Luddism during the Industrial Revolution The industrialization of Europe brought many great accomplishment and changes to the country. Some examples include extensive networks of the canal system, railroads, increase in agriculture and textiles, and urbanization. Yet even with these great steps towards productivity and economic wealth for Europe as a whole, there was a period during this revolution when the workers of these factories were outraged with everything the Industrial Revolution was presenting in Europe to the textile industry. This idea of rebelling against the rising technologies in those factories is called “Luddism,” and the people associated with this movement were the “Luddites.” Luddism was present during the early 19th century, particularly between 1811 to 1814, when there was an increase in the demand for textiles; they wanted to produce as many products in a shorter amount of time using as little capital and resources as possible. Luddism can be better understood through the causes of this social movement, how they were able to organize all the riots and gain support for their actions, and what the Luddites were particularly aiming for. The Napoleonic Wars can be the intially blame for the uprising of the textile workers. These wars resulted in the difficult and harsh working environments within the factories and also the economic status of the employees rapidly depleting and diminishing. The low wages and high prices of materials caused the workers to reach poverty and eventually unemployment. The reasoning being for the unemployment is because of the new machinery coming into the factories designed to replace an average group of workers and would only require a few workers to operate it. This would increase productivity while not having to deal with any issues regarding wage and working conditions. The replacement of factory workers with technologically advanced machinery threatened the jobs of many skilled textilers. Malcolm I. Thomis, senior lecturer in history at the University of Stirling, believes that the Leeds Intelligencer, the British newspaper during the revolution, was a key contributor to all the conspiracies against the factories (Thomis 41). The Leeds Intelligencer exposed to the public that the “Luddites were receiving eighteen shillings per week on being enrolled” in this movement and because of the low wages in working at the factories, this made a significant difference in their income to support their starving families (Thomis 42). All these changes in the structure of life caused the people to become resistant to the innovation of machines and technology; this is what the Luddites were known for and this is what they aimed to achieve. Organization is essential for any group fighting for an important cause. And with any organization, there must be a leader to conduct and initiate the actions toward that goal. As for the Luddites, they adopted a fictional character of a popular legend and his name is Ned Ludd, or Ludlam (Bailey x). He is described to be a modern Robin Hood; focusing on the industrial aspect of it and using the destruction of machinery to fight for what the Luddites want when there was no compromising on decisions made by the authorities; he represented and fought for those who could not do it themselves (Bailey x). He was also referred to as General or King Ned Ludd. To praise General Ludd for his leadership and successes, there is a song dedicated for him called General Ludd’s Triumph (Youtube). This was performed mainly during gatherings and is famously known to be the Luddite anthem. In the beginning, he is compared to Robin Hood but is said to be the new hero of Nottingham. An excerpt from this poem that describes the importance and effectiveness of his leadership: “He shiver them up by night and by day, and nothing can soften their doom, shall the whole team of humble no longer oppressed, and shall Ludd sheath his conquering sword, be his grievance instantly met with redress, than peace shall be quickly restored”(Binfield). He is seen to be known as a peace-maker and only want what is just for the oppressed. The Luddite Oath is also a reputable source for how the organization of the Luddites worked and how tightly knit they were in keeping the secrecies within the group, no matter what the consequences were for not admitting to involvement and known information. In this, Thomas Broughton signs an agreement stating his promise to never reveal any information regarding the Luddites and their plans. If however he is found to be guilty of leaking information to non-Luddites, he is sentenced to death by any Luddite who encounters him. He further promises to be faithful to the group but in the case he is not, his name will be forever condemned and eventually forgotten (Bloy). The organization of Luddism takes this oath very seriously and will not tolerate anything else but complete loyalty. Once a potential member signs, they are bound. The main goal for Luddites was to eliminate as many machines as possible, sending a clear message that they were not pleased with the changes. The desire to preserve the wage rate is also a factor the Luddite was striving for but this statement is merely too simplistic (Thomis 75). The complexity of this social movement is deeply rooted in the fact that they were exhausted from working constantly under authoritative figures and being controlled by them regardless of how the workers, themselves, felt about the changes and demands. To get what they wanted, the Luddites began to target many political and authoritative figures that can make a significant difference. General Ludd is the representative and leader of the Luddites, so he and his followers begin to write letters to them in hopes to gain their attention. Of course, General Ludd is only a fictional character but, none the less, a meaningful one. A threatening letter to Spencer Perceval, the First Lord of Treasury, was a sure way to bring attention to the Luddites. Although hard to decipher, General Ludd threatens Spencer Perceval by stating “if one man’s life is sacrificed, blood for blood” (Thomis 118). This means that if Perceval were to merely make a decision even with the fact that a man’s life may be taken in the process, the Luddites will reciprocate and do the same to him by taking his life. Another letter from General Ludd is a letter to a foreman of a Nottingham jury. In this letter, General Ludd tells him that men like him are on the path to repentance for doing what they do and he will be brought to justice as well for the actions he has taken. He then finished the letter by reminding the foreman that he is a target for the Luddites (Thomis 135). The concept of Luddism is powerful and created a great social movement among the workers and peasants. They successfully addressed the injustice of the oppressed during the Industrial Revolution. The act of Luddism would not have happened if the Industrial Revolution did not rise then there would be no reason to go against authority and political figures of Europe, which then would not have led to the organization of General Ludd and his supporters. These “machine-wreckers” created quite a stir, administering threatening letters and destroying factory property. General Ludd is the one behind all this and without him the Luddites would not even be the “Luddites.” In conclusion, Luddism was created solely because it was the last resort when all other actions have failed to address the issue of the injustice of the workers in the factories during the Industrial Revolution (Thomis 67).
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 17:09:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015