Liberty's Dawn Book by Emma Griffin Essay

Emma Griffin is one of the remarkable authors who has written great, sincerely and gracefully researched books. In her book Liberty's Dawn: A People's History of the Industrial Revolution, she analyzes some of the effects of the Industrial Revolution on typical people. According to Burnette, (2015), Emma Griffin achieves this by exploring the early 19th-century working-class life-writing: life histories, doing recollections, autobiographies, sketches, notebooks, and some of other very vital texts that gives more insights important information (Burnette, 2015).

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Griffin highlights some of the challenges that were unearthed from her research that the ordinary people went through as a result of the industrial revolution (Burnette, 2015). She discovered various patterns and diligently acknowledging much more details of people's lives thereby producing many chapters touching on education and religion, children, women, men working to earn a living besides love and culture among diverse classes of people. According to Burnette, (2015), Griffin's work gives a vivid picture of by then English working class which later stood as an alternative to one that had dominion over scholarship.

Behind known ancient depiction of the most humiliated and isolated mass of employees uprooted by industry's system from stable, anticipated pre-industrial lives, Emma Griffin realizes that most of the individuals struggle to keep their body and soul together once more and most importantly to establish a meaningful life. In most of her autobiographies, she finds that men were expressing their feeling of freedom (Burnette, 2015). They were not only having the opportunity to go to the city looking for the job that could pay them more than farm earnings, but they could also learn how to read and write. Additionally, they were allowed to help in building employees organizations and some of the non-conformist churches which nourished them (Burnette, 2015).

According to Burnette, (2015), Liberty's Dawn is experienced on many life levels. In the book, there are some of the real-life stories that make us have a better understanding of some words like breadwinner, work, and livelihood. Additionally, these stories make us contemplate on the complete importance of the above word at any moment in our life. These words also make us think of different systems we live within. From Liberty's Dawn: A People's History of the Industrial Revolution, we find that employee's qualitative involvements are informative, therefore they tend to modify Engels's opinions however they are not able to replace people for they live just within the system (Burnette, 2015).

There are quite a number of chapters that are very important for giving us clear information about what transpired during industrial civilization and how they affected the lives of ordinary people. In the chapter, men at work, we find that employees spent six days working to enable them to put a meal on their tables. From her book, we find that individuals who had nothing written on their names were faced with challenges. Moreover, this resulted to an obligated master-servant association that most of the time was humiliating and irritating (Burnette, 2015).

Despite unsteady job in local areas, there were substantial transformations that took place changing manufacturing sector. There was a number of inventions that enabled countries to carry out a large project at once within a very short period of time. Additionally, this transformation opened different platform and opportunities to sell products to the middle class (Burnette, 2015). During the era of Napoleonic war, we find that it also facilitated an abnormal bust in the economy. Additionally, there were more economic innovations, freedom in the country from the seventeenth century that has enabled the shaping of revolution (Burnette, 2015).

In this chapter, we find that workers were being trained to have all the required skills for the job. Training of workers has been identified in the probationer system and it had been controlled by the Statute of Artificers. According to Burnette, (2015) the statute of Artificers was known to be providing workers training in the trading field. Training people during this revolutionary era ensured that employees rapidly moved to new greener pasture and work positions having continuous employment opportunities and higher earnings. Additionally, they also learned to create more jobs in their mother countries. They could also move from rural to unite with new social circles in urban areas (Burnette, 2015). Many of Griffin's autobiographies illustrate how this transformation took place thereby positively changing the life of humanity since there were more opportunities for working men.

In regard to the chapter of education and churches, we find some of the incredible ways the two had contributed to better the lives of ordinary citizens during the industrial revolution (Burnette, 2015). When workers were exposed to religion and education, we find that they become more inspired, creative, and ambitious. This ensured that illiteracy was eradicated in the society. From her Griffin's book, Liberty's Dawn: A People's History of the Industrial Revolution, it is evident that with few years of education workers could speak and use the English language at high levels. Additionally, people learned to read and write and this marked one of the greatest achievements of education and religion among the people at the time of industrial revolution (Burnette, 2015).

Education seemed to have brought many benefits to the people. Workers could now read some of the complex advertisements to promote their business and product sales (Burnette, 2015). Burnette argued that education provided a super combination of curiosity, cognitive ability and lots of practice enabling most of the workers who passed through it to know how to read (2015). Many institutions were developed and due to the large turnout, these institutions become too exclusive leading to the establishment of other alternative schools. These mechanic schools gave all the workers the chance to work and learn at the same time. They could work weekdays and visit libraries to learn how to read and writes on a day off.

On the other hand, the church had played a very vital role in shaping the society and inspiring people during this revolution. According to Burnette, (2015), churches appeared as a place where many could get sure aid in time of trouble. Additionally, church teachings inspired people making them strong and bold to make the necessary steps. The church becomes one of the major transitional centers that positively impacted the lives of its believers. Churches made its believers to have a taste of power and authority. Additionally, believers developed strong self-confidence that enabled them to grab the public realm (Burnette, 2015).

Conclusion

From Griffin's book Liberty's Dawn: A People's History of the Industrial Revolution, we find that despite of existence of small group of malcontent church, the Methodist, evangelical and Baptist were the realignment in the appearance of the new modern society, balance of power and decrease of dissimilarities (Burnette, 2015). Liberty's Dawn, People's History of the Industrial Revolution is a captivating history that is great, sincerely and gracefully researched and presented making us feel assured and pleased with her findings. And after all her work of traveling, thinking, discovering, and most importantly organizing all her findings Emma Griffin created a writing style that is more friendly (Burnette, 2015).

Reference

Burnette, J. (2015). Liberty's Dawn: A People's History of the Industrial Revolution. By Emma Griffin. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2013. Pp. 320. S35.00, hardcover. The Journal Of Economic History, 75(02), 589-590. doi: 10.1017/s0022050715000765