The beginning of the industrial age changed the social order of the city as much as its physical appearance. Industrialization created a new elite, of wealth. This was a wealth based on capital, not land; a wealth of merchants, manufacturers, industrialists, and financiers. The British social critic Thomas Carlyle called them "Captains of Industry"; others referred to "Lords of the Loom," "Railroad Kings," and a dozen similar titles. Heavily industrialized regions, such as Alsace, created a wealthy new aristocracy. The Koechlin family of Mulhouse went from the comfortable life provided by a successful weaver in a cottage industry to the immense wealth of factory owners within a single generation. The leading families of this industrial bourgeoisie formed an elite different from the landed aristocracy. During the 19th century, this small social group, together with older elites of middle-class wealth (such as mercantile and banking wealth) and members of the educated professions (such as physicians, lawyers, teachers, and journalists) would challenge the political dominance of the Old Regime alliance of monarchy, aristocracy, and established churches. For the members of the prosperous middle class, the age of industrialization was an exciting and comfortable epoch.

The new bourgeoisie may have been the most influential class in the changing society of the industrial age, but it was relatively small. A larger change in the social structure was the rapid growth of a class of urban workers who operated the steam engines, power forges, spinning mules, power looms, and trains. These men and women of the working class--or the proletariat, as this social class was frequently called--often formed the majority of a town's population. A study of the social structure in Belgium textile towns found that approximately half of the population was employed as spinners or weavers in the new factories. But a textile town might still have a quarter of its population employed in agriculture, including both farmers who lived in the town and agricultural laborers, or a quarter engaged in the traditional artisanal trades and crafts of the guilds. The educated professions, the industrial middle class, and the traditional upper classes of wealth remained small--less than 5 percent of the population.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Sociology at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Sociology and other relevant topics.