One of the greatest aspects of economic history was the events of labor strikes. There can be no economic progress comprehensively without labor rights and economic rights in general. These rights benefit both workers and employers. Our rights didn’t come about by the willingness of the oligarchy. Our rights were created by activism, demands, and resistance against oppression. In 1834, people in a mill in Lowell, Massachusetts protested to protest against wage cuts. They created a union of working class women. The women wanted fair wages. There was a strike for a week. A second strike existed in 1836 and in 1840. Later, the women formed the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association to try to reduce the workday to 10 hours. They used an 1845 petition, they organized chapters, and they wanted the Massachusetts state legislature to cap the work day in the mills at 10 hours. By 1847, New Hampshire became the first state to pass a 10 hour workday law, but it wasn’t enforceable. These events were part of the long struggle for workers' rights. The Industrial Revolution grew from this time. It was movement where people came from the farms and into factories. Factories made large production with machines involving steam power or coal. The problem was the corruption found in this movement like child labor, bad working conditions, exploitation, etc. Economic inequality grew along with economic growth for the leaders of large corporations. Neoclassical economics develop. New economic philosophers during the 19th century include Marshall, Pareto, Jevons, Walras, and other economic scholars.
One of the most important parts of economic history dealt with the views of Karl Marx during the 19th century. He was an economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, and journalist. He held onto revolutionary views and offered some of the strongest criticisms of capitalism in human history. He studied Hegelian philosophy and worked with German thinker Friedrich Engels. He is known for his 1848 pamphlet called the Communist Manifesto and his three volume work called Das Kaptial. In essence, Karl Marx believed that the social realities involving human beings consist of a class struggle. He believed that capitalism permitted the ruling class or the bourgeoisie to control the means of production (which lead the working class or the proletariat to suffer exploitation). He believed in historical materialism and desired that the only way to create more harmony economically was for the working class to overthrow the ruling class in a means to establish economic justice. Historical materialism relates to Marxism. It is a theory of history that material conditions of society in dealing with producing and reproduction of human existence determine the organization and development of society. Marx wanted the working class to use revolutionary action to end capitalism. He was a journalist and he regularly worked in London. Karl Marx was right to criticize the imperfection of capitalism. Karl Marx was wrong to make many immature and very vicious words against some people via letters and on other issues.
By the late 19th century, the growth of Austrian Economics existed. Austrian Economics believed that individuals can use the market to make the economic systems of the world grow without a lot of government intervention. Much of the conservative or libertarian economic views today existed from Austrian Economics. It promotes marginalist and neoclassical thought, which defended capitalism. Some of the early defenders of Austrian economics included Menger, von Wieser, and Hayek. Hayek was a person whom conservatives to this day revere. He was an advocate of free markets. He falsely believed that government intervention to achieve economic egalitarianism was equivalent to totalitarianism. Libertarianism believes that that the individuals can control his or her own body, but the government should never intervene in the economy except in rare instances. The problem with as little government involvement in the economy as possible is that liberty isn’t about people doing what you want (i.e. human beings are restricted to not do murder, unjust violence, etc. as it murder and unjust violence are morally wrong). Liberty is about freedom bounded under justice, so the rights of the oppressed or the minorities are protected by government intervention too. That is why governments exist in order to fight evil and promote the good. Morality and justice aren’t mutually exclusive. They go hand in hand since fighting slavery, discrimination, abuse, and other moral evils will establish justice for all. Ludwig Mises and Friedrich Hayek influenced the Libertarian movement. I believe in helping the poor and social justice. By the late 19th century in America, immigration grew heavily. From 1865 to 1918, millions of immigrants came into the United States in about 27.5 million people. These people were Jewish people, Italians, Russians, Irish, Germans, Central Europeans, Caribbeans, the Chinese, etc. Many of them were exploited economically by numerous corporate interests. Many of these immigrants experienced discrimination and bigotry. Some faced workers’ exploitation, but they persisted to establish great, positive contributions in American society. Also, the government used policies of Homesteads and other actions that benefited these new immigrants. In the meantime, black people experienced Reconstruction and the white racist backlash of it (which dealt with lynching, Jim Crow, and other evils). Still, courageous black people back then formed unions, associations, and civil rights groups to combat the tyranny of racial oppression. Mary Harris Jones worked as a labor organizer in 1871 after the Great Chicago Fire.
