The Age of Revolution and Industrialization Study Guide

Vocabulary-based flashcards covering key figures, concepts, and historical developments of the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution as detailed in the lecture notes.

Francis Bacon

Associated with the development of the Scientific method during the Scientific Revolution.

Rousseau

Author of "The Social Contract" during the Enlightenment.

Adam Smith

Advocate for laissez-faire economics and author of "The Wealth of Nations."

Voltaire

A French philosophe who believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon.

Diderot

Enlightenment figure associated with the creation of the encyclopedia.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Author of "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman."

Montesquieu

Author of "The Spirit of the Laws" who proposed the idea of separation of powers.

Thomas Hobbes

Author of "The Leviathan."

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher who focused on natural rights, including life, liberty, and property.

Natural rights

The fundamental rights identified by John Locke as life, liberty, and property.

Enclosure movement

A historical shift where poor landowners had to give up land to wealthier individuals, helping to set the stage for the Industrial Revolution.

Industrial Revolution (England's resources)

England was the ideal starting place due to resources like iron, coal, and water for transport and power, as well as natural protection as an island.

Industrial Revolution (Social changes)

Resulted in union tension between the poor and the rich.

Industrial Revolution (Political changes)

Led to a push for equal rights and the establishment of labor laws.

Industrial Revolution (Economic changes)

Characterized by a shift from rural to urban lifestyles, increased trade, and mass production.

Marx’s Ideas on Communism

A system requiring violence for development and education for sustainability, resulting in a utopia where everyone is equal without social injustice.

Pros of Socialism

Includes a more free market, competition, independent thriving, and government assistance.

Cons of Socialism

Possibility of turning to communism, a massive gap between rich and poor, and government debt.

Consumer Society

A society where the buying and selling of goods and services is the most critical social and economic activity, often leading to cheaper items.

Child Labor (Cotton Mills Act)

A law where children under $9$ were not allowed to work and those aged $9-16$ could work $16\,\text{hours per day}$.

Child Labor ($1856$ Law)

Permitted child labour past age $9$ for $60\,\text{hours per week}$, day or night.

Urbanization

The population shift from rural areas to urban areas and the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban centers.

Women’s Rights & Suffrage

A movement that began in $1848$ at Seneca Falls, New York, where women realized the need for the right to vote to achieve reform.

Labor Unions

Groups of trade workers who bargain for higher wages and better working conditions, sometimes using strikes to force concessions.

Labor Laws

Regulations arising from concerns over death, injury, and inhuman methods, used to lessen harsh hours and pain.

Communism (Karl Marx’s solution)

To seize the means of production through revolution and create a classless society (economic, racial, and gender) where workers unite to create a Utopia.

Proletariat

The working class and its allies, described as the "abused class" that must unite to crush the prison of free-market capitalism.

Bourgeoisie

The upper and middle class people who have money, pay workers low wages, and represent the "powerful class" in the communist dialectic.

Communist Dialectic

The historical process of violent revolts where the lower class overthrows the upper class to gain rights and freedoms.

Thesis

In the communist dialectic, this refers to the powerful class, the Bourgeoisie.

Antithesis

In the communist dialectic, this refers to the abused class, the proletariat.

Crisis

The stage of violent revolution in the communist historical process.

Synthesis

The period after a crisis in the communist dialectic when situations begin improving.

Socialism

An economic system with a mostly free market where the government provides regulation and financial support to the poor through taxation of businesses and the rich.