Essay Assignment for Josiah Wedgwood: Inventing a New Workforce

Essay Assignment for Josiah Wedgwood: Inventing a New Workforce

Now that you’ve had a chance to explore the evidence, write a short essay (1–2 pages) on the following topic:

Create a comparison of industrial and preindustrial conditions, written from the perspective of a nineteenth-century observer. Your observer can come from any social background: he or she could be a scholar like Gaskell or Guest, a factory owner like Owen, or an actual factory worker. As you write, be sure to consider the influence of your observer’s background on his or her characterization of the changes brought by industrialization. What differences would your observer highlight? Why?

You may find it helpful to review the section of Chapter 20 of your textbook titled “Relations Between Capital and Labor” before you begin.