APUSH Ch. 8 Vocab: PART 1

Neomercantilism

a system of government-assisted economic development embraced by state legislatures in the first half of the 19th century, especially in the Northeast. This system of activist government encouraged entrepreneurs to enhance the public welfare through private economic initiatives

Panic of 1819

first major economic crisis of the US. Farmers and planters faced an abrupt 30% drop in world agricultural prices, and as farmers’ income declined, they couldn’t pay debts owed to stores and banks, many of which went bankrupt

Commonwealth System

the Republican system of political economy implemented by state governments in the early 19th century that funneled aid to private businesses whose projects would improve the general welfare

Erie Canal

a 364-mile waterway connecting the Hudson River and Lake Erie. The Erie Canal brought prosperity to the entire Great Lakes region, and its benefits prompted civic and business leaders in Philadelphia and Baltimore to propose canals to link their cities to the Midwest

Market Revolution

the dramatic increase between 1820 and 1850 in the exchange of goods and services in market transactions. The Market Revolution reflected the increased output of farms and factories, the entrepreneurial activities of traders and merchants, and the creation of a transportation network of roads, canals, and railroads

Industrial Revolution

a burst of major inventions and economic expansion based on water and steam power, reorganized work routines, and the use of machine technology that transformed certain industries, such as cotton textiles and iron, between 1790 and 1860

Cotton complex

the economic system that developed in the first half of the 19th century binding together southern cotton production with northern cloth making, shipping, and capital

Mechanics

a term used in the 19th century to refer to skilled craftsmen and inventors who built and improved machinery and machine tools for industry

Waltham-Lowell System

a labor system employing young farm women in New England factories that originated in 1822 and declined after 1860, when immigrant labor became predominant. The woman lived in company boarding houses with strict rules and curfews and were often required to attend church

Gradual emancipation

the practice of ending slavery in the distant future while recognizing white property rights to the slaves they owned. Gradual emancipation statutes only applied to enslaved laborers born after the passage of the statute, and only after they had first labored for their owners for a term of years