The Family and Class Structure in the mid-19th Century
After a period of approximately a century (1750-1850) of instability in families, due to the
transition of industry, a new stable pattern emerged. The Middle Class, although still a minority, was
beginning to have a profound impact on values, even beyond the members of its own class.
The new industrial age had separated the home from the workplace. This encouraged a more precise
definition of the roles of women and men. While men were supposed to be the breadwinners, the
women were supposed to care for the home and the children. It became a matter of self-esteem for a
man to be able to support the family without his wife having to work. Women were not supposed to
work outside the home or to otherwise be involved in public.
The new industrial age had created a variety of new occupations, most of which required more years
of education and training then ever before. This placed great emphasis upon family provision for
education of their children, especially sons. Full maturity and independence was delayed. Adolescence
became a distinctive phase of life. Families were to be the stable bulwark, which assured that the next
generation followed in the father's footsteps (and beyond). The family generally became more stable.
Rates of illegitimacy declined. But stresses upon the family increased. Men were more likely to be
remote, austere father-figures to the children. Women were more likely to be frustrated by a homeconfining value system. Children sometimes were overwhelmed by the high expectations their parents
put upon them. There was also a double-standard in that men could have affairs and frequent houses of
prostitution so long as they were "reasonably" discreet, while women were expected to uphold the
"sanctity" of the family.
The wealth produced by the new industry raised living standards for almost everyone. A long-term
decline in prices benefited workers. There is a balance between goods and money. When goods exceed
money you have deflation. The increasing production of goods outpaced the increase in the supply of
money. But the gap between rich and poor remained very wide.
The new industrial age also created a more complex class structure. The "captains of industry" at
the top of the middle class merged with the "old" aristocracy. They lived in great luxury, had great
estates and armies of servants. A middle-middle class consisted of industrial managers, highly-skilled
experts in new industrial techniques, and college-educated professional people such as engineers,
doctors, and lawyers. They tended to live comfortably and securely in a family setting with a few
servants. A lower-middle class consisted of white-collar workers, clerks, teachers, governesses who
were paid poorly but were motivated by typical middle-class values which, at least in their own minds,
drew a distinction between them and the working class.
The lower class was also clearly distinguishable in three groups. The upper-lower class were
foremen/ supervisors in the factory, or highly-skilled workers, or head butlers on wealthy estates.
Though members of the working class, they were very self-conscious of their supposed superiority
over other members of the working class. A middle-lower class consisted of semi-skilled workers,
most of whom barely earned a living wage needed to support a family. A lower-lower class of
unskilled workers often lived on the edge of survival. Women had to work to help support a family,
and were often employed at home doing piece-work, or in sweatshops of the urban garments-trade
industry.
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How did the Industrial Revolution reinforce older agrarian family values?
What were some of the positive changes to the family in the 19th century? (Name at least two)
What were some of the negative changes to the family in the 19th century (Name at least two)
What types of occupations were considered upper middle class?
Of all the various classes of people, which one had the largest number of women working and
why?