Ira Katznelson
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198279242
- eISBN:
- 9780191601910
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279248.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
For Marxism, the main issues of social theory within the industrial phase of capitalism focus on the formation of working classes, and this subject is best treated, in significant measure, as an ...
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For Marxism, the main issues of social theory within the industrial phase of capitalism focus on the formation of working classes, and this subject is best treated, in significant measure, as an urban one. The spatial requirements of industrial capitalism shaped nineteenth‐century cities – their patterns of growth, interconnections, built environments, and social geographies – and, in turn, the experience of such cities, and attempts to make sense of their properties, were decisive elements in the early histories of Western working classes. The cost to Marxism of its neglect of cities is especially pronounced with regard to these issues, and the new urban Marxism of the 1970s and 1980s has been important precisely because of its attempts to put an end to the tradition's urban and spatial elisions – what Marxist social theory badly requires but has never secured is the systematic inculcation of an urban–geographical imagination into the analysis of working‐class formation. This chapter sketches an example of such an effort, which entails three related steps: a specification of the structural determinants of city growth and development; a presentation of the spatial configurations characteristic of these new spaces; and a systematic, contingent, and comparative account of how the new working classes made sense of these spaces in the different Western countries. It does so by comparing and contrasting the cases of working‐class formation in nineteenth‐century England and the United States, although most of the discussion of spatial reorganization focuses on English cities.Less
For Marxism, the main issues of social theory within the industrial phase of capitalism focus on the formation of working classes, and this subject is best treated, in significant measure, as an urban one. The spatial requirements of industrial capitalism shaped nineteenth‐century cities – their patterns of growth, interconnections, built environments, and social geographies – and, in turn, the experience of such cities, and attempts to make sense of their properties, were decisive elements in the early histories of Western working classes. The cost to Marxism of its neglect of cities is especially pronounced with regard to these issues, and the new urban Marxism of the 1970s and 1980s has been important precisely because of its attempts to put an end to the tradition's urban and spatial elisions – what Marxist social theory badly requires but has never secured is the systematic inculcation of an urban–geographical imagination into the analysis of working‐class formation. This chapter sketches an example of such an effort, which entails three related steps: a specification of the structural determinants of city growth and development; a presentation of the spatial configurations characteristic of these new spaces; and a systematic, contingent, and comparative account of how the new working classes made sense of these spaces in the different Western countries. It does so by comparing and contrasting the cases of working‐class formation in nineteenth‐century England and the United States, although most of the discussion of spatial reorganization focuses on English cities.
Ira Katznelson
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198279242
- eISBN:
- 9780191601910
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279248.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Section I of this chapter discusses how, by not embarking on the journey linking city space, capitalist development, and class formation, Marxism denied itself a critical dimension in the material ...
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Section I of this chapter discusses how, by not embarking on the journey linking city space, capitalist development, and class formation, Marxism denied itself a critical dimension in the material analysis both of the target it wished to confront and of the class it expected to be the agent of this successful engagement. Section II looks at how the separation between the social classes within the new social geography of the capitalist city in the nineteenth century helped assure the residential propinquity of members of the working class, as well as their isolation from other classes. However, with the elaboration of new networks made possible by the nationalization of labour markets, there was a growing sense that working classes shared a fate that transcended given localities, while advances in communications and transportation made the ties between class and space more complicated and tentative. Analyses are included of this break in working‐class history given in the work of Krishan Kumar and Craig Calhoun, and by Olivier Zunz and Richard Oestreicher in their studies of Detroit at the turn of the nineteenth century. Sections III–V show that the relationship of Marxism and the city and urban space now stands on unsure ground, since it is the politics and viability of class itself as the dominant form of collective identity that is currently under challenge; the discussion given here draws on the work of Mark Gottendiener and Eric Hobsbaum within the new urban Marxism.Less
Section I of this chapter discusses how, by not embarking on the journey linking city space, capitalist development, and class formation, Marxism denied itself a critical dimension in the material analysis both of the target it wished to confront and of the class it expected to be the agent of this successful engagement. Section II looks at how the separation between the social classes within the new social geography of the capitalist city in the nineteenth century helped assure the residential propinquity of members of the working class, as well as their isolation from other classes. However, with the elaboration of new networks made possible by the nationalization of labour markets, there was a growing sense that working classes shared a fate that transcended given localities, while advances in communications and transportation made the ties between class and space more complicated and tentative. Analyses are included of this break in working‐class history given in the work of Krishan Kumar and Craig Calhoun, and by Olivier Zunz and Richard Oestreicher in their studies of Detroit at the turn of the nineteenth century. Sections III–V show that the relationship of Marxism and the city and urban space now stands on unsure ground, since it is the politics and viability of class itself as the dominant form of collective identity that is currently under challenge; the discussion given here draws on the work of Mark Gottendiener and Eric Hobsbaum within the new urban Marxism.
