Friedrich Engels. The Condition of
the Working-Class in England in 1844. London: Swan
Sonnenschein &
Co., 1892. pp. 45, 48-53.
Friedrich Engels was a German-born philosopher, author, and
social scientist. He was a friend of Karl Marx’s, and together they formed the
basis of Marxism as it is today. Engels wrote The Condition of the
Working-Class in England in 1844 in order to expose the abysmal conditions
that the workers of England were working in. Engels is a believable source due
to his reputation as “the finest scholar and teacher... in the whole civilized
world.” This was written while Engels was observing the situation in
Manchester. He was a first hand view and he was writing things as soon as he
observed them. There is little reason for inaccuracy due to the book being
written continuously while he was in Manchester. When the document was produced
the industrial revolution was in full swing in Britain. Hundreds of thousands
of people were moving to cities for work and were thrown into terrible living
conditions. This document teaches us that for the people who made the
industrial revolution happen, life was one step away from a living hell. Some
limitations of this source are that there is only one point of view; some other
people may have had different opinions. There is no point of view from the
workers in the industrial revolution, only from the detached observer, Engels.
In his opinion, the situation for working people is completely uncivilized and
filthy. He uses a multitude of words to describe to unprecedented dirt and
grime. Engels was successful in showing, through words, the unacceptable
condition that many British commoners are living in.
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