EnglishConnection:

Genre:GothicRomance
Motif:Guilt
Twotexts:Taletaleheartpoe,AnnabelLeeEdgarAllenPoe
Historycategory:Industrialization
>Women/Childrenineconomyandtheabusethere
>Pollutionofnaturalenvironment?

Whatculturalfearsandanxietiesareexpressedbythisliterarymovement?
Fearofindustryandthenegativeeffectsonpublic/environment.

Taletaleheartguiltandtheindustrialexpansionattheexpenseofothers
AnnabelLee
Thatthewindcameoutofthecloudbynight,

ChillingandkillingmyAnnabelLee

History:
Tuberculosisspreadincramped,uncleancities.Endemicin19thcentury.deathsin
England,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution#Social_effects

Theindustrialrevolutionsubmergedthispersonalassociationintheimpersonalownershipof
stuffyfactoriesinspindlecities.Aroundthese,liketumors,theslumlikehovelsofthewage
slavestendedtocluster.

Clearlytheearlyfactorysystemdidnotshoweritsbenefitsevenlyonall.Whilemanyowners
waxedfat,workingpeopleoftenwastedawayattheirworkbenches.Hourswerelong,wages
werelow,andmealswereskimpyandhastilygulped.Workerswereforcedtotoilinunsanitary
buildingsthatwerepoorlyventilated,lighted,andheated.Theywereforbiddenbylawtoform
laborunionstoraisewages,forsuchcooperativeactivitywasregardedasacriminal
conspiracy.Notsurprisingly,onlytwentyfourrecordedstrikesoccurredbefore1835.

In1820halfthenationsindustrialtoilerswerechildrenundertenyearsofage.Victimsof
factorylabor,manychildrenwerementallyblighted,emotionallystarved,physicallystunted,and
evenbrutallywhippedinspecialwhippingrooms.InSamuelSlatersmillof1791,thefirst
machinetendersweresevenboysandtwogirls,allundertwelveyearsofage.

Into:
early19thcentury
precivilwar

Paragraph2:Publichealth
Poe:annabelleewifediedofTB(highlighthowannabelleeconnectstopublichealthinUS)
History:TBwashealthcrisis,poorsanitationincities,rapidlygrowingcities,
Guilt:Literaryguiltaboutthedisease/deathofmanyduetorapidindustrialization>leadto
gothicliterature

Paragraph1:Workerconditions/abuses
Taletaleheart:impersonalrelationsbetweenworkersandemployers(highlighthowTaleTale
Heartconnectstonatureofsocietyandtheimpersonalityofthetime)
History:(seeparagraphsabove)Childlabor,longhours,etc
Guilt:GothicUrbanliteraturealsoreactionarytourbanconditions,esp.ofworkingpoorwage
slaveshistorically,southsawnorthernconditionsasoftencomparabletoslaveryleadingto
termwageslavesandanegativeopinionofindustry(stratificationofunion)

Conclusion:
Synthesis:LaborreforminUS
In1842,thesupremecourtcaseCommonwealthv.Hunt,ruledinfavorofproviding
laborerswithmorerightstoprotestwithunions.In1847,NewHampshirecreatedand
passedthe10hourlawswhichlimitedtherequiredworkdayto10hoursforsome
workers

KhunalParkash&LukeWright
Ms.Cooper&Ms.Whipple
APEnglish&APUSHistory
18November2014
ArtistsStatement
Wecreatedacombinationofaposterandcollage.Thiswasconstructedbygluingcut
imagestoaposterboard,cuttingtheposterboardoutinordertoachievecleanerlines,and
mountingthatposterboardtoanotherposterboard.WeincludedthewordIndustryinbold,
capitalwritingtoemphasizethethemeoftheworkandfillthewhitespacepresentatthetopof
theposter.
Thethemeofthisworkwastoshowhowthefactoriesthatwerepollutingthe
environment(indicatedbythelargecloudspouringforthfromthesmokestacks)werebuilton
thebacksofthewomen,children,anddisadvantagedmembersofsocietywhoworkedinthe
factories.Weselectedourimagestoshowthepoorworkingconditionsandhardlaboroffactory
life.AgoodexamplemageisanillustrationofafactoryownerresemblingUncleSamglaringat
adirtymanwhoismotioningtowardshischildrenwhoappeartobemalnourishedanddirtyfrom
factorywork.Thisillustrationshowsthedisconnectbetweenthefactoryownersandtheworkers
puttingintheworkinthefactories.Therewasalargegapbetweentheworkingandtheowners,
andthiscontributedtothepoorconditionsandlonghoursworkerswereforcedtowork.Other
imagesincludemanyillustrationsandphotographsofchildrenandwomenworkinginhot,
dangerousconditions,andthegeneralscenesofindustrialization.Imageswerecrucialinthe
eventualreformationofthefactorysysteminAmericaandmanyhaveattributedmuchofthe

reformationmovementinAmericatotheadventofphotographyandwidedistributionofimages
innewspapers.