Anthony F. Heath, Roger M. Jowell, and John K. Curtice
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199245116
- eISBN:
- 9780191599453
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245118.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
The key questions in the seventh chapter of the book are related to the changes in the social basis of support for the parties in the British political spectrum in the period 1979–1997 and whether ...
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The key questions in the seventh chapter of the book are related to the changes in the social basis of support for the parties in the British political spectrum in the period 1979–1997 and whether these changes can be described as processes of class dealignment or class realignment. The authors conclude that, from 1979–1997 there has been continuity in the Conservatives’ social basis of support and that almost all variations in Conservative support (apart from the regional one) took the form of swings that affected all social groups alike. There was also continuity in the image of the Conservative party in terms of the groups it represented—in 1997, the Conservatives continued to be seen as a highly sectional party concerned with the interests of the social groups that constituted its traditional core. This was not the case with the Labour party—in 1997, New Labour had very substantially reduced its sectional character, was no longer distinctively associated with any particular social group, and it had successfully become a catchall party. There was a change not only in the image of New Labour but also in the character of Labour's voters—under Tony Blair New Labour's moves towards the centre, involved larger than expected electoral gains in the salariat than among Labour's traditional sources of support in the working class. However, despite these changes Heath, Jowell, and Curtice conclude that even under New Labour the usual pattern of party support continued—it was simply muted. This gives support to the thesis of class realignment according to which the changes in the social bases of party support are due to particular groups shifting their support from one party towards a different one and not due to a blurring of class boundaries and a weakening of the social cleavages (class dealignment).Less
The key questions in the seventh chapter of the book are related to the changes in the social basis of support for the parties in the British political spectrum in the period 1979–1997 and whether these changes can be described as processes of class dealignment or class realignment. The authors conclude that, from 1979–1997 there has been continuity in the Conservatives’ social basis of support and that almost all variations in Conservative support (apart from the regional one) took the form of swings that affected all social groups alike. There was also continuity in the image of the Conservative party in terms of the groups it represented—in 1997, the Conservatives continued to be seen as a highly sectional party concerned with the interests of the social groups that constituted its traditional core. This was not the case with the Labour party—in 1997, New Labour had very substantially reduced its sectional character, was no longer distinctively associated with any particular social group, and it had successfully become a catchall party. There was a change not only in the image of New Labour but also in the character of Labour's voters—under Tony Blair New Labour's moves towards the centre, involved larger than expected electoral gains in the salariat than among Labour's traditional sources of support in the working class. However, despite these changes Heath, Jowell, and Curtice conclude that even under New Labour the usual pattern of party support continued—it was simply muted. This gives support to the thesis of class realignment according to which the changes in the social bases of party support are due to particular groups shifting their support from one party towards a different one and not due to a blurring of class boundaries and a weakening of the social cleavages (class dealignment).
Coopey Richard, Sean O‘Connell, and Dilwyn Porter
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198296508
- eISBN:
- 9780191716638
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198296508.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This chapter explores the role of the spare-time agent, from the watch club organizer of the late 19th century through to the working housewife and mother a century later. By the end of the 1930s, ...
