la belle Époque, (“the beautiful era” ) 1871-1914

La Belle Époque, (“The Beautiful Era” ) 1871-1914

Characteristics of La Belle ÉpoqueCharacteristics of La Belle Époque

2.2. Increased European PopulationIncreased European Population

2. 1 in 5 people worldwide lived in Europe in 1900 (about 400 million people)

3.3. Growth of Cities & Urban LifeGrowth of Cities & Urban Life

4.4. Migration from EuropeMigration from Europe

1850-1940 1850-1940 60 million left Europe 60 million left Europe

Went to Went to US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Australia/N. US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Australia/N. Zeal.Zeal.

5.5. ““Second” Industrial RevolutionSecond” Industrial Revolution

Steam Steam electricity electricity

Internal combustion & diesel engines.Internal combustion & diesel engines.

Cars, planes, submarines.Cars, planes, submarines.

Characteristics of La Belle ÉpoqueCharacteristics of La Belle Époque

5. “Second” Industrial Revolution Second” Industrial Revolution Britain Britain “The World’s IndustrialWorkshop” “The World’s IndustrialWorkshop”

Corporations Corporations limited liability of investments. limited liability of investments.

Mass production.Mass production.

6.6. Free Trade [esp. in England]Free Trade [esp. in England]

7.7. World Markets [Global Economy, Part II]World Markets [Global Economy, Part II]

8.8. Advance of DemocracyAdvance of Democracy

Extension of the vote to the working class.Extension of the vote to the working class.

Creating a “welfare state.”Creating a “welfare state.”

Characteristics of La Belle Characteristics of La Belle ÉpoqueÉpoque

9.9. The Appeal of SocialismThe Appeal of Socialism

By the 1880s, most socialist parties were Marxist [esp. By the 1880s, most socialist parties were Marxist [esp. Ger. & Fr.]Ger. & Fr.]

Not very successful in England.Not very successful in England.

10.10. Faith in Science AloneFaith in Science Alone

Science at the core of industrialization.Science at the core of industrialization.

““New Wonders” of daily life.New Wonders” of daily life.

Charles DarwinCharles Darwin

• Origin of SpeciesOrigin of Species [1859] [1859]

• ““survival of the fittest”survival of the fittest”


10.10. Faith in Science Alone [con’t.]Faith in Science Alone [con’t.]

““Social Darwinism” Social Darwinism” Herbert Spenser Herbert Spenser

EugenicsEugenics

Newtonian Science turned on its headNewtonian Science turned on its head

• Einstein Einstein “Theory of Relativity” “Theory of Relativity” nature & energy were nature & energy were separate & distinct. separate & distinct.

• Max Planck Max Planck Quantum Physics Quantum Physics

Professionalization of “new” sciences [anthropology, Professionalization of “new” sciences [anthropology, archeaology,etc.]archeaology,etc.]

• PsychologyPsychology

Ivan Pavlov Ivan Pavlov conditioned responses conditioned responses

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud psychoanalysis psychoanalysis

o The Interpretation of DreamsThe Interpretation of Dreams [1900] [1900]

o The role of the unconscious [the id, ego, super egoThe role of the unconscious [the id, ego, super ego


11.11. New Trends in PhilosophyNew Trends in Philosophy

AgnosticismAgnosticism

NihilismNihilism

• Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich Nietzsche

ÜbermenschÜbermensch “Super Man” “Super Man”

IrrationalismIrrationalism

ExistentialismExistentialism

• Sören Kierkegaard Sören Kierkegaard existence proceeds essence existence proceeds essence

12.12. Internal Religious StrugglesInternal Religious Struggles

modernists vs. fundamentalistsmodernists vs. fundamentalists


13.13. Anti-SemitismAnti-Semitism

Dreyfus AffairDreyfus Affair

Theodore Herzl Theodore Herzl Der JudenstaatDer Judenstaat [ [The Jewish StateThe Jewish State], 1896], 1896

• ““Father of Modern Zionism”Father of Modern Zionism”

14.14. Women’s MovementWomen’s Movement

Emmeline PankhurstEmmeline Pankhurst

15.15. The “New” ImperialismThe “New” Imperialism

16.16. Militarism Militarism glorification of war glorification of war


Late 19th Century Science

cholera bacterium – the great equalizer

Cholera

• Don’t let your sewage get into your drinking water…

• Symptoms include profuse, watery diarrhea and vomiting usually followed by death from dehydration

• Series of pandemics that killed millions in 19th and early 20th centuries

• Led to massive efforts to improve public health

“Cholera Court”

“King Cholera”

