Child
Labour Simulation A
historical simulation on child labour. Each student is given the name
of a person involved in the debate over the issue of children working
in textile factories in the early part of the 19th century. The characters
are divided into eight different categories: Factory Owners: Supporting
Child Labour, Factory Owners Opposing Child Labour, Campaigners Against
Child Labour, Supporters of Child Labour, Doctors Opposing Child Labour,
Doctors Supporting Child Labour, Child Workers: Girls and Child Workers:
Boys. Each student then used the Internet to discover details of their
character and their views on child labour. Each student writes a brief
biography of their character and prepares a speech for a debate entitled:
"Parliament should pass legislation making it illegal for children
under the age of twelve to work in textile factories." See the
article, Child
Labour in the 19th Century, for an account of how the simulation
works in the classroom.
Protest
Movements: This popular section of Schools History on Protest
Movements of the 18th and 19th centuries covers the history of Chartism,
the Luddites, The Swing Riots, the Rebecca Riots and provides an overview
of several other protests. Each page in the unit is accompanied by
an activity. A very useful introduction to the theme of conflict.
Victorian
Britain:
Most
of the government funded educational websites have so far been very
disappointing. This is not true of the very impressive Public Record
Office's Learning Curve website. A recent addition to the website
is Victorian Britain that has been designed specifically for pupils
at KS3 and 4. Written by teachers for teachers, this exhibition looks
at different aspects of life in Victorian Britain. Using an extensive
range of varied sources including documents, photographs, video and
sound recordings, this exhibition encourages students to answer the
question, 'Was Victorian Britain Fine of Foul?'
The
Penny Magazine: Charles Knight of the Society for the Diffusion
of Useful Knowledge believed that a literate working class created
a potentially dangerous situation. He wrote in 1828 that this "could
not be stopped although
it might be given direction." Knight's answer to this problem
was to publish the Penny Magazine.
It was not long before Knight was selling 200,000 copies a week. This
website intends to republish past editions of this magazine. The website
is very attractively designed and easy to navigate. The user can read
any of the articles from their chosen edition. A website that provides
a fascinating insight into Britain in the 1830s.
The
Irish Famine: A comprehensive study of how the the Irish Famine
changed the social and cultural structure of Ireland. Liz Szabo's
archive provides a series of interpretations of the famine that appeared
in newspapers, diaries and novels at the time. This material can be
explored in a variety of different ways. The primary sources are categorized
by topics (hunger and disease, eviction, emigration, homelessness,
etc.) and types of sources (newspaper accounts, photographs, drawings,
etc.). The main emphasis of the website is on the different interpretations
of the Irish Famine. The primary sources are also organized under
the headings: 'Voices from Ireland', 'Irish-American Commentary' and
'English Views of the Famine'.
Industrial
Revolution Sourcework: Designed to help lower ability and special
educational needs pupils access sources and concepts related to the
Industrial Revolution, the online lesson from School History guides
pupils through a basic overview of the Industrial Revolution. Through
gap filling exercises pupils go through the basics of source analysis
and then analyse two sources from the Industrial Revolution. Extension
exercises and quizzes are then available.
Railways:
A comprehensive encyclopedia of railways in Britain. Each
entry contains a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The
text within each entry is hypertexted to other relevant pages in the
encyclopedia. In this way it is possible to research individual people
and events in great detail. The sources are also hypertexted so the
student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper, organization,
etc., that produced the material. So far there are sections on Railway
& Bridge Engineers, Railway Entrepreneurs, Locomotives, Railway
Companies, Liverpool & Manchester Railway, Railway Art, Railway
Towns and Cities, Historical Developments, Railway Experiences and
Railway Stations.
The
Rainhill Trials: In October 1829 the directors of the soon to
be completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway held a competition to
find the most appropriate locomotive to use on their railway. The
Rainhill Trials, as the competition came to be known, were held over
a number of weeks, grandstands were erected and many people came to
watch the events. The correspondent from the weekly Mechanics Magazine,
attended these trials and sent detailed verbatim reports of the events.
This website contains those articles and illustrations of the five
locomotives involved: Novelty, Rocket, Sans Pareil, Cycloped and Perseverance.
UK
Heritage Railways: The primary purpose of this website is to provide
a guide to the entire heritage railway scene in the UK, including
details of special events and operating days for all operating steam
railways. However, there is also a comprehensive glossary (over 900
entries) of railway terms, names and abbreviations; pages of diagrams
and explanations of the components of steam locomotives and their
controls; and a Websites Database with links to over 400 railway related
websites (including a category for historical material).
