People did protest their conditions. Much of the political reforms will be highlighted in the next chapter but workers protested for more political rights (namely the right to vote) and better working conditions. “Luddites” smashed newly developed textile machinery in England in 1812 and 60,000 protests in Manchester, England, in 1819, only to be fired upon by panicked authorities. People could protest by leaving-such as 1 million Irish during and after the Potato Famine.