The Nonconformist In The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution firstly occurred in Britain. The nonconformist has an outstanding performance in the political, economic and social reform during the Industrial Revolution. They are the primary agent of the industrialization in Britain, and during this period, a great many important figures in British science, industry, and philosophy are also nonconformists. This paper tries to see the nonconformist as a unique group, and make a comprehensive study of what they had done during the Industrial Revolution, and using the theory of "Development as Freedom" to analyze why the nonconformist made great success in this period. The paper can be divided into five major parts:The foreword briefly introduces the main reasons and the significance for the choice of this topic, the range and methods, the present situation of the academic research in and abroad, and the innovation of this paper.The first chapter gives a concise portrayal of the situation of the nonconformist before the Industrial Revolution, including the process of the formation and the development of the status of "the second-class citizen", as well as their jobs and population. In the1660s, the parliament enacted the Clarendon Code to secure the Church of England. These new laws made the nonconformist lose a lot of political and social rights and caused a great deal of trouble to them. So the nonconformist became "the second-class citizen". From then on, the parliament gradually enacted "Test Act""Act of Toleration""Occasional Conformity Act""Schism Act""Marriage Act1753", which made the nonconformist suffer a lot. Because the nonconformist lost so much political and social rights that there were only a few kinds of jobs for them to take, they mainly engaged in business. Their population is comparatively small; their proportion across the country was relatively low, too.The second chapter mainly probes the relationship between the nonconformist and the economic development. Firstly, the nonconformist emphasized the value of business, improved the professional standards of business, and established the social trust system. Secondly, they invented and carried out the state-of-the-art techniques and methods. Thomas Newcomen created the first practical steam engine for pumping water, the Newcomen steam engine; James Watt adapted Newcomen’s steam engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water; Josiah Wedgwood revolutionized the quality of pottery and was outstanding in his marketing methods. The Darby family and John Wilkinson pioneered in metal smelting; the nonconformist improved transport infrastructure, such as building the Iron Bridge, world’s first steam locomotives, and the first railway. So the nonconformist ushered the society as a whole into a period of prosperity.The third chapter discusses the relationship between the nonconformist and the social benefit undertakings. In terms of social benefit undertakings, the nonconformist mainly involved in education, anti-slavery movement, and prison reform movement. They actively opened Sunday schools and set up Academies, so more people were educated. The quality of education was improved, and the educational system was reformed. They made the British people realize and understand that the Slave Trade was evil, and started the British abolition campaign. What’s more, they eventually established a fellowship to abolish the trade and gave financial support for its success. They played a pivotal role in the victory of anti-slavery. Before Industrial Revolution, the prison management was relatively haphazard and prisons were terrible. John Howard, who was the first English prison reformer, and "angel of prisons" Elizabeth Fry did a lot of hard work to improve the prisoners’treatment. They were the major driving force behind the new legislation to make the treatment of prisoners more human. The fourth chapter explains how and why the nonconformist regained their lost political and social rights. For one thing, the society had changed; the British people didn’t bias the nonconformist. For another, the nonconformist worked hard to fight for rights. Before the French Revolution, they succeeded in "the sheriff’s cause" and "Thirty-nine Articles case", and got some rights. However, a few days after the outbreak of the French Revolution, the British society became less tolerated to the nonconformist. Anyway, they didn’t give up and overcame the difficulty. In1812, Conventicle Act1664and Five Mile Act1665were repealed; in1828, Corporation Act and Test Act were repealed, too. So they were enfranchised.The conclusion uses the theory of "Development as Freedom" to analyze why the nonconformist obtained great success during the Industrial Revolution. Through the theory, we can find that though the nonconformist was the "second class citizen", they were in a democratic society, and didn’t lose the freedom which can promote the development. Thank to this freedom, they finally got the civil rights which they had lost for almost a century.