Paper Topic:

Western Civilization

The Impacts of Industrialization in the Shaping of the Western Working Class Families

The period of the Industrial Revolution probably provide the best illustrations for humankind 's ability to innovate . The leap from manual labor towards machine - assisted production did not only herald major economic changes but several social changes as well . This aims to explore one of these social changes , that is the changes which the Western lower class families underwent as Europe evolved from the rural - agricultural country that it was in the late 18th century to the urban

- industrial country which it became in the early 19th century up to the present . This essay utilizes the book by McKay , Hill and Buckler entitled A History of Western Society since 1300 as its primary source

In pre - industrial Europe , it was believed that extended families were as prevalent as in other Asian and African countries . The onset of industrialization and its resulting demands however paved the way for the development of nuclear families . Indeed , extended families were so rare that three - generation households were seldom seen in Europe by 1700 (McKay , et al ,

p Marriage patterns also merit considerable attention . In the 17th and early 18th centuries , most common people married only after they have found stable sources of income and only after they have reached adulthood sometimes many years after attaining the two conditions . One reason behind such trend was the fact that men and women during the period believed that in to build a family , they must have the financial capability to do so . Men needed land which they would have to inherit from their fathers . Similarly , women were expected to help their husbands in buying land or a house through their dowry . Secondly individuals who wanted to marry must first obtain permission from the local officials . These requests however were mostly denied due to the officials ' belief that marriage among the lower classes would mean more orphans , vagrants , paupers and consequently , more money that would be allotted for welfare . Indeed such restrictions were enforced in Austria and Germany well up to the 19th century (McKay , et al ,

. These two circumstances thus led to late marriages during the said period

The plight of young people in pre - industrial Europe was typically the same for both sexes . Both had to work with their families until they were old enough to start families of their own . In some cases , these young people had to leave home at a very early age . Men were most commonly drifting from one job to another while women , confined to fewer opportunities , were mostly taken in as servants by another household

Premarital sex was also rampant during the era . Surprisingly , this did not go hand - in - hand with an increased number of illegitimate births The reason for such was that premarital sex was engaged in by couples who were seriously contemplating marriage . In the cases of French and English couples , the woman 's pregnancy finalized the wedding 's...

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