Article of the Week #11: "Testimony for the Factory Act (1833)"
So, I had a massive tech fail...I worked on this on a plane, but it failed to sync, so my nice, well-written, interesting intro is gone... you get this instead. Sorry-Markstone
Laws. What do you know about them? I know I break them. I break them every day. I speed, I text while I'm diving. Heck, I typed a draft of this on my cell phone while I was stopped in traffic this weekend (I drove a lot, but I'd rather not talk about it). Laws govern our interactions in society, business, school, and even home (you know about the rule of thumb, right?). I can't smoke in the hotel room I'm staying in or the car I rented, yell bomb on the airplane I have to get on, or even bring water in the airport. Some laws, are dumb. There I said it. Some laws, though, are useful (although maybe not necessary).
No matter how you feel about a particular law, they are there. You have to follow them, right? But how do laws come about? How are they made? Who makes them? If you need refresher on these issues, watch the video below.
Laws. What do you know about them? I know I break them. I break them every day. I speed, I text while I'm diving. Heck, I typed a draft of this on my cell phone while I was stopped in traffic this weekend (I drove a lot, but I'd rather not talk about it). Laws govern our interactions in society, business, school, and even home (you know about the rule of thumb, right?). I can't smoke in the hotel room I'm staying in or the car I rented, yell bomb on the airplane I have to get on, or even bring water in the airport. Some laws, are dumb. There I said it. Some laws, though, are useful (although maybe not necessary).
No matter how you feel about a particular law, they are there. You have to follow them, right? But how do laws come about? How are they made? Who makes them? If you need refresher on these issues, watch the video below.
In Great Britain, the law making body is called Parliament. They make laws in a manner similar to that of our Congress and Senate. When they do this, they have to consider a wide range of consequences. For example, imagine you were a slave trader in 1850 in the United States. Your life was pretty good. You made good money, you weren't looked down upon by the rest of society, and you could return home each night, put your feet up around the fire and enjoy the fruits of your labor. After the 13th ammendment, though, things were different. It wasn't necessarily an immediate change in public opinion, but think about how the slave trader was affected by the law. His livelihood was gone. What he and his family had known for however long was forever different.
As we look the the documents for this week, consider the occupations of the people giving the testimony and how the Factory Acts would impact their lives. Does it change how they feel about the issues? Also remember that Parliament had to consider all of these things while they made laws and passed acts.
Enjoy the reading and the questions.
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