Industrial Revolution Dbq

The Industrial Revolution brought many changes both good and bad. Industrialization first began in Great Britain, which may have a lot to do with the many factors that were in their favor during that time. Many people living in rural areas were given new opportunities to grow their skills in different setting such as working in factories. This brought many curious minded people who did not have much else to lose to come to these areas and find an opportunity to live happily. However not many people expected the economy to grow as such and were not prepared to face the damage it would cause not only to the environment but the people as well living within those areas.
Friedrich Engels worked side by side with his father, a German manufacturer

who owned a factory in Manchester. He was also an agent to his father and could be considered quite wealthy with the title he had. He saw firsthand experience of what it was like living in the city during the industrial revolution and how unfairly people were living. This motivated him to write a book titled “The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844” to inform the public masses of the horrifying living condition people in cities had to face on a day to day basis. The living conditions he explains that these working people face are almost somewhat unbelievable to put into perspective and visualize because of how absurd it seems.
Friedrich Engels writes about the living conditions in the Industrialized Manchester city with such detail as if he were giving you a tour around the area.

He explains of how much filth was scattered all through the old town of Manchester which was once a place for factory workers to live. In the primary source titled “Industrial Manchester (1844)” Engels states, “The first court below Ducie Bridge, known as Allen's Court, was in such a state at the time of the cholera that the sanitary police ordered it evacuated, swept, and disinfected with chloride of lime”. Many people who came to work in factories faced such problems and had no way of escaping the aftermath because they did not have the means to do so during the time. They were barely earning enough as it was so how could they find another place to situate themselves in and take a risk that would cause more

problems.
The author explains about the river and streams that run through the city of Manchester as well as which locations they can be found. When comparing the map of Manchester, England between the years 1840 to 1900, his statement on the locations of the river and streams are similar to that of the map. The map also shows that the Irwell River runs through the northern area of the city and gradually moves southward as it takes a westward turn. There are also smaller streams such as the Medlock which empties into the Irwell River (Frankforter 544). This played a major part in helping to build the city due to the fact that they had the means to export and import goods through these channels.
The author wrote this primary source in such a way to inform others of the situation that was going around industrialized cities.

I think that those who had a chance to read what he wrote would be shocked but believe a part of the source if not most of what he said because of his stance on the matter of how they should check out the conditions for themselves if they don’t believe him. This helped to bring attention to these industrialized cities and may have led to some changes that greatly helped those people living in the city such as cleanliness, health, and an efficient sewage system. However, the long term effect of this source is that it may have been used as a factual evidence for people who supported communism to attack Capitalism. Engels worked with Karl Marx to build the foundation of communism with the creation of The Communist Manifesto. I think that the primary source he wrote and his future works with Karl Marx are nothing more than a coincidence because at that time he was working with his father in a factory and probably did not think of politics until the later part of his

life.
The author’s primary source allowed historians to compare the views he had on the living condition of factory workers and how it may correlate with his political thinking. This allows us to understand more about the history of Friedrich Engels and to rid of the false thinking people believed at the time and instead give newer factual evidence people could not argue with. I think that when he wrote this primary source there was no other motives other than to inform people of the conditions in the industrialized city of Manchester. That can be seen from his writing in how detailed he was in explaining the run down building, location, filthy roads and how unbearable it was to walk in during times of dry weather.