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This chapter explores the role of the spare-time agent, from the watch club organizer of the late 19th century through to the working housewife and mother a century later. By the end of the 1930s, mail order retailing had begun to deal directly with the women who held the purse strings in working-class families. Agency mail order only became a significant retail phenomenon when it tapped into the rhythms of working-class women's lives. This was made possible by the creation of systems that allowed for simple credit transactions, founded upon the payment of small weekly sums out of the limited disposable income available in the majority of early 20th-century households. Equally important, the catalogues and payments were administrated by family, friends, or neighbours, who were approachable and understood both the needs and credit limitations of their customers.Less
This chapter explores the role of the spare-time agent, from the watch club organizer of the late 19th century through to the working housewife and mother a century later. By the end of the 1930s, mail order retailing had begun to deal directly with the women who held the purse strings in working-class families. Agency mail order only became a significant retail phenomenon when it tapped into the rhythms of working-class women's lives. This was made possible by the creation of systems that allowed for simple credit transactions, founded upon the payment of small weekly sums out of the limited disposable income available in the majority of early 20th-century households. Equally important, the catalogues and payments were administrated by family, friends, or neighbours, who were approachable and understood both the needs and credit limitations of their customers.
MARC BRODIE
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199270552
- eISBN:
- 9780191710254
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199270552.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Social History
This chapter focuses on explanations of the apparent Conservatism amongst the East End working class. In many ways, this has meant a simplified emphasis upon factors possibly acting to dilute the ...
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This chapter focuses on explanations of the apparent Conservatism amongst the East End working class. In many ways, this has meant a simplified emphasis upon factors possibly acting to dilute the expression of the ‘existing’ political tendencies of the working class. But clearly the evidence does show, on a number of occasions, that voting abstention seems to have distorted an underlying majority progressivism amongst the more prosperous working class in some areas. The smaller number of poorer working-class voters seems on occasion to have seized upon ‘scandal’ to randomly, but actively, reject middle-class candidates of whatever party, with political results that are difficult to measure.Less
This chapter focuses on explanations of the apparent Conservatism amongst the East End working class. In many ways, this has meant a simplified emphasis upon factors possibly acting to dilute the expression of the ‘existing’ political tendencies of the working class. But clearly the evidence does show, on a number of occasions, that voting abstention seems to have distorted an underlying majority progressivism amongst the more prosperous working class in some areas. The smaller number of poorer working-class voters seems on occasion to have seized upon ‘scandal’ to randomly, but actively, reject middle-class candidates of whatever party, with political results that are difficult to measure.
Mike Savage
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199587650
- eISBN:
- 9780191740626
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199587650.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
This chapter examines how the social science infrastructure explored the changing character of popular identities in Great Britain during the post-war period. It argues against epochalist accounts ...
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This chapter examines how the social science infrastructure explored the changing character of popular identities in Great Britain during the post-war period. It argues against epochalist accounts that see any simple changes in popular identities and shows the persistence of enduring themes in working-class value which include emphasis on practical skill. The chapter also describes how the middle classes avoided overt forms of cultural elitism and became more confident in their assertion of meritocratic and technocratic values.Less
This chapter examines how the social science infrastructure explored the changing character of popular identities in Great Britain during the post-war period. It argues against epochalist accounts that see any simple changes in popular identities and shows the persistence of enduring themes in working-class value which include emphasis on practical skill. The chapter also describes how the middle classes avoided overt forms of cultural elitism and became more confident in their assertion of meritocratic and technocratic values.
Anthony F. Heath, Roger M. Jowell, and John K. Curtice
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199245116
- eISBN:
- 9780191599453
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245118.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
The central hypothesis tested in this chapter is that Labour's traditional constituency in the working class did not respond with enthusiasm to New Labour's apparent lack of concern with their ...