Canals
& Waterways: Roots & Routes: Produced by Peter Hardcastle
this website is a series of pages covering many of Britain's Inland
Waterways. Each waterway is divided into two sections; (a) Roots:
A chronological history of the waterway in question, tracing its roots
from its initial promotion through to the present day; (b) Routes:
A detailed description of the waterway's route, including details
of interesting features along the way, descriptions on how to reach
these features, street names, parking places and (some times) OS Grid
References. Both man-made canals and commercial river navigations
(including the Norfolk Broads) are covered on the web site. Over 100
waterways have been covered to date and, eventually, every commercial
waterway in the UK, whether navigable, derelict or under restoration
will be described. In fact, several canal ventures which never saw
a boat or even a drop of water are also included. The author of the
site as walked most of the canals that he describes, research for
the history sections has been collected from many books, magazine
articles, the Internet and people who have had personal involvement
with canals - for instance, working boatmen, lock keepers or as part
of the restoration movement.
Can
you succeed as a Victorian entrepreneur? A new decision making
game in which you have to make a series of tough decisions as you
learn about the era of the Industrial Revolution. At the end of the
game you are told what your profits, based on your decisions, was
likely to have been (worksheet included). This provides an original
way for students to learn about the era of the Industrial Revolution.
Charles
Booth Online: This website is a searchable resource giving access
to archive material on Charles Booth that is held by the British Library
of Political and Economic Science. This includes the original records
from Booth's survey into life and labour in London, dating from 1886-1903.
There is also a guide written to encourage the use of the website
in the teaching of history in schools.
Textile
Industry: An encyclopedia of the Textile Industry in Britain between
1700 and 1900. The website includes information on the different aspects
of the domestic system as well as the woolen, cotton, silk and linen
industries. The website also features entries on twelve important
textile inventions and biographies of inventors (16) and entrepreneurs
(28). There is also a series of lessons available that simulates the
debate that took placed in the 19th century on the morality and the
economic value of child labour in textile factories.
British
Empire: At its peak, the British Empire was the largest formal
empire that the world had ever known. As such, its power and influence
stretched all over the globe; shaping it in all manner of ways. The
site is dedicated to annualizing the history of the British Empire:
The triumphs, the humiliations, the good that it brought and the bad
that it inflicted. For better or worse the British Empire had a massive
impact on the history of the world. It is for this reason that the
site tries to bring to life the peoples, cultures, adventures and
domination that made the Empire such a powerful institution. It is
neither an apology for, nor a nostalgic reminiscince of the institution
that so dominated the world for over a century. Rather, it analyses
and describes the vast institution that so influenced the shape of
the world that we see today. The site includes timelines, maps and
photos of colonies, descriptions of battles and campaigns, images
of Imperial art and explanations of scientific development.
Inventions
of the Industrial Revolution: This excellent BBC website enables
the visitor to discover the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution
through animated models. Inventions covered include The Rocket, the
Beam Engine, the Blast Furnace, a Paddle Steamship, a Spinning Mill
and Winding Gear.
The
Workhouse: In the 17th and 18th centuries, the parish workhouse
in Britain was a place where - often in return for board and lodging
- employment was provided for the destitute. Parish workhouses were
often just ordinary local houses, rented for the purpose. This website
is devoted to the history of the workhouse and includes sections on
the Poor Laws, 1601 Act, 1834 Act, Poor Law Unions, Workhouse Life,
Workhouse Memories and a Workhouse Tour.
Power,
Politics and Protest: Produced by the Public Record Office this
website explores the political changes that took place in Britain
during the 19th century. It contains nine different investigations
that tell the story of the political history of Britain between 1800
and 1914 (Radicals, Luddites, Captain Swing, Peterloo, Great Reform
Act, the Chartists, Reform After 1850, White Slavery and the Suffragettes).
The sources in these investigations have been chosen to highlight
the role of important individuals, the broad pattern of changes and
the different causes of those changes.
Cotton
Times: A broad-based site covering the Industrial Revolution from
several angles - the inventors and the entrepreneurs, the radicals,
reformers and health pioneers, and most importantly, the workers.
All the major developments are covered, but the accent is on the leading
role played by the Lancashire cotton industry in driving the revolution
forward.
The
Titanic: History on the Net has a new section on the Titanic.
This popular topic fits into the national curriculum as part of the
modern world and will be written as a resource to answer the question
'Why was the sinking of the Titanic such a memorable event.' The section
currently includes an interactive page which looks at the Layout of
the Ship and includes a worksheet, a bibliography and a further information
section.
Victorian
Census Project: The Victorian Census Project at Staffordshire
University aims to computerize source documents relating to Great
Britain and Ireland in the nineteenth century. These sources include
nineteenth century census abstracts, vital registration statistics,
returns of the Poor Law Commissioners, agricultural statistics and
crime statistics. The unit is also adding the Pigot's and Slater's
Topographies of Great Britain and Ireland.
Jack
the Ripper: Stephen P. Ryder & John A. Piper, the creators
of Casebook: Jack the Ripper website, claim that it is the world's
largest public repository of Ripper-related information! The website
includes sections on Victims, Suspects, Witnesses, Ripper Letters,
Police Officials, Official Documents, Press Reports, Timeline and
Games & Diversions. The section on Victorian London will be particularly
useful for history teachers.
