IR Revolution Terms

industrial revolution

a period of rapid industrial development that began in England in the 18th century but soon spread throughout Western Europe, the United States, and the world

enclosure movement

shifts farming from individual households (farms) to big farms

crop rotation

rotating which crops are planted in certain patches of soil in order to avoid the soil drying out and making the best use of the land

spinning jenny

a multi-spindle spinning frame invented during the IR to reduce hand labor

power loom

a mechanized loom used to make clothing and reduce physical labor

mechanization

the shift from human and animal physical labor to the use of machines.

interchangeable parts

identical parts made to be used to assemble many different inventions

factors of production

land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship

urbanization

the growth of cities

factory system

an approach to manufacturing that rose during the IR whose primary innovation was to combine machinery + new technologies to lower the production costs + increase efficiency

domestic system

the system before the factory system in which all products were made by hand, which led to high quality goods and long labor hours.

James Watt

Scottish inventor who approved upon the steam engine

steam engine

heat engine that uses steam as its working fluid

assembly line

a method of manufacturing in which one person has a specific task to create a final product, making the work faster and mass producing products

division of labor

when labor is divided amongst many workers by processes like the assembly line

Factory Act of 1850

limited children’s weekly hours to 60 an daily hours to 10.5 

collective bargaining

when groups of employees are able to negotiate working conditions such as wages

labor unions

associations of workers that collected dues, went on strike, and made collective demands of factory owners

strike

a large group of workers who stop working in protest of wages and working conditions.

capitalism

economic + political system where industry is privately controlled profit and profit was always the goal

industrial capitalism

capitalism that emerges from the changes of the I.R.

invisible hand

Adam Smith’s belief that the government should not adjust the economy to circumstances as it will work itself out

free enterprise

no government regulation; businesses without the government

Adam Smith

the father of capitalism who wrote “The Wealth of Nations” and believed in the laws of supply and demand, and competition

laissez faire

let do

utilitarianism

philosophy that advocates that a morally right action does the most amount of good for the most people.

Karl Marx

wrote the Communist Manifesto and get the most credit for foundations of Communism

Friedrich Engels

wrote the Communist Manifesto but gets less credit

Communist Manifesto

central belief: the working class was being exploited by the factory owners

proletariat

working class

bourgeoisie

factory owners

Communism

system that gives complete power to the people, no government regulation on the means of production and no private property or businesses; everyone contributes what they can and takes only what they need; classless, stateless, moneyless

socialism

a precursor to Communism where the Means of Production (resources for producing goods) are controlled by the government; different variations

means of production

resources for producing goods