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The central hypothesis tested in this chapter is that Labour's traditional constituency in the working class did not respond with enthusiasm to New Labour's apparent lack of concern with their interests and may have shown some reluctance to turn out and vote for the party. The authors emphasize the smallness of the changes that occurred in the patterns of abstention and strength of partisanship in 1997, but nevertheless, they find some strong hints from the data presented in the chapter that New Labour's move to the centre was, albeit in a rather modest way, responsible for muted enthusiasm among the party's traditional supporters. The analysis also suggests that the changes were specific to Labour and were not part of a general trend towards civic disengagement or political cynicism. The authors discuss the short‐term and the long‐term electoral consequences of these changes—the loss of Labour votes that this muted enthusiasm entailed would have been more than compensated by the extra votes won from the new recruits to Labour in the middle classes. In the longer term, however, this could lead to increased apathy and disengagement among the disadvantaged sectors of society and to a gradual rise in class non‐voting.Less
The central hypothesis tested in this chapter is that Labour's traditional constituency in the working class did not respond with enthusiasm to New Labour's apparent lack of concern with their interests and may have shown some reluctance to turn out and vote for the party. The authors emphasize the smallness of the changes that occurred in the patterns of abstention and strength of partisanship in 1997, but nevertheless, they find some strong hints from the data presented in the chapter that New Labour's move to the centre was, albeit in a rather modest way, responsible for muted enthusiasm among the party's traditional supporters. The analysis also suggests that the changes were specific to Labour and were not part of a general trend towards civic disengagement or political cynicism. The authors discuss the short‐term and the long‐term electoral consequences of these changes—the loss of Labour votes that this muted enthusiasm entailed would have been more than compensated by the extra votes won from the new recruits to Labour in the middle classes. In the longer term, however, this could lead to increased apathy and disengagement among the disadvantaged sectors of society and to a gradual rise in class non‐voting.
Eleanor Gordon
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198201434
- eISBN:
- 9780191674884
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198201434.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Social History
This is a study of working women in Scotland in the period 1850–1914. In a scholarly analysis, based on a wide range of contemporary sources, the book uncovers the patterns of women's employment, ...
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This is a study of working women in Scotland in the period 1850–1914. In a scholarly analysis, based on a wide range of contemporary sources, the book uncovers the patterns of women's employment, their involvement in and relationship to trade unionism, and the forms of their workplace resistance and struggles. Focusing particularly on women working in Dundee's jute industry, the study integrates labour history and the history of gender. It is a thorough account, which challenges many assumptions about the organizational apathy of women workers and about the inevitable division between workplace and domestic ideologies. It makes a contribution to current historiographical debates over the sexual division of labour, working-class consciousness, and domestic ideologies, and to the history of women in Scotland.Less
This is a study of working women in Scotland in the period 1850–1914. In a scholarly analysis, based on a wide range of contemporary sources, the book uncovers the patterns of women's employment, their involvement in and relationship to trade unionism, and the forms of their workplace resistance and struggles. Focusing particularly on women working in Dundee's jute industry, the study integrates labour history and the history of gender. It is a thorough account, which challenges many assumptions about the organizational apathy of women workers and about the inevitable division between workplace and domestic ideologies. It makes a contribution to current historiographical debates over the sexual division of labour, working-class consciousness, and domestic ideologies, and to the history of women in Scotland.
Rowan Strong
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199249220
- eISBN:
- 9780191600760
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199249229.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Uses the example of Glasgow to examine the impact on Scottish Episcopalianism of the new urban and industrial society of nineteenth‐century Scotland. It clearly identifies distinct religious ...
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Uses the example of Glasgow to examine the impact on Scottish Episcopalianism of the new urban and industrial society of nineteenth‐century Scotland. It clearly identifies distinct religious sub‐cultures with this urban setting, including working‐class Episcopalianism, middle‐class Episcopalianism, and clerical Episcopalianism whose requirements were, at times, in conflict with one another. The Episcopal Church is seen to be more responsive earlier in the nineteenth century to the new urban masses than has been generally thought by historians. Working‐class Episcopalianism is also more genuine, if informal in its religious need, than proponents of a secularizing nineteenth century have posited.clergyLess
Uses the example of Glasgow to examine the impact on Scottish Episcopalianism of the new urban and industrial society of nineteenth‐century Scotland. It clearly identifies distinct religious sub‐cultures with this urban setting, including working‐class Episcopalianism, middle‐class Episcopalianism, and clerical Episcopalianism whose requirements were, at times, in conflict with one another. The Episcopal Church is seen to be more responsive earlier in the nineteenth century to the new urban masses than has been generally thought by historians. Working‐class Episcopalianism is also more genuine, if informal in its religious need, than proponents of a secularizing nineteenth century have posited.clergy
Sylvia J Cook
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195327809
- eISBN:
- 9780199870547
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327809.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
This book explores the mental and literary awakening that many working-class women in the United States experienced when they left home to work in factories early in the 19th century. It examines the ...
