5.7, 5.8, and 5.9 - Developments in and Reactions to Industrialization

Essential vocabulary for Units 5.7 though 5.9

assembly line

production process that breaks the manufacture of a good into steps that are completed in a pre-defined sequence. SIGNIFICANCE: Led to mass-produced, low-cost goods, and increased worker specialization.

bourgeoisie

(according to Marx) middle class and wealthy entrepreneurs. SIGNIFICANCE: Shaped critiques of capitalism and inspired global socialist and communist movements

captains of industry

industrialists and owners of large corporations; SIGNIFICANCE: replaced the landed aristocracy as most wealthy and powerful in society.

cholera

bacterial disease usually spread through contaminated water, causing severe diarrhea and dehydration that can lead to death within hours. SIGNIFICANCE: Common problem in 19th-century urban areas.

Communist Manifesto (1848)

(Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels) argues that class struggles drive societal change. Advocates for the working class (proletariat) to rise against the ruling class (bourgeoisie) and establish a classless, stateless society; SIGNIFICANCE: Influenced global socialist and communist movements.

corporations

chartered business owned by stockholders and controlled by a board of directors; it is a legal entity like a person (can own property, sue and be sued, etc.). SIGNIFICANCE: Industrial era shifts most corporations from trade to manufacturing

cult of domesticity

the idealization of the perfect homemaker and home for husbands; SIGNIFICANCE: Reinforced gender roles that limited women's opportunities outside the home

free markets/free trade

when goods and services can be bought and sold between states or regions without tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions. SIGNIFICANCE: It is essentially the opposite of mercantilism.

Horace Mann

advocate of public education who believed that, in a democratic society, education should be free. SIGNIFICANCE: Led to the promotion of public education for children.

industrial capitalism

complex manufacturing economy that connects heavy private investment with high levels of production, and increased consumerism. SIGNIFICANCE: It's what the Second Industrial Revolution is all about.

industrial working class (aka. blue collar workers)

new class of untrained workers that replaces peasants as the group that gets the worst of things; SIGNIFICANCE: A distinct industrial working class drove urbanization, labor movements, and major 19th- and 20th-century reforms

insurance companies

businesses that provide financial protection to avoid the complete failure of a business venture. SIGNIFICANCE: Allowed greater risk-taking in industry

John Stewart Mill

liberal thinker who promoted utilitarianism and feminism. SIGNIFICANCE: Influenced many later political, and economic/social movements

labor union

an organization that negotiates with employers to improve salary, benefits, and working conditions for employees. SIGNIFICANCE: Drove reforms in industries after the passage of labor laws in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries.

leisure activities

activities done in one's free time. SIGNIFICANCE: Develop because of the Second Industrial Revolution

nuclear family

a couple and their children; SIGNIFICANCE: Urban and industrial society reduces family habitation to this basic unit.

Progressivism

American political philosophy and reform movement that addressed problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption. SIGNIFICANCE: Similar movements were being carried out in industrialized societies at the same time.

proletariat

(according to Marx) working class. SIGNIFICANCE: Shaped critiques of capitalism and inspired global socialist and communist movements.

public culture

shared beliefs, values, attitudes, and social practices that shape how people interact in a society, especially in public spaces. SIGNIFICANCE: Emphasizes the desire for upward mobility in lower classes

Sadler Report

(1833) British exposé of horrors of industrial conditions. SIGNIFICANCE: Led to reforms

slums

a squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by the very poor. SIGNIFICANCE: Rise of crime and disease in 19th century slums led to the development of public health initiatives and improve infrastructure.

Spring of Nations (1848)

the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history; SIGNIFICANCE: political upheavals were in reaction to conservative politics and the social/economic shortcomings of industrialization.

tenements

a room or a set of rooms forming a separate residence within a house or block of apartments. SIGNIFICANCE: led to overcrowding and slums

transnational companies

Businesses that operate across national boundaries. SIGNIFICANCE: Created integrated global economic network.

Utilitarianism

a moral theory emphasizing that the best actions are those that produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. SIGNIFICANCE: Influenced reform movements of the 19th century

Utopian Socialism

form of socialism that envisions the creation of an ideal society through peaceful means, often achieved through moral persuasion rather than revolutionary action; ex. Charles Fourier and Robert Owen. SIGNIFICANCE: Industrial supporters cannot compete with standard factories.

white collar

middle class (part of Marx's bourgeoisie); SIGNIFICANCE: Individuals with skills made themselves valuable to industry and drew higher salaries.