That was the only job people could find. The rich were the factory owner in which they only had to receive the benefits of the labour. This shows how the social structure in the 1800s was but that same aspect of the difference between the lower and upper class never truly changed. This culture that was created has seeped through the nineteenth century up until now.

The middle class consisted of moderately successful merchants, shopkeepers, and accountants. The skilled blue collar workers had little freedom to negotiate and their working conditions deteriorated markedly

Middle class: They engaged in common economic deals of society, including conspicuous consumption for substances comfort as their earnings increased during the market revolution. considered themselves as self-made men based on a hard work ethic and moral. They held a strong belief in public education.

(27) There is a demarcation between the classes beginning with the rich elite, the upper upper class and the lower upper class. Those with inherited wealth are placed above those with self-earned wealth while those with great wealth are distinguished from those with a moderate amount of wealth. They are stable within their ranks, not dependent upon the economic climate of the country to sustain their positions. The upper middle class belongs to those people who are doing well and whose position also is not likely to change with the economic climate of the country. The middle class is comprised of people who are relatively comfortable and can afford a minimal number of luxuries. The working class can afford very few luxuries and are just getting by. Their position, like the middle class is subject to change with socio-economic changes in the country. The working poor cannot actually make ends meet and often become displaced workers with the ability to plummet down into the lowest class. They are not usually able to access the minimal comforts of the working class. The Underclass is a desperate position whose ranks lead substandard lives with no amenities and little chance for mobility.

While the upper class reaped all the benefits of the industrial revolution and lucrative religious ventures, the lower class citizens were being treated like animals. The revolution into industry sent poor farmers into the cities looking for jobs that were controlled by the wealthy upper class. Immediately these people were exploited, being given long hours, low wages, and horrible living arrangements. The working class citizens were being exposed to conditions of “filth, ruin, and uninhabitableness, with the defiance of all considerations of cleanliness,

On the others side of the unbalanced American social scale, the rich were living in superb houses and apartments that bespoke of wealth and comfort. In a weird turn of events, the elite were given more charitable donations then the unemployed miserable lower class citizens.

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were full of evolving social and economic ideas. These views of the social structure of urban society came about through the development of ideas taken from the past revolutions. As the Industrial Revolution progressed through out the world, so did the gap between the class structures. The development of a capitalist society was a very favorable goal for the upper class. By using advanced methods of production introduced by the Industrial Revolution, they were able to earn a substantial surplus by ruling the middle class. Thus, maintaining their present class of life, while the middle class was exploited and degraded. At this time in history, social

The lower class, also known as the “working class”, were those individuals whom partook on the strenuous and dangerous jobs. These individuals were expected to work each and every day for multiple hours as a time and without a break. Although they worked extremely hard, the lower class was not paid well for their effort. Instead, they received the very minimum wage that one could, and were expected to live off of this (Allingham, 2002). Because the people of this class did not have as much money, their material items such as; housing, clothing, and food were very minimum. Even with the small amount of income that they received, the “lower section of the society was also burdened with numerous taxes that made their life miserable.” (Bishal, 2008) Lastly, the working classes remained shut out from the political process, making these individuals in reality separated from the rest of society (Allingham, 2002).