Transcript The Victorian Period 1832-1901 - Vista Unified School District

The Victorian Period
1832-1901
•The time in the United Kingdom when Queen
Victoria ruled.
•A response to the Romantic Period: How??
Enlightenment: Development of science &
technology
Romantic Period: Resisted science,
embraced human emotion & nature
Victorian Period: How do you think people
might have responded now??
• Awareness of social problems: slavery,
women’s rights, child labor
• Evident in Victorian literature
• Individual >>>>> community
• More people were becoming educated
• Easier access to material objects
Some events that occurred:
• (1836) The Alamo: A group of about 200
Americans living in Texas revolted for
independence. They lost to the Mexican army
(about 1500 soldiers). 2 Americans survived,
about 1000 Mexicans survived.
• (1837) Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist:
Through his novel, Dickens showed the
poverty and crime that was occurring
in England’s factories.
• (1884) Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn: Showed the racism that was prominent after
the US Civil War.
• (1868) Britain Stops Deporting Convicts: For about
80 years, Britain shipped tens of thousands of
convicted criminals to Australia.
• (1870-1901) European Nations Divide Africa:
Britain, Spain and France divvied up Africa amongst
themselves.
Riots and Reforms, 1832-1848
• The Reform Bill of 1832 gave male land-owners the
right to vote.
• Poor factory workers couldn’t afford food during the
40s, so Parliament repealed the bread tax, avoiding
a revolution.
Prosperity, 1848-1870
• After the depression, new policies of free trade
brought wealth to the upper class.
• A series of factory acts improved working and living
conditions for the poor.
• More people learned to read and write
A Society of Propriety (Good Manners)
The Victorian people thought that if life was more
organized and refined, it would improve. Instead of
rejecting advances in science and technology, they
embraced them, believing that would lead to an
end of social problems.
• What social and political factors affected life in
Victorian England?
• What did Victorians value?
• How did discoveries in science affect people’s
religious beliefs?
• How did Victorian writers respond to issues of
their time?
The importance of politeness and manners seen
in Victorian culture was a reaction to the
unsettling changes that threatened traditional
social structures.
Think about the changes that have occurred in
our society regarding technology (cell-phone,
internet, GPS, etc.). Have we changed our
attitudes about morality and acceptable social
behavior? Has our reaction been similar or
different from the Victorians?
Write 2-3 paragraphs explaining your views.