3.1.7 Response: The Luddites
Completion requirements
3.1.7 Response: The Luddites
"The Leader of the Luddites", 1812. Published in May 1812 by Messrs.
Walker and Knight, Sweetings Alley, Royal Exchange. Wikimedia Commons,
Public Domain
Have you ever dealt with someone who is unable to learn how to use a new piece of technology?
When a new movement or idea occurs, often one of the first reactions is simply to reject the idea immediately. Perhaps your parents or grandparents or even someone the same age as you finds the newest gadget impossible to use. Sometimes these people are referred to as "Luddites", which dates back to 1811.
When the Industrial Revolution began, many people were put out of work. The first people to be affected were the textile workers. Before the Industrial Revolution, many people in England manufactured wool and cotton cloth in their own homes under the domestic system.
After the production of textiles became mechanized, these skilled workers replaced these relatively unskilled workers who made fabric in the factories. By 1811 these skilled labourers became violent in their protest of this change.
Allegedly lead by "Ned Ludd", the Luddites formed their own little army called "the Army of Redressers" who spent the next six years destroying textile machinery. As a response, the British Parliament passed the Frame-Breaking Act in 1812, which increased penalties for Luddites and others who destroyed private property.
When a new movement or idea occurs, often one of the first reactions is simply to reject the idea immediately. Perhaps your parents or grandparents or even someone the same age as you finds the newest gadget impossible to use. Sometimes these people are referred to as "Luddites", which dates back to 1811.
When the Industrial Revolution began, many people were put out of work. The first people to be affected were the textile workers. Before the Industrial Revolution, many people in England manufactured wool and cotton cloth in their own homes under the domestic system.
After the production of textiles became mechanized, these skilled workers replaced these relatively unskilled workers who made fabric in the factories. By 1811 these skilled labourers became violent in their protest of this change.
Allegedly lead by "Ned Ludd", the Luddites formed their own little army called "the Army of Redressers" who spent the next six years destroying textile machinery. As a response, the British Parliament passed the Frame-Breaking Act in 1812, which increased penalties for Luddites and others who destroyed private property.
"Frame-breakers, or Luddites, smashing a loom", 1812 by Christopher
Sunde. Provided courtesy of
http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/cpp/luddites.htm. Wikimedia Commons,
Public Domain
Read about the Luddites under "Grassroots Movements" on pages 131-132 of your textbook, Perspectives on Ideology.
Learn more about the Luddite movement.