SYLLABUS 
                           HISTORY 350
                  BRITISH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Robert Whaples
Office: 385 Holton
229-5211
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 to 3:00


     This course provides an introduction to the Industrial
Revolution in Britain- the first industrial revolution.  Why should
we care about this?  Because, "the industrial revolution was the
central event of modern history (McCloskey)."  We will study
primarily the period from 1760 to 1870, and will try to answer the
persistent questions about the first industrial revolution.  These
questions are outlined below.

Books:

     There are two required books.  They are available at the UWM
Bookstore and at Follett's Book Store.

     Phyllis Deane, The First Industrial Revolution. 
     E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class.

     In addition, there are required readings in a bulk pack which
is available at Kinkos Copies.

Grades: Exams- 50%
          Papers (two) 45% 
          Class Participation- 5%


If you are a student with a disability, please feel free to contact
me early in the semester for any help or accommodations which you
may need.Outline of course: The British Industrial Revolution (History 350)

Week One: Introduction
               What is an Industrial Revolution?
               *Deane, Chap. 1

Weeks Two to Four: Agrarian Background 
          What Was Life Like Before the Industrial Revolution?
               *Laslett, "English Society before and after the
Coming of Industry."
          What Explains Open Field Agriculture and the Enclosure
Movement?
               *Dahlman, The Open Field System and Beyond, pp. 16-
29 & Chap. 4
               *McCloskey, "The Persistence of English Common
Fields."
          Were Enclosures Class Robbery?
               *Thompson, Chapter 7, "The Field Labourers," 
               *McCloskey, "The Economics of Enclosure: A Market
Analysis"
          Was There an Agricultural Revolution?
          Did Agricultural Change Bolster Industrial Change?
               *Deane, Chap. 3

First Paper Due: February 7

Weeks Four to Seven: Timing and Causes of the Industrial Revolution
          Why Was Britain First?
          Was There a "Take Off"?
          Did Demand or Supply Forces Cause the Industrial
Revolution?
          Was the Industrial Revolution a Free Lunch?
          Why Were the British So Inventive?
          Why Was Britain's Industrial Revolution Slower than
Others?
               *McCloskey, "The Industrial Revolution, 1780-1860:
A Survey"
               *Deane, Chaps. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10
               *Crafts, "Industrial Revolution in England and
France: Some                                      Thoughts on the
Question "Why Was England First?"

Week Seven: Lessons from the Irish Experience
          Why Did Ireland Starve While England Prospered?
               *Mokyr, "Explaining Irish Poverty"

Mid-term Exam: March 7

Week Eight and Nine: The Standard of Living Debate
          Did the Standard of Living of Workers Worsen in the
Industrial                    Revolution?
               *Thompson, Chaps. 6 and 10
               *Engerman and O'Brien, "Changes in Income and Its
Distribution                  during the Industrial Revolution"
          Is the Pessimists' Indictment Correct?
               Did Wages Fall?
                    *Lindert and Williamson, "English Workers'
Living Standards"                  
               Did Consumption Levels Decline?
                    *Shammas, "18th Century English Diet and
Economic Change"
               How Bad Were Industrial Cities?
                    *Williamson, "Was the Industrial Revolution
Worth It?"


Weeks Ten and Eleven: Population Growth and Industrialization
          Did Industrialization Cause Britain's Population Boom?
          Was Malthus Right About British Population?
               *Deane, Chap. 2
               *Wrigley and Schofield, Population History of
England, Chap. 11 
               *Laslett, "Personal Discipline and Social Survival"

Weeks Eleven to Fourteen: British Workers' Experiences during
Industrialization
          The Death of St. Monday?
               *Hopkins, "Working Hours and Conditions during the
Industrial                    Revolution: A Reappraisal"
          Who Benefitted from the Poor Laws?
               *Boyer, "The Old Poor Law ... An Empirical
Analysis"           
          Did the Flood of Irish Drown English Workers?
               *Thompson, Chap. 12.3, "The Irish"
          "The Transforming Power of the Cross"
               *Thompson, Chap. 11
               *Foster, "The Churches"
          What Forces Helped "Make" the English Working Class?
               *Thompson, Preface, Chaps. 8, 9, 12, and 14
          Did Industrialization Segregate Jobs by Gender?
               *Humphries, "...The Most Free From Objection..." 
The Sexual                    Division of Labor and Women's Work in
19th-Century England"
          Were Children Exploited During the Industrial
Revolution?"
               *Nardinelli, "Corporal Punishment and Children's
Wages"
          Technology, Discipline, Conspiracy?  Why Did Work Move
into the Factories?
               *Marglin, "What Do Bosses Do?"
               *Landes, "What Do Bosses Really Do?"

Second Paper Due: April 18

Final Exam: Night Class- May 9 
              Day Class- May 10

"Change is demonic, it creates, but it also destroys"- Landes          Questions Which May Appear on the Final Exam
           History 350, British Industrial Revolution
                                

Four of the following will appear on the final.  Choose three of
the four.  25 points each.