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This book explores the mental and literary awakening that many working-class women in the United States experienced when they left home to work in factories early in the 19th century. It examines the ways that their hopes for lives of full development were fulfilled, exploited, and often disappointed — a process repeated when immigrant women entered factories and sweatshops early in the 20th century. It investigates their literary productions, from the New England factory magazine, the Lowell Offering, to Emma Goldman's periodical, Mother Earth; from Lucy Larcom's epic poem of women operatives, An Idyl of Work, to Theresa Malkiel's novel of sweatshop workers, The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker. Working women's fascination with books and writing evolved in the context of an American romanticism that encouraged ideals of self-reliance, although not in factory “girls”. Their efforts to pursue a life of the mind while engaged in manual labor also coincided with the emergence of middle-class women writers from private lives into the literary marketplace. However, while middle-class women risked forfeiting their femininity by trying to earn money, factory women were accused of betraying their class by attempting to be literary. The book traces the romantic literariness of several generations of working-class women and the broader literary responses to them from male romantic authors, popular novelists, and union writers for the Knights of Labor. The most significant literary interaction, however, is with middle-class women writers, many of whom responded sympathetically to workers' economic and social inequities, but balked at promoting their artistic and intellectual equality.Less
This book explores the mental and literary awakening that many working-class women in the United States experienced when they left home to work in factories early in the 19th century. It examines the ways that their hopes for lives of full development were fulfilled, exploited, and often disappointed — a process repeated when immigrant women entered factories and sweatshops early in the 20th century. It investigates their literary productions, from the New England factory magazine, the Lowell Offering, to Emma Goldman's periodical, Mother Earth; from Lucy Larcom's epic poem of women operatives, An Idyl of Work, to Theresa Malkiel's novel of sweatshop workers, The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker. Working women's fascination with books and writing evolved in the context of an American romanticism that encouraged ideals of self-reliance, although not in factory “girls”. Their efforts to pursue a life of the mind while engaged in manual labor also coincided with the emergence of middle-class women writers from private lives into the literary marketplace. However, while middle-class women risked forfeiting their femininity by trying to earn money, factory women were accused of betraying their class by attempting to be literary. The book traces the romantic literariness of several generations of working-class women and the broader literary responses to them from male romantic authors, popular novelists, and union writers for the Knights of Labor. The most significant literary interaction, however, is with middle-class women writers, many of whom responded sympathetically to workers' economic and social inequities, but balked at promoting their artistic and intellectual equality.
Mike Savage
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199587650
- eISBN:
- 9780191740626
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199587650.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
This chapter examines the emergence of the so-called technical identity in Great Britain in 1954. It argues that the changing relations between the middle and working classes encouraged amongst the ...
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This chapter examines the emergence of the so-called technical identity in Great Britain in 1954. It argues that the changing relations between the middle and working classes encouraged amongst the former both a rejection of the gentlemanly embrace, which was seen to be out of keeping with the meritocratic tenor of post-war Britain, and a new interest in rational planning, which was to prove receptive to the social sciences. The chapter contends that the social sciences were shaped by a managerial concern, strongly indebted to cultures of war, mobilization, and demobilization, and suggests that the social sciences did not merely respond to a changing external environment but are themselves implicated in new forms of governmentality, regulation, and social imaginary.Less
This chapter examines the emergence of the so-called technical identity in Great Britain in 1954. It argues that the changing relations between the middle and working classes encouraged amongst the former both a rejection of the gentlemanly embrace, which was seen to be out of keeping with the meritocratic tenor of post-war Britain, and a new interest in rational planning, which was to prove receptive to the social sciences. The chapter contends that the social sciences were shaped by a managerial concern, strongly indebted to cultures of war, mobilization, and demobilization, and suggests that the social sciences did not merely respond to a changing external environment but are themselves implicated in new forms of governmentality, regulation, and social imaginary.