More strikes existed from the Haymarket strike in Chicago to other events. The Gilded Age occurred during the late 19th century in America. It was about the growth of technology and immigration along with many economic scandals flourishing. The Gilded Age saw further industrial growth, but continued bad conditions of working condition problems and lax wages on many occasions. The Transcontinental railroad, the telegraph, and expansion of wealth in America still primarily benefited a select few during the Gilded Age. Economic corruption grew. Monopolists like Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller owned vast resources in oil, banking, etc. The Civil Service Act, the Interstate Commerce Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, etc. tried to combat monopolies in business. The Populist movement grew to fight monopolies, defend farms, and advance labor rights. Many leaders of this movement changed to be racists as time went onward. Others in this movement were among people of many colors who desired real change. Labor unions grew too. The Panic of 1893 caused a national depression. Many railroads were bankrupt. Farmers, workers, and businessmen suffered price drops, wage declined, and profits falling. McKinley (who promoted the Gold Standard) won by 1900 and the economy grew. Likewise, he saw the American Empire develop into the next level after the Spanish American war and the various annexations by America. Imperialism is wrong, because imperialism revolves around other nations dominating another group of people via exploitation, violation of human democratic rights, and other nefarious motivations. During this time, the Progressive era was in existence during its beginning. The Progressive era was about activists who wanted to eliminate conditions of poverty, corruption, and other evils in urban communities. They were diverse. Some were progressive people and some weren’t. Labor groups, civil rights groups, and suffrage groups by the end of the 19th century continued to fight for freedom.
Neoclassicism existed after the Baroque period of art. It dealt with decorative and visual arts. It came about first in Rome during the mid-1700’s. The images promoted the themes of ancient classical art. It was also influenced by reason and other enlightenment principles. The paintings readily used cool colors and there was the elimination of perspectives. It wanted to have simplicity. Many used white marble for sculptures like the ancient Greek and Roman sculptors. The painting of the Oath of Horatti in 1785 outlined neoclassical imagery greatly. There was Romantic art. Romantic art is found in the Romantic period. It was a movement that focused on emotion and the power of the individual. It glorified nature, the past, and shown medieval imagery. It was a way for human beings to respond to the massive rigidity of the Industrial Revolution. Romantic thinkers influenced liberalism, radicalism, conservatism, and nationalism. There was Academic art and Realism in art too. These arts spread worldwide. The Impressionist movement came about by the late 19th century. It was art filled with small, thin, but visible brush strokes. It focused on the depiction of light and human perception. It was heavily found in Paris. Many artists of this movement included Claude Monet with his work from 1872 called “Impression, soleil levant” or Impression, Sunrise. The artwork used many colors and some of it was done outdoors. The Impressionist paintings depicted ordinary people in parks, near bodies of water, and others working in various environments. Mary Cassat, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, and others were part of Impressionism in France. Modernism existed in the late 19th and early 20th century. It used many traditional forms of art. It also reflected the rapid growth of cities and industrial societies. Many modernists rejected realism and mainstream religion. Much of the art we see today is Contemporary art which has been created in the late 20th century (with art forms like Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism. Pablo Picasso was influenced by Iberian sculpture, African sculpture, and other forms of art during the early 20th century) and early 21st century. It deals with a culturally diverse world. Technology is changing and art reflects that reality too. Contemporary art doesn’t have one point of view. It is diverse filled with different forms of artistic creativity. Research from Albert Einstein, the two world wars, scientific discoveries, TV shows, movies, electronic instruments, etc. accelerated the art. Abstract art, holography, fractal art, post-Modernism, graffiti art, etc. are all examples of Contemporary art.
By Timothy
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