The
Sheffield Flood: In 1864, and in response to a growing demand
for a greatly improved water supply to the expanding town of Sheffield,
and the surrounding villages, the Sheffield Waterworks Company devised
the ambitious 'Bradfield Scheme': a plan to build four large reservoirs
in the hills surrounding Bradfield village - about 8 miles to them
north-west of Sheffield. The first was to be the giant Dale Dyke Dam,
and construction work commenced on 1st January, 1859. By late February
1864, only a few finishing touches were required to complete the embankment
and the reservoir was now almost full. On Friday the 11th. March 1864,
shortly before midnight, the newly built dam collapsed unleashing
a colossal mountain of water which thundered down on to the unsuspecting
population below. Six hundred and fifty million gallons of water roared
down the Loxley valley and into Sheffield, wreaking death and destruction
on a horrific scale. This website provides a detailed explanation
of the Sheffield Flood.
Child
Labour: A
comprehensive encyclopedia of child labour in Britain. Each
entry contains a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The
text within each entry is hypertexted to other relevant pages in the
encyclopedia. In this way it is possible to research individual people
and events in great detail. The sources are also hypertexted so the
student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper, organization,
etc., that produced the material. There are sections on Life
in the Factory (10), Factory Workers (22), Factory Reformers (18),
Supporters of Child Labour (26), Tactics & Issues (4), Factory
Acts (8) and Statistics (6).
Crime
and Punishment: There are three strands in this Public Record
Office exhibition, each covering the themes of 'Crime', 'Prevention'
and 'Punishment'. Each strand contains four galleries covering the
designated theme through different time periods. Each strand contains
a big question. The sources contained within the various case studies
can be used to carry out the activity which will answer the big question.
Victorian
Child Criminals: Young people have always got into trouble with
the law. What changes over time is how society deals with its young
offenders. Before
Victorian times no distinction was made between criminals of any age.
Accordingly, young children could be sent to an adult prison. There
are records of children aged 12 being hanged. The Victorians were
very worried about crime and its causes. Reformers were asking questions
about how young people who had broken the law ought to be treated.
They could see that locking children up with adult criminals was hardly
likely to make them lead honest lives in the future. On the other
hand, they believed firmly in stiff punishments. This Public Record
Office website looks at the cases of two child criminals, Elizabeth
Roberts and George Page.
Victorian
Dictionary: Lee Jackson's website provides a collection of first-hand
descriptions of Victorian London life. Subjects covered include architecture,
childhood, clothing, crime, death & dying, disease, education,
entertainment, food & drink, health & hygiene, houses &
housing, maps, markets, police, politics, prisons, photography, religion,
science, transport, weather and women.
19th
Century City: Phillip
Mallett is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of St Andrews.
He is also the creator of an impressive website on the 19th Century
City. The material is organized under the headings: Population, Railways
& Transport, the Great Exhibition, Housing & Health, Work,
Education, Law & Order, Fashion, Architecture, Women, Wives and
Widows.
Florence
Nightingale Museum: Florence Nightingale is famous around the
world for her influence on modern nursing, but she herself was more
than a nurse. At the Florence Nightingale Museum, personal artefacts,
a life-size reconstruction of a Crimean ward scene and an audio-visual
presentation together reveal the hidden person, from a serious and
solitary child to an internationally recognised figure. Complimentary
guided tours are available, allowing visitors a personal insight into
the Museum collection.
Victorian
Social History: This website provides links to articles on Victorian
Social History. This includes: Wages, the Cost of Living, and Contemporary
Equivalents to Victorian Money, Victorian Occupations - Life and Labor
in the Victorian Period, Child Labour, The Life of the Industrial
Worker in the Early 19th England, Billingsgate Fishmarket, The Lack
of Social Security in Victorian England, Clara Collett, Charles Booth,
and Urban Poverty, Needlewomen: Dressmakers, Milliners, and Slop-workers,
The Physical Deterioration of the Textile Workers and the he Development
of Leisure in Britain, 1700-1850.
Queen
Victoria's Empire: At the time of Queen Victoria's birth in 1819,
England was an agrarian society. Within a few short decades, this
small island nation would be transformed into an industrial superpower,
with an empire spanning the globe. "Queen Victoria's Empire"
is both the story of this remarkable time, and an engaging portrait
of a queen who ruled over one-fifth of the world's population. The
material is organized under four headings: History of a Reign, Her
Majesty, The Changing Empire and Secrets of Empire.
Victorian
Britain: The aim of this exhibition of National Archives materials
is to encourage students to look critically at documentary evidence
of the past; to investigate and challenge interpretations and views
of the past; and to reach balanced conclusions based upon the evidence.
The exhibition is divided into eight sections. The first is an introduction,
which focuses upon the Great Exhibition of 1851. There then follow
six galleries, each of which focuses upon an area of public life during
the Victorian period. In each of these galleries, students are required
to investigate an aspect of Victorian life by considering a key question.
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