MARC BRODIE
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199270552
- eISBN:
- 9780191710254
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199270552.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Social History
The progressive vote in some areas of the East End often fell well short of its potential. But of course voter abstention by itself could not deliver a seat to an opponent. The Conservatives still ...
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The progressive vote in some areas of the East End often fell well short of its potential. But of course voter abstention by itself could not deliver a seat to an opponent. The Conservatives still collected a large number of votes in these areas. The arguments above do not deny that factors such as an interest in ‘sectional’ benefits, and the impact of a range of political issues, could gather working class support for Conservatives in the East End. It is difficult to determine the precise effect of any such individual concerns. This chapter suggests that it remains more important to look at the overall milieu of voters in understanding their motivations, and that the ‘occupational’ assumptions made by many historians regarding politics in the East End have been much too simple.Less
The progressive vote in some areas of the East End often fell well short of its potential. But of course voter abstention by itself could not deliver a seat to an opponent. The Conservatives still collected a large number of votes in these areas. The arguments above do not deny that factors such as an interest in ‘sectional’ benefits, and the impact of a range of political issues, could gather working class support for Conservatives in the East End. It is difficult to determine the precise effect of any such individual concerns. This chapter suggests that it remains more important to look at the overall milieu of voters in understanding their motivations, and that the ‘occupational’ assumptions made by many historians regarding politics in the East End have been much too simple.
Lawrence Goldman
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205753
- eISBN:
- 9780191676765
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205753.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The chapter reports on the growing independence of the labour movement marked by the founding of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 and the election of twenty-nine Labour MPs in 1906. The ...
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The chapter reports on the growing independence of the labour movement marked by the founding of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 and the election of twenty-nine Labour MPs in 1906. The Workers' Educational Association (WEA) emerged out of a mature working-class culture. The WEA was founded in May 1903 as the ‘Association to Promote the Higher Education of Workingmen’. Its name was changed two years later at its second annual meeting in Birmingham. Its founder, Albert Mansbridge, was an almost archetypal lower middle-class scholar. The chapter also highlights the reinvigoration of working-class education. The aim of the group, in essence, was to raise academic standards in the university and simultaneously broaden the social range of the intake. In other words, they stood for the same things that earnest young Liberals had advocated in the 1850s and 1860s when university extension was first contemplated.Less
The chapter reports on the growing independence of the labour movement marked by the founding of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 and the election of twenty-nine Labour MPs in 1906. The Workers' Educational Association (WEA) emerged out of a mature working-class culture. The WEA was founded in May 1903 as the ‘Association to Promote the Higher Education of Workingmen’. Its name was changed two years later at its second annual meeting in Birmingham. Its founder, Albert Mansbridge, was an almost archetypal lower middle-class scholar. The chapter also highlights the reinvigoration of working-class education. The aim of the group, in essence, was to raise academic standards in the university and simultaneously broaden the social range of the intake. In other words, they stood for the same things that earnest young Liberals had advocated in the 1850s and 1860s when university extension was first contemplated.
Trevor Griffiths
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199247387
- eISBN:
- 9780191714429
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199247387.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The working-class family was a subject of recurrent concern through the 19th century. Seen by contemporaries as one of the essential building blocks of a morally healthy society, it had been subject ...
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The working-class family was a subject of recurrent concern through the 19th century. Seen by contemporaries as one of the essential building blocks of a morally healthy society, it had been subject to fundamental stresses as a consequence of the structural changes associated with industrialisation. This was thought to have weakened kinship ties and a separation of gender roles which discouraged close attachments between husband and wife. An alternative view is that, far from undermining the kinship tie, the separation of home and work under industrial capitalism had the effect of consolidating family relationships. Family unity rested on a sense of mutual dependence, enforced by recurrent crises. This chapter examines the standard of living attained by working class families in Britain during the years 1880-1930, focusing on the coal and cotton industries in Lancashire. The experience of women as wives and mothers is considered.Less
The working-class family was a subject of recurrent concern through the 19th century. Seen by contemporaries as one of the essential building blocks of a morally healthy society, it had been subject to fundamental stresses as a consequence of the structural changes associated with industrialisation. This was thought to have weakened kinship ties and a separation of gender roles which discouraged close attachments between husband and wife. An alternative view is that, far from undermining the kinship tie, the separation of home and work under industrial capitalism had the effect of consolidating family relationships. Family unity rested on a sense of mutual dependence, enforced by recurrent crises. This chapter examines the standard of living attained by working class families in Britain during the years 1880-1930, focusing on the coal and cotton industries in Lancashire. The experience of women as wives and mothers is considered.
