Industrial Rev: Working Class vs Middle Class

Open Ended

Open today's handout: Read the Staging This Unit’s Inquiry Question section then answer the below question

Some argue that the Industrial Revolution created vast opportunities for the middle class while exploiting the working class. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your position in one or two sentences.

Multiple Choice

Which statement best explains how the working class and middle class experienced the Industrial Revolution differently in 19th‑century Great Britain?

• A. Both groups worked under identical conditions, but only the middle class enjoyed leisure time.

   

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   B. The working class performed manual labor in factories, farms, and as servants, while the middle class held professional and administrative roles with more predictable hours and increased economic opportunities.
   

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   C. The working class and middle class both operated machines in factories, but the middle class earned less despite better working conditions.
   

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    The working class was unaffected by industrialization, while the middle class faced all the changes in technology and production.

Multiple Choice

Which primary source best supports the idea that the middle class in 19th‑century Great Britain experienced a higher level of leisure and consumer culture compared to the working class?

• Testimony regarding long working hours from factory workers

   

• A crowded factory scene from an industrial report

• A woodcut illustration from The Young Clerk's Manual

• A drawing of Astley’s Amphitheatre and a Lawn Tennis Court from The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine

Open Ended

Audience—For whom do you think the document was created? How might this information help you better understand the document?

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POV—Who is the author and what do you know about them? Is there any information on the author’s CORNPEG (class, occupation, religion, nationality, political affiliation, education, gender) or other characteristics that might help you better understand their point of view or why they created the document?

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2. Purpose: Explain the Sadler Committee’s purpose for compiling the testimony of workers like William Cooper and Joseph Hebergam.

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3. Evaluate Reliability: Explain the extent to which the document is a reliable source of evidence for understanding how people in the working class and middle class experienced the Industrial Revolution in 19th century Great Britain.

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Document 2: 2. Point of View: Identify Charles Booth’s point of view concerning how people in the working class and middle class in 19th century Great Britain experienced the Industrial Revolution.

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Document 2: Evaluate Reliability: Explain the extent to which the document is a reliable source of evidence for understanding how people in the working class and middle class experienced the Industrial Revolution in 19th century Great Britain.

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Document 3: 2. Identify two things that you see in the images provided.

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Document 3: 3. Evaluate Reliability: Explain the extent to which the document is a reliable source of evidence for understanding how people in the working class and middle class experienced the Industrial Revolution in 19th century Great Britain.