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Reform Movements

Driving Question: How did industrialization lead to calls for reform?

Industrialization reshaped lives and raised new questions about equality and human rights. In this lesson, you’ll explore how people around the world responded through reform movements like abolition, child labor laws, and women’s suffrage. You’ll also consider how individuals played powerful roles in demanding change.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Use the historical thinking practice of causation to examine how industrialization created social and economic conditions that led to reform movements.
  2. Use the historical thinking practice of comparison to examine how women’s reform movements developed in different regions and addressed issues of rights and representation.
  3. Use a graphic biography to support, extend, or challenge the overarching narratives of this period.
STEP 1

Opener: Reform Movements

Dive into the complex story of abolition by focusing on Harriet Forten Purvis, a lesser-known but powerful activist. Using visual evidence and historical clues, you’ll piece together her story and start to explore how individuals helped shape global movements for freedom.

STEP 2

Abolition

These materials explore why slavery was abolished and highlight the role of abolitionist voices. You’ll use evidence to understand how abolition reshaped politics and the economy in the industrial age.

STEP 3

Child Labor

These materials will help you understand how child labor fit into the world of the Industrial Revolution, and how reformers began to push for change.

STEP 4

Women’s Suffrage

Explore how the fight for women’s voting rights took shape in different countries. You’ll compare movements to see how context shaped their goals and outcomes.

Extension Materials
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Want a closer look at what daily life was really like during industrialization? These short videos and activities reveal how class, gender, and labor shaped people’s experiences.
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The Human Side of Industry

These materials bring you face-to-face with the lived experiences of working-class people during industrialization. Through firsthand stories, you'll explore how class and gender shaped daily life—and why these realities led many to demand reform.

The Life of Nailers External link

The life of child nailers in Victorian England reveals a great deal about how industrialists treated the working classes.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.

Victorian Washing Machines External link

The history of Victorian washing machines sheds light on class and gender differences in nineteenth-century Britain.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.