Analyzation of "The Last Conquest of Ireland"

"The Last Conquest of Ireland" John Mitchel

The Great Potato Famine, which this article discusses, was a very horrendous period, in which million suffered and died. All across Europe, villages were literally wiped because of the starvation and deprivation was too much for the already malnourished working class. However, one of the hardest hit places was Ireland, where the writer is a native of. Of course, his right to be biased is a given, and his choice of words are allowed to be an exaggeration. Yet, one must conclude with the prior knowledge of this famine, and how hard pressed Ireland was at the time, one cannot honestly say that this piece is just all exaggeration. The time is 1847, in Galway, Ireland. The audience is the upper classes of England and Europe. Rather than its main purpose to be a spark of outrage, I believe Mitchel's true purpose was to tell of the story and horror he felt and saw in this place where in his memory was one of prosperity. It was a source of information of hard times, and to prompt further discussion of why these hard times were happening. It tells us exactly how poor the poor were, and an insight to the minds of the rich, who felt that the poor were poor because they deserved it.

Analyzation of "The History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain"

"The History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain" Edward Baines

The article ws written in 1835, but was set around the life Richard Arkwright, the inventor of the spinning frame and founder of the cotton factories. It is obviously meant to inspire others to become inventors and entrepreneurs. It's audience was people of all classes, but especially the poorer classes. This biography is a rags-to-riches story. It is a reflection of the entreprenurial spirit of the early Industrial Revolution. Britain was on a high from all the economic growth that the industrial boom gave, and thus encouraged more to invent despite the cost.

Analyzation of "The First National Petition, 1839"

The First National Petition, 1839 Chartists

The English middle class in 1839 felt an urgent need for change. In this demand for change, they wrote this petition and turned it in to their governing body. The purpose is simple: convince the politicians of the ruling party to pass laws and reforms in the benefit of the people. Its ideas were democratic and socialist at the least. It's importance is clearly noted in the fact that it is the first real push from the working classes for a better life. The Chartists want peaceful negotiations and law-making. They were not seeking militant means to achieve their desires. To them, the ends did not jusitfy the means, because already so many of the people they supported was dying, and could barely rise up and fight. Metternich would not see these demands in a positive view; more than not, he would have probably seen this as a threat needed to be put down. Metternich's conservative style meant that power stayed within the wealthy and nobility, and there was definitely to be now power sharing between poor commoners and filthy rich nobles.

Analyzation of "Child Labor: The Mines"

"CHILD LABOR: THE MINES" by John Stuart Mills

Of course, it is known by this particular student that Mills is a writer-activist. His strongly opposed the exploitive factories. However, conditions were usually as bad as described by Mills and sometimes even worse. His audience is the wealthier, upper classes and the politicians. His purpose was simple- reform and regulations for an out of control industrial revolution. Mr. Mills wanted to expose the dreadful conditions in which miners worked. He also wanted to highlight the exploitation of women and children who worked in the mines. It's significance as a first hand account is apparent in his interview with the child. It is a reflection of what many lower middle class citizens felt about factories and their conditions. However, this document is also very biased with the opinions of a social activist, and somewhat cancels out its authenticity.

Analyzation of "Life on the Mississippi" by Mark Twain

The steamboat was necessary to little towns like Mississippi Valley, USA because it was the lifeline, the pride and joy, the only real big thing. Unlike cities or big towns, this community had nothing for recreation. The author Mark Twain was known for his realistic depictions of rural life and adventurous misfits. His "Life on the Mississippi" truthfully depicted what many out-there communities experienced on a daily basis. He also depicted what little boys' in those communities felt and their thought processes (sort of). The time and place is the US of A during the 19th century, in a community far from the big industrializing cities of the east coast, chicago, and the west coast. His audience is a whole spectrum of people, his generation and succeeding generations. To me, he wanted to remind America where it was before this big boom in inudstry, and to share a different world with city-folks. He wanted to reminisce about the innocence of his youth, and how life was very different when he was a young'un. Again, this document provides an idea of what life was like to a person who experienced a dramatic change over their lifetime. That's why this is a PSD. But it gives us the mindset, which was a sort of dreamy, relaxed set. Although we know they worked hard for their sustenance and life was very boring, they enjoyed this sort of unrushed life. It was suited to them.

Analyzation of Child Labor: Discipline in the Textile Mills

John Stuart Mills was a writer and activist who published his findings of conditions of society and its aspects, from treatment of women to chiold labor. We know for a fact that factory labor was horrendous, and that conditions were not always up to par. We also know that factory workers would suffer any condition for a wage to help support their family. So it comes as no surprise the examples given by Mills in his writing, however I cannot disregard the fact that he was probably overexagerrating certain points to horrify his audience. It was the early 19th century in England, right in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. His audience was probably well-to-do middle class and upper class men, along with politicians because he was trying to convince them that labor laws and regulation on the abuses practiced by the factories was needed. The main idea was that the working conditions in the factories needed reform and that all of the measures taken to insure quality work and full aware workers was not justified or even humane. This document, although highly biased, was very influential and not without truths. Its significance as a PSD in that it was a real opening to the social reform movement that many citizens in this country, and in other industrializing countries, realized was needed.

Analyzation of "The Foundry and Engineering Works of the Royal Overseas Trading Company, Factory Rules"

Well, work life in factories was pretty tough. There was poor ventilation and sanitation. It was literally a sweat shop, and was a brothel of exploitation. Run by the clock, season to season, no holidays, minimal breaks, never a vacation, and if you pissed off the overseer or gatekeeper, you were dismissed!These rules were written in Berlin, around 1844. The audience was, of course, factory workers, and the document's purpose was to introduce newly hired workers to the ropes of the factory life. This was to insure that everything in the production process ran as smoothly and as uninterrupted as possible. The main idea of this piece of writing is to educate the factory worker the do's and don'ts of working in the Royal Overseas Trading Company factories. It gives us a taste of the proletarian life, and what was expected of them. It is like the tax and trade records of antiquity; it is like the ancient grafiti on Pompeiian walls and in Roman baths. It gives us a slice of their life; it introduces us to how the mindset of the time formed. By showing us the oppression they felt in another point-of-view, we can more closely examine other contributing reasons why they felt that way. Factory work required attention and promptness. It also required neatness and obedience. This was probably so because of the fact that the work done at the factory demanded a smooth process. It also made for an easier-to-exploit labor force. Compliance to the outlined rules and obligated disciplines were encouraged by fines on a very skin-and-bones wage. Factory owners knew that the workers desperately needed the money they earned, ergo biting back on their urges to protest the exploitation or even to socialize with co-workers. A typical workday in the factory consisted of quiet workers, hard labor attending the machines, and constant surveilance. It was a controlled environment run by the clock and whistle. Factory owners, ruthlessly searching for wealth, wrote these rules to retain the idea that uninterrupted and quiet workers produced more and better goods. These rules were also written more than likely to keep the workers in line, and to teach them a bit of decency. I mean it must be pretty obvious that one should not do natural functions at their work station. Thinking about it, school is like factory life... We must obtain permission to do anything; we cannot lcome and go as we please, and our lives are governed by the damn bell!