Honors World History - Semester 2 Terms

Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

A period of rapid growth in the use of machines in manufacturing and production that began in the mid-1700s

Agricultural Revolution

A time when new inventions such as the seed drill and the steel plow made farming easier and faster. The production of food rose dramatically.

Industrialization

the process of developing machine production of goods

Factors of production

Land, labor, and capital; the three groups of resources that are used to make all goods and services

Factory

A large building in which machinery is used to manufacture goods

Urbanization

An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements.

Middle class

A social class made up of skilled workers, professionals, business people, and wealthy farmers

Mass production

production of goods in large numbers through the use of machinery and assembly lines

Interchangeable parts

uniform pieces that can be made in large quantities to replace other identical pieces

Specialization

the concentration of the productive efforts of individuals and firms on a limited number of activities

Economic Interdependence

a condition in which countries have strong economic ties and depend on each other for resources, technology, trade, and investment

Stock

A share of ownership in a corporation.

Corporation

A business owned by stockholders who share in its profits but are not personally responsible for its debts

Laissez faire

Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private property and free enterprise.

Utilitarianism

The theory that government actions are useful only if they promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Socialism

A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production.

Karl Marx

Philosopher, political economist, sociologist, humanist, political theorist, and revolutionary. Often recognized as the father of communism.

Communism

Complete Socialism; a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

Union

A worker association that bargains with employers over wages, benefits, and working conditions

Strike

An organized work stoppage intended to force an employer to address union demands.

Suffrage

the right to vote in political elections

Chartist Movement

In 19th century Britain, members of the working class demanded reforms in Parliament and in elections, including suffrage for all men

Queen Victoria

British Queen, under whose rule the British empire reached the height of its wealth and power, forced to accept a new, virtually powerless role after the Chartist movement

Third Republic

French Republic started after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, which led to the demise of Napoleon III, and survived until the invasion of the German third Reich. It was the longest regime from after the French Revolution.

Dreyfus Affair

Incident in France where a Jewish captain was tried for treason because they military was anti-Semitic, and it divided the country

Anti-Semitism

hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

Zionism

A movement founded in the 1890s to promote the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Dominion

an area ruled or controlled
syn: territory

Maori

indigenous people of New Zealand

Aboriginie

an original inhabitant

Penal colony

a colony to which convicts are sent as an alternative to prison

Manifest Destiny

A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent, from the Atlantic the Pacific.

Secede

withdraw formally from membership in a federal union, an alliance, or a political or religious organization.

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862 it declared that all slaves in the confederate states would be free

Telegraph

A device for rapid, long-distance transmission of information over an electric wire. It was introduced in England and North America in the 1830s and 1840s.

Assembly line

Production method that breaks down a complex job into a series of smaller tasks

Charles Darwin

English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)

Theory of Evolution

states that organisms change and develop over time to adapt an increase rate of survival

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Mass Culture

The production of works of art and entertainment designed to appeal to a large audience

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Racism

Belief that one race is superior to another

Social Darwinism

The application of ideas about evolution and "survival of the fittest" to human societies - particularly as a justification for their imperialist expansion.

Berlin Conference

A meeting from 1884-1885 at which representatives of European nations agreed on rules colonization of Africa

Shaka

A Zulu chief in Southern Africa who used soldiers and good military organization to create a large centralized state.

Boer

a member of the Dutch population that settled in southern Africa in the late 17th century.

Boer War

(1899-1902) War between Great Britain and the Boers in South Africa over control of rich mining country. Great Britain won and created the Union of South Africa comprised of all the South African colonies.

Paternalism

A policy of treating subject people as if they were children, providing for their needs but not giving them rights.

Assimilation

the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another

Menelik II

Emperor of Ethiopia who played Italians, British, and French against each other while buying weapons from France and Russia. In the Battle of Adowa, Ethiopian forces successfully defeated the Italians and maintained their independence.

Geopolitics

A foreign policy based on a consideration of the strategic locations or products of other lands.

Suez Canal

A human-made waterway, which was opened in 1869, connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea

Sepoy

An Indian soldier serving under British command.

"Jewel in the Crown"

Name for India, Britain's most valuable colony

Sepoy Mutiny

The revolt against the British by many different groups across India 1857 but led particularly by some of the disgruntled Indian soldiers working for the British. It caused the British government to take over more direct control of India from the British East India Company.