Edwin Chadwick

• Public health reformer• Clean up the sewers

and people will get less sick• Commissioner of

Metropolitan Commission of Sewers in London, 1848-49

Louis Pasteur

• Microorganisms cause disease and infection• Kill them with

filtration, heat or chemicals• 1860s

Joseph Lister –

first antiseptic surgeon -

1867

the carbolic sprayer

Aka Phenol – Today used in Carmex and Chloraseptic spray

the carbolic sprayer in action

Great Exhibition (1851)

• Show off to the world the wealth and power of the British Empire

• Crystal Palace was the centerpiece• Designed by gardener and greenhouse designer

Joseph Paxton• Attended by lots of the rich and famous as well as

those who hoped to be…• Including Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, Charles

Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot and Alfred, Lord Tennyson

• Karl Marx hated it

Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria

From plans to completion in 9 months…

Exposition Universelle (1889)• A world’s fair to show off France and celebrate

the centennial of the French Revolution

Central Dome of the Gallery des Machines, Louis Beroud

Eiffel Tower1889

Women’s suffrage• Late 19th & Early 20th Century

• Millicent Fawcett (1847-1929)– National Women of Women’s Suffrage

Societies

–Women can get the vote if the are respectable and responsible

– Traditional English liberal tactics (petitions and polite conversation)

• Or the other way…

Women’s Social & Political Union [W.S.P.U.]

Emmeline Pankhurst* 1858-1928.* Her husband & children were all involved in the suffrage movement.* They became militants & were arrested and imprisoned.* 1917: She and her daughter, Christabel, formed the Women’s

Party in 1917:– Equal pay for equal work.

– Equal marriage & divorcelaws.

– Equality of rights & opportunities in public service.

– A national system of maternity benefits.

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsLzzz2p6zI

Suffragettes• When the liberal ways didn’t work they turned to terrorism and civil disobedience

• Arson, vandalism, planting bombs

• Hunger strikes in jail• Forced feeding and the Cat

and Mouse Act (1913) – helped to do in the Liberal Party

Emily Davison (1913)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5eubu_emily-davison-killed-at-1913-epsom_news

Representation of the

People Act (1918)

• Women largely got the vote as a result of their economic independence from war-time jobs (First World War)

• Further rights were achieved after further economic gains are made after Second World War

* Women over 30 got the right to vote.* All men gained suffrage.

–Property qualifications were completely eliminated!

* Reform Act of 1928

–Women over 21 years of age gained the right to vote at last

Queen Victoria’s England (1837-1901)

Britain: 1850-1870s* The most prosperous period in British history.

– Unprecedented economic growth.

– Heyday of free trade.

– New fields of expansion shipbuilding from wood to iron.

• By 1870, Britain’s carrying trade enjoyed a virtual monopoly.

– British engineers were building Railroads all over the world.

– Britains foreign holdings nearly doubled.

* BUT, Britain’s prosperity didn’t do away with political discontent!

The “Victorian Compromise”* Both Tories and Whigs had considered the 1832 Reform Bill as

the FINAL political reform.* Therefore, the aims of the two political parties seemed

indistinguishable.* But, by the 1860s, the middle class and working class had grown

they wanted the franchise expanded!* This era saw the realignment of political parties in the House of

Commons:– Tory Party Conservative Party

under Benjamin Disraeli.

– Whig Party Liberal Party under William Gladstone.

William E. Gladstone (Liberal – Whig)

PM 4 timesQueen Victoria was not a fan

Benjamin Disraeli (Conservative – Tory)

Modern ConservativeRivalry with GladstoneQueen loved him

The 2nd Reform Bill - 1867

* In 1866, Gladstone introduced a moderate reform bill that was defeated by the Conservatives.

* A more radical reform bill was introduced by Disraeli in 1867, passed largely with some Liberal support.

* Disraeli’s Goals:– Give the Conservative Party control over the reform process.

– Labor would be grateful and vote Conservative.

* Components of the Bill:– Extended the franchise by 938,427 an increase of 88%.

– Vote given to male householders and male lodgers paying at least £10 for room.

– Eliminated rotten boroughs with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants.

– Extra representation in Parliament to larger cities like Liverpool & Manchester.

* This ended the “Victorian Compromise.”

The 2nd Reform Bill - 1867

Gladstone’s 1st Ministry Goals: [“Gladstonianism”]

1. Decrease public spending.

2. Reform laws that prevented people from acting freely to improve themselves.

He’s against privilege & supports a meritocracy. Protect democracy through education.

3. Promote peace abroad to help reduce spending and taxation, and to help enhance trade.

Low tariffs. All political questions are moral questions!

