19th Century Transformations: Society, Health, and Labor Rights

Improvements in 19th Century Living Conditions

• Enhanced Nutrition

  Nutrition improved, making the population more resistant to illness. This was possible thanks to advances in agriculture and changes in people's diets. Corn and potatoes became staple foods.

• Public Health Advancements

  In 1796, Edward Jenner discovered the vaccine for smallpox, a disease with a high mortality rate. New hospitals were also built during this period.

• Personal and Public Hygiene

  People began to wear cotton clothes, which were easier to wash. There was better access to clean drinking water.

• Decline in Epidemics

  Frequent in the Early Modern period, epidemics began to cause fewer deaths.

19th Century Social Classes

• The Peasantry

  In the 19th century, the majority of the population worked in the countryside, and their situation varied from one region to another.

• The Proletariat

  The proletariat were the industrial workers. They possessed their labor, which they "sold" in exchange for a salary. They performed tasks that required little skill and were paid very low salaries, on which they barely survived.

• Domestic Servants

  Domestic servants were also members of the lower classes. They earned very low salaries and lived in the attics or servants' quarters of the houses where they worked. They typically had only one afternoon off a week.

Key 19th Century Labor Movements and Theories

• Luddism

  The first protests were spontaneous. Many workers destroyed factory machines, which they blamed for their situation. This movement was named after a fictional character called Ned Ludd.

• Chartism

  This was the first organized labor movement with political goals. Between 1838 and 1848, this movement had thousands of supporters and presented its People's Charter to the British Parliament. It demanded labor and voting rights for workers.

• Trade Unionism

  Trade unions emerged in Britain in 1824, advocating for better wages, shorter working hours, and an end to child labor. Prior to 1824, workers were limited to mutual aid societies for support. The unions' primary tactic was striking. In 1833, they united to form the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union.

• Marxism

  Marxism is a theory developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It proposed a revolution to end capitalism, give power to workers, abolish private property, create a classless society, and collectively own the means of production.