Raj

British rule after India came under the British crown during the reign of Queen Victoria

Pacific Rim

an economic and social region including the country's surrounding the pacific ocean

Opium War

a conflict between Britain and China, lasting from 1839 to 1842, over Britain's opium trade in China

Extraterritorial Rights

Rights of foreign residents to follow the laws of their own government rather than those of the host country

Sphere of influence

An area in which an outside power claims exclusive investment or trading privileges

Open Door Policy

A policy proposed by the US in 1899, under which ALL nations would have equal opportunities to trade in China.

Boxer Rebellion

1899 rebellion in Beijing, China started by a secret society of Chinese who opposed the "foreign devils". The rebellion was ended by British troops.

Treaty of Kanagawa

(1854) trade treaty between Japan and the United States opening up two Japanese ports to U.S. trade; signed in response to a show of force by U.S. admiral Matthew Perry

Meiji Era

The period of time from 1867 to 1912, where the Japanese were under a new form of government. The leader tried to end Japan's problems by modernizing, and sending statesmen to Europe and North America to study foreign ways. This helped strengthen economic and military power.

Russo-Japanese War

War between Russia and Japan; Japan wins and takes parts of Manchuria under its control.

Annexation

the formal act of acquiring something (especially territory) by conquest or occupation

Militarism

the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.

Triple Alliance

An alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in the years before WWI.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

was the Kaiser of Germany at the time of the First World War reigning from 1888-1918. He pushed for a more aggressive foreign policy by means of colonies and a strong navy to compete with Britain. His actions added to the growing tensions in pre-1914 Europe.

Triple Entente

A military alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia in the years preceding World War I.

Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire

Allies

Britain, France, and Russia- Later joined by Italy

Western Front

In WWI, the region of Northern France where the forces of the Allies and the Central Powers battled each other.

Schlieffen Plan

Germany's military plan at the outbreak of World War I, according to which German troops would rapidly defeat France and then move east to attack Russia.

Trench Warfare

Fighting with trenches, mines, and barbed wire. Horrible living conditions, great slaughter, no gains, stalemate, used in WWI.

Eastern Front

In WWI, the region along the German-Russian Border where Russians and Serbs battled Germans, Austrians, and Turks.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

the use of submarines to sink without warning any ship (including neutral ships and unarmed passenger liners) found in an enemy's waters.

Total War

A conflict in which the participating countries devote all their resources to the war effort

Rationing

Restricting the amount of food and other goods people may buy during wartime to assure adequate supplies for the military

Propaganda

information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Armistice

An agreement to stop fighting

Fourteen Points

A series of proposals in which U.S. president Woodrow Wilson outlined a plan for achieving a lasting peace after World War I.

Self-Determination

the right of people to choose their own form of government

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty particularly known for its harsh reparations towards the Germans after World War I.

League of Nations

A world organization established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace. It was first proposed in 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson, although the United States never joined the League.

Proletariat

Marx's term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do not own the means of production

Bolsheviks

A party of revolutionary Marxists, led by Vladimir Lenin, who seized power in Russia in 1917.

Lenin

Founded the Communist Party in Russia and set up the world's first Communist Party dictatorship. He led the October Revolution of 1917, in which the Communists seized power in Russia. He then ruled the country until his death in 1924.

Provisional government

A temporary government created by after the abdication of the czar; it made the decision to remain in World War One, costing it the support of the soviets and the people.

Soviet

council of workers and soldiers set up by Russian revolutionaries in 1917

Communist Party

A political party practicing the ideas of Karl Marx and V.I Lenin originally the russian Bolshevik

Joseph Stalin

Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition

Totalitarianism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

Great Purge

The widespread arrests and executions of over a million people by Josef Stalin between 1936 and 1938. Stalin was attempting to eliminate all opposition to his rule of the Soviet Union.

Command economy

An economic system in which the government makes all economic decisions.

Five-Year Plan

Stalin's economic policy to rebuild the Soviet economy after WWI. tried to improve heavy industry and improve farm output, but resulted in famine

Collective farm

a large government-controlled farm formed by combining many small farms

Kuomintang

The Chinese Nationalist Party, formed after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912.

May Fourth Movement

A 1919 protest in China against the Treaty of Versailles and foreign influence.