1. According to Dahlman, McCloskey, and Fenoaltea, what induced
Medieval peasants to scatter their holdings in the open fields? 
What economic and legal changes in Britain lead to the enclosure of
open fields during the industrial revolution?

2. Many argue that changes in workers' and employers' attitudes and
preferences helped unleash economic growth in Britain.  What are
three of these changes in attitudes and what evidence is provided
that they occurred?

3. What were the key changes in British demographic patterns
between the 1500s and the late 1800s?  Don't forget to discuss the
effect of population on real wages.

4. According to E.P. Thompson, what forces were most important in
the making of the English working class?  What evidence is there
that English workers became a working class rather than just a
collection of wage earners?

5. What forces were behind the Irish Potato famine and the weakness
of the Irish economy during the first half of the 1800s?  Why
wasn't Irish economic growth as strong as British economic growth?

6. Many critics argue that workers were exploited during the
British Industrial Revolution.  Give two definitions of exploitation-
 including the one used by most modern economists.  What evidence
is there that workers were exploited during the British Industrial
Revolution?

7. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the optimists
quantitative evidence about these aspects of the standard of living
debate: a) real wages, b) consumption,
c) health and mortality.

8. What do bosses do?  Trace out the cases made by Marglin and
Landes.  Which do you support and why?

Identifications.  There will be 5 worth 5 points each.  Not
necessarily from this list.
1. John Wesley
2. Ergot poisoning
3. Preventative check
4. St. Monday
5. Friendly societies
6. Friedrich Engels
7. "Battle of the loaf"
8. Compensating wage differential
9. Indoor Relief                  British Industrial Revolution
                           History 350
                          Second Paper 
                          Due: April 18


E.P. Thompson says that between 1790 and 1840 there was "increasing
human misery" (p. 212) among workers.
1. Why does Thompson hold this position?

Many "optimists" disagree with him.  Williamson and Lindert state
that "the hardships faced by workers at the end of the Industrial
Revolution cannot have been nearly as great as those of their
grandparents. (p. 25)"
2. Why do Williamson and Lindert hold this position?

Often pessimists and optimists talk past each other, agreeing that
the other side is correct to a degree, but redefining the question
and focusing on evidence to support their own position.  The
problem is that we can't measure the utility or happiness of
workers.   We must weigh for ourselves what would've made a worker
of the Industrial Revolution more or less well off and then assess
the evidence on each aspect of a worker's life.
3. Based on the evidence presented in the readings and in class, do
you think that by 1840 the Industrial Revolution was a net benefit
to English workers?  Would typical English workers of 1840 trade
places with their grandparents of 1790?  Why?              Midterm Possibilities: March 7, 1989
           History 350, British Industrial Revolution
                        Professor Whaples

Section One:
Two of the following will appear on the test:
Each will be worth 30 percent of your test score.

1. Enclosures:
a. What were enclosures?  
b. Who benefitted from them?  
c. Who lost?  
c. Did enclosures help push the industrialization of Britain?  
d. Did Britain, as a whole, benefit from enclosures?  How do you
know?  
Be brief in answering each part.

2. Crafts says that Britain's winning the race to have the first
industrial revolution may have been due to luck.  
a. Why does he say this?  
b. What does he say about most proofs that Britain was clearly
superior in winning the race with France?  
c. Give an example of some aspect of the British economy that you
think definitely made it more fertile ground than France for the
first industrial revolution.

3. Many argue that "sociological changes," or changes in workers'
and employers' attitudes and preferences helped unleash economic
growth in Britain.  What are two of these changes in attitude and
what evidence is provided that they occurred?

4. Was the open field system better or worse than the enclosed
field system?  Explain your answer.

5. Why was the average British income 150 percent higher in 1860
than in 1780?  I.E. why did Britain's economy grow so vigorously
during the "industrial revolution."  Be inclusive and focus on the
underlying causes.

6. Rip Van Winkle falls asleep in England in 1300 and wakes up in
1850.  What are the most striking difference he notices?  Do not
confine yourself to considering economic differences.

7. What explains the tremendous increase in the number of patents
issued in Britain between 1700 and 1850?

Section Two:
This question will definitely show up on the test.  It will be
worth 25 points.

1. "Indubitably Britain from 1780 to 1860 ate a massive free
lunch."  Explain what McCloskey is talking about and how he proves
this point.


Section Three:

There will be some short answer/identifications, worth 5 points
each.


Section Three:
Answer three of the following for 5 points each.

Suppose that your mother took a course in the British Industrial
Revolution a generation ago.  Explain to her why the following
outdated statements are wrong.

1. The propaganda of people like Adam Smith was the most important
force which killed mercantilism and strengthened laissez-faire in
Britain.

2. British merchants owned no shares in the leading industrial
enterprises and therefore did nothing to support British
industrialization.

3. Watts' steam engine was "indispensible" in the industrial
revolution.

4. One proof that wars are generally good for the economy is the
fact that Britain began her industrial revolution during a period
of prolonged warfare.

5. Unlike other countries Britain used its colonial empire to the
advantage of the whole nation.  This helps explain why it was the
richest nation in the world in the early 1800s.