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Education and the Industrial Revolution, Second Edition (Book/ Paperback)

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The book is about education in England in the nineteenth century, and it is notable for both the breadth of its approach to the subject and for the depth of its analysis. It is a very good book, both profitable and enjoyable in the reading.

—Canadian Journal of Economics

In Education and the Industrial Revolution, West writes about an Educational Revolution during the Industrial Revolution. This book adds important historical context to E. G. West's better-known Education and the State. Taken together, the two books make a very strong case not only for the separation of state and education, but also the robustness of the market in providing educational services, even in such a difficult period as the Industrial Revolution. West unearthed a large and growing market for education going hand in hand with the rise of industrialism and occurring prior to government intervention. His views were not very palatable to the educational establishment because they contradicted the long-held view that the Industrial Revolution was a disaster and that only government intervention and "compulsion" brought the joys of education to people.

Since the inadequacies of the Industrial Revolution remain a key factor in most critiques of capitalism and individual liberty, Education and the Industrial Revolution makes an important contribution to a better understanding of the period. West's skills as a researcher, economist, and historian give breadth to his work. By taking on such issues as supposed educational deficiency, market provision, actual literacy rates, theories of educational reform in the nineteenth century, and the realities of educational intervention, West helps us come to a richer understanding of liberty—one that is little-known today but every bit as relevant as the day it was written.

Edwin G. West is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Carleton University, Ottawa.


Table of Contents
Foreword to the Liberty Fund Edition vii

Preface to the First Edition xv

Part 1 The Statistical Framework and Basic Hypotheses 1

1 Traditional Measures of Nineteenth-Century Educational Deficiency 3
2 The Quantity of Education: Key Issues 9
3 The Quantity of Education: The One-in-Six Rule 24
4 The Quality of Education 33
5 Literacy and the Industrial Revolution 48
6 The Quality of Education: Dotheboys Hall and Unqualified Teachers 69

Part 2 The Evidence on Schools 81

7 Scottish Elementary Education 83
8 Education and the Industrial Revolution in England and Wales 100
9 Schooling in England and Wales, 1850 –70 123

Part 3 Nineteenth-Century Visions of National Systems 141

10 Tom Paine’s National System 143
11 The National System to Promote Order: The Benthamite Prescription 152
12 A System to Complement Poor Law Legislation: Senior and Chadwick 168
13 John Stuart Mill’s National System and the Problem of Liberty 181
14 A Homogeneous National System: Horace Mann 198
15 W. E. Forster and Robert Lowe versus the Birmingham League 209

Part 4 The Economic Realities of Intervention 215

16 The Public/Private Displacement Mechanism: Did Education Grow Faster or Slower? 217
17 Legal Compulsion: Logic and Reality 245
18 Free Education: Who Benefited? 267
19 Education and Industrial Growth: Did Victorian Britain Fail? 285

Bibliography 299

Index 309

About the Author(s)