19th Century Social Hierarchy

Social Hierarchy Pyramid

1. Who were in the upper most classes??

The upper classes (the aristocracy) were as follows: the royal family,

lords spiritual and temporal, great officers of state, and those above

the degree of baronet. Below these, baronets, knights, country

gentlemen, and others with large incomes. (p. 122, Everyday Life in

Regency and Victorian England, by Kristine Hughes, Writer’s Digest Book :

 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/158297280X/qid=1103483017/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-6167993-5862431?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

9488546 » Stock Photo - Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland (1785-1847) on engraving from 1839. British aristocrat and Tory politician who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under the Duke of Wellington during 1829-1830. Engraved by Holl after a painting by G.Ward and publi 

 A movie scene from "The Duchess"

 A portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte

2. Was there a middle class?? 

Yes. The middle class was made up of factory owners, bankers, 

shopkeepers, merchants, lawyers, engineers, and other 

professionals, in addition to some clergymen. The “middle class”

can be divided into sections: "the upper middle class" consisting 

of professionals (like doctors, lawyers, and clergymen), 

and the lower middle class(consisting of self made  business men,

civil servants, and the like).

 Medical Instruments in that era.

 An example of medical check up during that era.

For more information, see:

The Middle Class? at Time Travelers Guide to Victorian Britain:

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide19/part05.html#middleclass

Change in 19th Century Class System at Romance Ever After:

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide19/part05.html#middleclass

The Rise of the Victorian Middle Class at the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/society_culture/society/middle_classes_01.shtml

3. Who composed the lower classes?? 

The British lower class was divided into two sections: "the working

class" (laborers), and "the poor" (those who were not working, or not

working regularly, and were receiving public charity).

 Workers in milling factories.

 Workers in textile factories.

For more information, see:

"The Working Class" and "The Poor" at Time Traveler's Guide to

Victorian Britain: http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide19/part05.

html#workingclass

"Conditions of the Working Class and Child Labor" at 

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide19/part05.html#middleclass

4. What were the various occupations of each class??   

The royalty were rulers, and people of leisure. The upper class avoided having 

any discernable occupation, although some men became higher-ranking officials 

in the military, or high-ranking officials of state. The middle class consisted 

of men who had professions such as doctor, lawyer, clergy, banker, and some 

wealthy merchants, ship owners, etc. The lower class contained men, 

women, and children performing many types of labor, including factory workers, 

seamstresses, sweepers, miners, and the like. For more information about 

Victorian occupations, 

see: 

 Victorian Occupations at Victorian Web

:http://www.victorianweb.org/history/work/workov.html 

Victorian Women’s Occupations at 

http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/femeconov.html 

5. Where were traders located in the social system??   

 According to A Treatise on the Wealth, Power, and Resources 

of the British Empire? (1814), quoted on p. 122, Everyday Life 

in Regency and Victorian England, traders were considered 

fourth class, or (In other words) middle class.

6. How did the upper classes react to the lower classes?? 

The world of the upper class was so entirely different from that 

of the lower class (they were, in a real sense, living in another world),

 that among the wealthy, there was little understanding for the poor.

Because there was little understanding, there was often little 

sympathy, and rarely any really meaningful attempts to make the 

lives of the lower class any more pleasant.

7. Was everyone given the right to vote and legislate?? 

No. Women of any class were not allowed to vote, and not even all 

men were allowed to vote. Just before Queen Victoria took the thrown, 

a law was passed that allowed a greater number of men to vote. 

"textended" the vote to male householders paying annual rents of between

£2 and £50 (depending on where they lived). (The Vote at Time 

Traveler’s Guide to Victorian Britain:

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide19/part04.html

One Person With A Belief Social Power Quote

Infamous John Stuart Mill political quote!

English philosopher and utilitarian John Stuart still influences our ideas today. J.S. Mill was an influential British Classical liberal thinker of the 19th century whose works on liberty justified freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. Quotation says the following: "One person with a belief is a social power equal to ninety-nine who have only interests." No need to be a politician or political scientist to enjoy intelligent attitude gifts. For all those who understand the social power of belief!

http://www.zazzle.com/one_person_with_a_belief_social_power_quote_mousepad-144350261112908709

There was talk of household suffrage, which would give any male 

head of the house the right to vote, but the upper class was fearful of 

passing such a law. Still, in 1867, household suffrage was

passed. By the 1870s, some British women were allowed to vote 

in local elections only.

The government consisted of a constitutional monarchy. Only the 

royalty could rule. Other politicians come from the aristocracy. 

As late as 1880, of 652 elected MPs, more than half 394   

are nobles,baronets and landed gentry. The unelected House 

of Lords is, by definition, full of aristocrats. The Aristocracy at 

Time Traveler’s Guide to Victorian Britain:

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide19/part05.html#aristocracy

Of course, like any group of individuals, reaction to the upper class

by the lower class varied; in addition, since the poor could rarely

write, their only voice came from journalists and authors who learnt a

sympathetic ear to their plight. Generally speaking, Victorian

literature portrays the poor it as resenting the rich--just as they do

today. Or, it portrays the poor with a reaction of bemusement toward

the rich. Again, the life of the poor was so dramatically different

from that of the wealthy, that neither attitude is difficult to

understand.