Gladstone’s 1st Ministry Accomplishments:

1868: Army reform peacetime flogging was illegal. 1869: Disestablishment Act Irish Catholics did not have to pay

taxes to support the Anglican Church in Ireland. 1870: Education Act elementary education made available to

Welsh & English children between 5-13 years. 1870: Irish Land Act curtailed absentee Protestant landowners

from evicting their Irish Catholic tenants without compensation. 1871: University Test Act non-Anglicans could attend Br.

universities. 1872: Ballot Act secret ballot for local and general elections. 1872: The settlement of the CSS Alabama claims [from the American

Civil War] in America’s favor. 1873: Legislation was passed that restructured the High Courts. Civil service exams introduced for many government positions.

Disraeli’s 2nd MinistryAccomplishments:

Domestic Policy 1875: Artisans Dwelling Act govt. would define minimum

housing standards. 1875: Public Health Act govt. to create a modern sewer

system in the big cities & establish a sanitary code. 1875: Pure Food & Drug Act. 1875: Climbing Boys Act licenses only given to adult

chimney sweeps. 1875: Conspiracy & Protection of Property Act allowed

peaceful picketing. 1876: Education Act 1878: Employers & Workmen Act

allowed workers to sue employers in civil courts if the broke legal contracts.

Gladstone’s 2nd Ministry

Accomplishments: Domestic Policy

1884 Reform Bill Extended the franchise to agricultural laborers. Gave the counties the same franchise as the boroughs. Added 6,000,000 to the total number who could vote in

parliamentary elections.

1885: Redistribution of Seats Act changes M.P. seats in Commons to reflect new demographic changes.

Gladstone’s Last Ministries

3rd Ministry: 1886 First introduced an Irish Home Rule Bill.

This issue split the Liberal Party. Gladstone lost his position in a few months.

4th Ministry: 1892-1894 1893: Reintroduced a Home Rule Bill.

Provided for an Irish Parliament. Did NOT offer Ireland independence! Passed by the Commons, but rejected in the House of Lords.

England’s Economic Decline?(1870s-1914)

Germany & the U. S. became England’s chief economic rivals. Influx of cheap agricultural products from overseas caused a rapid

decline in British farming. Germany & U. S. overtake Britain in basic iron & steel production. England’s share of world trade fell from 23% in 1876 to 15% in

1913. British science & technological education lagged behind Germany. England is slow to modernize her aging industrial infrastructure. England clings to free trade while everyone else is erecting tariff

walls.

Fabianism A British socialist intellectual movement founded in the mid-1880s. Purpose advance socialism by working through the political system, not

through revolution. Laid the foundations for the British Labour Party. Famous Fabian Society

members: George Bernard Shaw. H. G. Wells. Sidney & Beatrice

Webb. Emmeline Pankhurst. Bertram Russell. John Maynard Keynes.

Founded in 1900 by the Scotsman, Keir Hardie.

The growth of labor unions gave voice to socialism in Britain.By 1906, it won 26 seats in Commons.

Had to form a political coalition with the Liberal Party.

By the 1920s, Labour would replace the Liberals as one of the two major British political parties.

The British Labour Party

France

Third French Republic Declared! September, 1870 after France’s defeat at the

Battle of Sedan during Franco Prussian War Napoleon III abdicated the throne. New government headed by Adolphe Thiers.

This new government continued the fight against the Germans who laid siege to Paris.

To defend Paris, a National Guard was raised numbering over 350,000.

France surrendered in February, 1871 after 40,000 Parisians died.

The Third French Republic Thiers’ government was seen as:

Too conservative. Too royalist. Too ready to accept a humiliating peace with Prussia.

Prussian troops marched into Paris in March, 1871.

The French government established itself at Versailles, NOT in Paris. Parisians were angered by this. They opposed the policies of this new government. It attempted to restore order in Paris.

Paris in Revolt!The Paris Commune [Communards] was elected on

March 28 and established itself at the Hôtel de Ville.

Civil War!

CommunardsTroops from

Versailles

The Commune was suppressed by government troops led by Marshal Patrice MacMahon during the last week of May, 1871.

Known as the “Bloody Week.”

First Communist Revolution?

It served as an inspiration

to later revolutionaries like Vladimir

Lenin.

* 25,000 Communards killed.

* 35,000 were arrested.

Communard Casualties

Declaring the3rd French Republic

Attempted Communard Reforms

* Allowed trade unions & workers cooperatives to take over factories not in use and start them up again.

* Set up unemployment exchanges in town halls.* Provide basic elementary education for all they were strongly

against church-controlled schools.* Attempted to set up girls schools.* Day nurseries near factories for working mothers.

Too little time to accomplish much!

. The Dreyfus Affair

* In 1894 a list of French military documents [called a bordereau] were found in the waste basket of the German Embassy in Paris.

* French counter-intelligence suspected Captain Alfred Dreyfus, from a wealthy Alsatian Jewish family he was one of the few Jews on the General Staff.

The Dreyfus Affair* Dreyfus was tried, convicted of treason, and sent to Devil’s

Island in French Guiana.