Trevor Griffiths
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199247387
- eISBN:
- 9780191714429
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199247387.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The social changes that occurred in Britain in the half-century from 1880 appeared to be registered most graphically through elections. A political system formerly structured around the vertical ties ...
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The social changes that occurred in Britain in the half-century from 1880 appeared to be registered most graphically through elections. A political system formerly structured around the vertical ties of religion and locality came to be replaced by one in which party allegiance was primarily determined by class. This shift is usually discussed in terms of the eclipse of a broadly progressive, pan-class Liberalism by a Labour Party committed to articulating the interests of the organised working class. This chapter explores electoral politics in the coal and cotton industries in Lancashire, testing the more influential arguments against the evidence garnered from Bolton and Wigan. Labour’s growth up to the outbreak of war in 1914 is considered, along with the impact of war and its aftermath, culminating in the restoration of conventional party politics in 1922. The extent to which Labour’s advance in the 1920s can be attributed to the adoption of neighbourhood-based welfarist politics is also examined.Less
The social changes that occurred in Britain in the half-century from 1880 appeared to be registered most graphically through elections. A political system formerly structured around the vertical ties of religion and locality came to be replaced by one in which party allegiance was primarily determined by class. This shift is usually discussed in terms of the eclipse of a broadly progressive, pan-class Liberalism by a Labour Party committed to articulating the interests of the organised working class. This chapter explores electoral politics in the coal and cotton industries in Lancashire, testing the more influential arguments against the evidence garnered from Bolton and Wigan. Labour’s growth up to the outbreak of war in 1914 is considered, along with the impact of war and its aftermath, culminating in the restoration of conventional party politics in 1922. The extent to which Labour’s advance in the 1920s can be attributed to the adoption of neighbourhood-based welfarist politics is also examined.
MARC BRODIE
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199270552
- eISBN:
- 9780191710254
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199270552.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History
This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the focus of the book, which is the poor of the East End of London. The East End is defined as the area covered by the post-1900 London ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the focus of the book, which is the poor of the East End of London. The East End is defined as the area covered by the post-1900 London boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, Bethnal Green, and Shoreditch. It then discusses occupations and forms of employment in the East End, the politics of the London working class, and local government elections.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the focus of the book, which is the poor of the East End of London. The East End is defined as the area covered by the post-1900 London boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, Bethnal Green, and Shoreditch. It then discusses occupations and forms of employment in the East End, the politics of the London working class, and local government elections.
Nicholas Carnes
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691182001
- eISBN:
- 9780691184203
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691182001.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter has two aims. The first is to do what the proponents of the conventional wisdom about workers never do, namely, test their ideas using actual data on U.S. politics. The second is to ...
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This chapter has two aims. The first is to do what the proponents of the conventional wisdom about workers never do, namely, test their ideas using actual data on U.S. politics. The second is to begin answering this book's larger research question: Why are working-class people virtually absent from American political institutions? The chapter begins by identifying the stage in the candidate entry process that screens working-class people out. Along the way, it also tests two common ideas about the underrepresentation of workers, namely, that workers seldom hold office because they are not fit to govern and because voters prefer affluent candidates. The chapter shows that these ideas do not hold water: workers are not underrepresented in public office because they are less qualified or because voters dislike them, they are underrepresented because they just do not run in the first place.Less
This chapter has two aims. The first is to do what the proponents of the conventional wisdom about workers never do, namely, test their ideas using actual data on U.S. politics. The second is to begin answering this book's larger research question: Why are working-class people virtually absent from American political institutions? The chapter begins by identifying the stage in the candidate entry process that screens working-class people out. Along the way, it also tests two common ideas about the underrepresentation of workers, namely, that workers seldom hold office because they are not fit to govern and because voters prefer affluent candidates. The chapter shows that these ideas do not hold water: workers are not underrepresented in public office because they are less qualified or because voters dislike them, they are underrepresented because they just do not run in the first place.
