History assignment

A 19th Century of Discord and Unifications

In this module you will learn about the processes that created modern societies, economies, and nation-states in the 19th century (1800s). After the French Revolution made the ideals of a liberal democratic social/political system widespread in Europe, they became the object of reformers and revolutionaries, and the fear of many aristocrats, monarchs, and conservatives. In the 19th century, changes happened rapidly and in an oscillating, back-and-forth fashion -- advances in one country might be balanced by regression in another, expansion of rights for one social group might be contemporaneous with long-term stalemate for another group. In all of the tumult and rhetoric, the main direction of change was away from a society of classes, traditionally following the agricultural lifestyle of millenia, to a more fluid society that was urbanizing, industrializing, and coaslescing into nation-states.

For this module, unlike previous ones, you will work with a primary source in each of the writing assignments. You'll start by evaluating a left-wing interpretation about a common problem, housing shortages for working-class people -- the workers in factories. You'll then move on to address the issues of nation-building and end by evaluating the outcomes of the combined aspects of urbanization, industrialization, and nation-building. As you write informal essays and comment on each other's work, try not to evaluate the essays in a fashion that is like grading -- instead, comment on ideas that interest you, pose questions to help other writers think more usefully about the topics, or riff on ideas that an essay sparked in you.

For this essay, please read the commentary on housing by F. Engels (see primary source list). Based on your reading of the primary source, what are the key elements of and who causes the housing shortage for the working class?

This essay should take you up to 30 minutes to write (not counting reading the primary source and pre-writing). Be sure that you read and understand the entire excerpt from Engels -- he addresses other peoples' thinking so do not be fooled by words that seem to be Engels's ideas but are really his reporting of others' notions.

Note: You have to read the pdf file before you start. It is going to be a 1 page without double space. It has to be done in 24 hours. I will attach the pdf file.