* The real culprit was a Major Esterhazy, whose handwriting was the same as that on the bordereau.– The government tried him and found him not guilty in two days.

The trial of Captain Dreyfus (1892)

The Dreyfus Affair

* A famous author, Emile Zola, published an open letter called J’Accuse!

– He accused the army of a mistrial and cover-up.

– The government prosecuted him for libel.

– Found him guilty sentenced to a year in prison.

The Dreyfus Affair

DreyfusardsAnti-

Dreyfusards

* Public opinion was divided it reflected the divisions in French society.

* The Dreyfusards were anti-clericals, intellectuals, free masons, & socialists.

* For Anti-Dreyfusards, the honor of the army was more important than Dreyfus’ guilt or innocence.– Were army supporters, monarchists, & Catholics.

The Dreyfus Affair

* Dreyfus finally got a new trial in 1899.

* He was brought back from Devil’s Island white-haired and broken.

* Results:– Found guilty again, BUT with extenuating circumstances.

– Was given a presidential pardon.

– Exonerated completely in 1906.

– Served honorably in World War I.

– Died in 1935.

The Zionist Movement

Theodore Herzl[1860-1904]

* Was motivated by the Dreyfus trial to write the book, Der Judenstaat, orThe Jewish State in 1896.

* Creates the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland.

* “Father of Modern Zionism.”

* Was motivated by the Dreyfus trial to write the book, Der Judenstaat, orThe Jewish State in 1896.

* Creates the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland.

* “Father of Modern Zionism.”

German Empire (1871-1918)

• Prussia runs the show

• Kaiser in control but advised by the chancellor

• Bismarck – first chancellor of the Second Reich

The “Iron Chancellor” - 1875

German Empire

• Education (indoctrination), police, fiscal policy & foreign policy is imperial

Wilhelm I (Kaiser 1871-88)

“kulturkampf” - Bismarck and Pius IX

• Nothing above the state

• Pope reacting to modernism

• Win support of liberals

• Kulturkampf – “battle for modern civilization”

• Catholic Center Party formed

Socialists in Germany

• Bismarck sees them as the real threat

• Social Democratic Party growing

• Passed social legislation – beginnings of first modern welfare state

• Hoped to keep workers loyal to the state first

• Passed social legislation to circumvent German Social Democratic Party

• Wanted proletariat loyal to the state rather than their party

Kaiser William II

The future Kaiser

Wilhelm II (1888) – truly

a head case

Kaiser Wilhelm II and Bismarck “dropping the pilot” (1890)

• Wilhelm’s “new course”

• More social programs

• Aggressive militarism

• Naval & colonial expansion

Two Types of Socialists

• Revisionists–Socialism through

voting and unions

–Gradualist

–Fabian Society in U.K. (Labour Party)

–Revisionists on continent

• Revolutionary–Marxists

– Ideologically pure

–Hated revisionists and trade unionists

Socialism

• Revolutionary Socialism–Marxist or scientific– Overthrow the system– In poorest regions

• Revisionist Socialism– Democratic socialism– Fabians in U.K. (leads to Labour Party)– Supported labor unions– Generally successful – worst of Industrial

Revolution over

Reading

• Newspapers and literature exploded – mass publication leads to mass culture

• Cheap paper and beginnings of public education lead to explosion in literacy rates

Intellectual History

• Huge changes in science & technology have social & economic repercussions

HMS Beagle

The voyage of HMS Beagle: 1831-36

Darwin’s finches

Charles Darwin

• Origin of the Species (1859) & Descent of Man (1871)

• Nature is no longer harmonious & orderly but is out to eat you or

worse…

T. H. Huxley – “Darwin’s Bulldog”

• “Darwinism is the new

Reformation.”

• He is the guy who popularized

many of the ideas we associate

with Darwin

Textual Criticism of the Bible

• Tübingen School in Germany questioned the foundation of New Testament

• Compared texts of the books of New Testament to each other and within historical context

Religious Fundamentalism

• Inerrancy of Scripture (reaction to Tübingen & Darwin)

• Pope Pius IX– Doctrine of Papal Infallibility

– Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception

– Vatican Council (1869-71) – one of 3 mega-important church councils

Social Darwinism

• Survival of the fittest applied to human civilization

• Herbert Spencer & Ernst Haeckel

• Could be used to justify war, racism, nationalism, imperialism, etc.

Sigmund Freud his couch

Sigmund Freud

• Unconscious mind in charge of a lot of your behavior

• Rationalism further out the door as well as representative art

• See also Wilhelm Wundt & Ivan Pavlov

William Roentgen first x-ray

la belle Époque, (“the beautiful era” ) 1871-1914

Documents

belle poque slide

s slide

king cholera slide

cholera court slide

public health slide

th century science slide

great equalizer slide

fittest characteristics