Nicholas Carnes
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691182001
- eISBN:
- 9780691184203
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691182001.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter explores the personal or micro-level factors that discourage qualified workers from running for public office. Using surveys of citizens, candidates, and political party leaders, it ...
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This chapter explores the personal or micro-level factors that discourage qualified workers from running for public office. Using surveys of citizens, candidates, and political party leaders, it shows that workers are less likely to run for public office because they do not have the free time or the economic security to do so, and because they are seldom encouraged by political and civic leaders. These factors differ from what people often hear: for instance, it is not just the high monetary costs of campaigns that discourage workers (those costs deter workers and professionals alike, actually), it is the high personal costs associated with campaigning—burdens like taking time off work and losing out on income during the race—that seem to make running for elected office impossible for many qualified workers.Less
This chapter explores the personal or micro-level factors that discourage qualified workers from running for public office. Using surveys of citizens, candidates, and political party leaders, it shows that workers are less likely to run for public office because they do not have the free time or the economic security to do so, and because they are seldom encouraged by political and civic leaders. These factors differ from what people often hear: for instance, it is not just the high monetary costs of campaigns that discourage workers (those costs deter workers and professionals alike, actually), it is the high personal costs associated with campaigning—burdens like taking time off work and losing out on income during the race—that seem to make running for elected office impossible for many qualified workers.
Nicholas Carnes
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691182001
- eISBN:
- 9780691184203
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691182001.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter uses what has been learned about America's cash ceiling in the previous chapters to sort through the various reform proposals that observers have floated throughout the years. Some are ...
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This chapter uses what has been learned about America's cash ceiling in the previous chapters to sort through the various reform proposals that observers have floated throughout the years. Some are essentially pipe dreams: they would work, but they are completely infeasible (like quotas for working-class politicians or replacing democratic elections in the United States with government by lottery). Others are long shots, ideas that would probably help, but would take decades to execute and would require massive changes to American society. The interventions that seem to have the most promise are reforms that specifically target working-class people and directly address the resource and recruitment gaps that elections naturally create—reforms like political scholarships, seed money programs, and candidate training programs.Less
This chapter uses what has been learned about America's cash ceiling in the previous chapters to sort through the various reform proposals that observers have floated throughout the years. Some are essentially pipe dreams: they would work, but they are completely infeasible (like quotas for working-class politicians or replacing democratic elections in the United States with government by lottery). Others are long shots, ideas that would probably help, but would take decades to execute and would require massive changes to American society. The interventions that seem to have the most promise are reforms that specifically target working-class people and directly address the resource and recruitment gaps that elections naturally create—reforms like political scholarships, seed money programs, and candidate training programs.
Sylvia Jenkins Cook
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195327809
- eISBN:
- 9780199870547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327809.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
This chapter looks at three male novelists who emerged from the romantic movement in America: Sylvester Judd, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville. In contrast to the majority of the Dial's ...
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This chapter looks at three male novelists who emerged from the romantic movement in America: Sylvester Judd, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville. In contrast to the majority of the Dial's transcendental contributors, all three acknowledged in their writing the dynamic changes in the conditions and aspirations of working-class women and the impact of their intrusion into the cultural and literary discourse of the day. In different ways, each of them reflected in his fiction transformations in literary genre, method, and content in response to this new social consciousness. In doing so, like the working women who contributed to the Lowell Offering, they emphasized the primacy of fiction as a literary mode adaptable both to new authorial concerns and a new reading audience.Less
This chapter looks at three male novelists who emerged from the romantic movement in America: Sylvester Judd, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville. In contrast to the majority of the Dial's transcendental contributors, all three acknowledged in their writing the dynamic changes in the conditions and aspirations of working-class women and the impact of their intrusion into the cultural and literary discourse of the day. In different ways, each of them reflected in his fiction transformations in literary genre, method, and content in response to this new social consciousness. In doing so, like the working women who contributed to the Lowell Offering, they emphasized the primacy of fiction as a literary mode adaptable both to new authorial concerns and a new reading audience.