KhunalParkash&LukeWright
Ms.Cooper&Ms.Whipple
APEnglish&APUSHistory
18November2014

AnEraofGrimProgress

Antebellumamericawasatimeofcostlyadvanceandshamefulremembrance.Whilethe
economyadvancedtowardsrapidindustrializationthecosttowardsthequalityoflifewasseen
bymanyasunbalanced.Thegeneralresentmentoftheunparalleledgreedthatwas
industrializationbythepopuluswasacatalystofAmericangothicromanceandtheworksof
authorssuchasEdgarallenpoe,Nathanielhawthorne,andWashingtonIrving.Whichanalysed
andcriticisedthesocialissuesoftheantebellumtimeperiod,suchasthedetrimentalproductsof
industrialsocietyliketheeffectsthatblatantgreedhadonqualityoflifedirectlyandindirectly,
withuseofthemotifofguilttohaveaimpactfuleffectontheiraudiences.
IndustrializationinAmericaisconsideredtostartwiththefirstcottonmillin1787but
theindustrializationthatAmericanGothicauthorswroteaboutdidnotstartuntil1817withthe
firstfactorytown.Thesetownswerebuiltsolelyforonepurpose,toproduce.Thesefactoriesdid
exactlythatwithlittleregardtothehealthoftheirhumancogs.Theownersofthesefactorieshad
littlercareinfactforanythingbuttheirowngreedtothepointwhereIn1820halfthenations
industrialtoilerswerechildrenundertenyearsofage.Victimsoffactorylabor,manychildren
werementallyblighted,emotionallystarved,physicallystunted,andevenbrutallywhippedin

specialwhippingrooms.(TheAmericanPageant).Thecruelandtwistedwasalsocommon
amongAmericanGothicsuchasinEdgarAllenPoesTellTaleHeartinwhichPoewroteofa
murdererwhotookthelifeofhisemployerHehadtheeyeofavultureapaleblueeye,witha
filmoverit.Wheneveritfelluponme,mybloodrancoldandsobydegreesverygraduallyI
madeupmymindtotakethelifeoftheoldman,andthusridmyselfoftheeyeforever.This
goestoshowthenatureofemployeestowardstheiremployerduringthistimeperiodduetocruel
conditionsofindustrializationthatallowedformanyownerswaxedfat,workingpeopleoften
wastedawayattheirworkbenches(TheAmericanPageant).TellTaleHeartalso
communicatestheideaofguiltthatpeople,eventheinsane,encounterevidencedasthemurder
confessestohiscrimes.Yet,thismotifofguiltapparentlydidnotapplytofactoryownerswho
relentlesslyforcedworkerstototoilinunsanitarybuildingsthatwerepoorlyventilated,
lighted,andheatedtohavecompassionandimprovetheworkingconditionsfortheiremployees
untiltheywereforcedtolaterinthecenturybyincreasingregulationsandworkerstrikesand
unions(TheAmericanPageant).
ThenegativeeffectsofIndustrializationdidnotendwiththecrueltreatmentofthewage
slaves,employeesoffactoriesweresometimescalledwageslavesbysouthernersduetotheir
slaveliketreatment,butextendedtothegeneralpopulus.Whohadtodealwiththepollutant
byproductsthatthesefactoriesmadeaswellastheovercrowdedshantytownsthatcametobe
duetofactoriesneedingworkersonhand.Theseovercrowdedshantytownswerehometonot
onlyworkersbutthediseasesthattheseworkerscarried.IncludingTB(Tuberculosis)often
calledtheconsumption,adiseasesogruesomethatofalldeathsinBritainwereattributedto
it(IndustrialRevolution).Thisdiseaseisaconsideredanindicatorofextremepovertyasit

spreadsunderextremelydampandunsanitaryconditionscombinedwithconstantclosecontact
toastreamofotherpeople.Yet,thesediseasesdidnotjustaffectshantytownsbutalsolarge
populationcenterscausingevenmoredeathanddespair.AfactnotlosttheGothicRomance
authorsoftheantebellum,someevenexperiencingthediseasescausedbyahastilyindustrialized
societydirectlythroughtheirfamilies.EdgarAllenPoewritesofthelossofhiswifeinhispoem
AnnabelLeesayingThatthewindcameoutofthecloudbynight,Chillingandkillingmy
AnnabelLeethewindbeingtheconsumption,whichwasbelievedtobespreadthroughclouds
ofuncleanair.Poehimselfhatedindustrializationandblameditforthedeathofhiswifeashe
sawthatitallowedforhertobecomeinfected.Poeinattemptstoalleviateherconditionhadleft
thecitywhenshewascontractedthedisease,andmovedseveralmoretimesbeforeshe
eventuallydiedofthedisease.PoesAnnabelLeeseemstoconveythemotifofguiltinthatit
showsthepainthatPoefeelsforthelossofhiswife,Virginia,aswellastheguilthefeelsinnot
beingwithherindeath.
Industrializationandtheissuesitcreatedprovokednotonlygothicliteraturebuta
reactionaryloveofthenaturalbytranscendentalistauthorsatthesametime.Thenegativepublic
reactionstotheproblemsofindustrializationprovokedtheLaborReformMovementinAmerica.
Beginninginthe1840swiththelandmarkcourtcaseCommonwealthV.Hunt,whichruled
laborunionslegal,andcontinuingintothemid20thcentury,thereformsincluded:anendto
childlabor,andthefortyhourworkweek.TheLaborReformMovementwasalsocloselytiedto
andinfluentialinotherreformationmovementsofthetimesuchasWomensSuffrage,
Abolitionism,andEducationReform,eachofwhichshapedthemoderncultureofAmerica.
EntirelynewformsofgovernmentsuchasSocialismandCommunismwerecreatedinEuropeas

reactionstotheabuseoftheworkingclassduringtheIndustrialRevolutionandeventodaya
definingdifferencebetweenliberalandconservativepoliticsisdisagreementoverthebalance
betweenregulationtoprotectworkersandlaissezfaireCapitalismtopromotebusinesses.The
guiltexploredbyGothicliteratureintheearly1800shelpedtoprovokepublicdiscourseand
reformationoftheindustrialsysteminAmericaandshapedthefutureofthenation.

WorksCited
Kennedy,DavidM.,LizabethCohen,andThomasAndrewBailey.
TheAmericanPageant:A
HistoryoftheAmericanPeople
.Boston:WadsworthCengageLearning,2010.Print.

"IndustrialRevolution."
Wikipedia
.WikimediaFoundation,n.d.Web.14Nov.2014.