Industrial Revolution, Economic Systems, and 19th-Century Nationalism

Vocabulary flashcards covering the causes, social conditions, and economic ideologies of the Industrial Revolution, alongside the leaders and concepts of 19th-century Italian and German unification.

Enclosure Movement

The fencing off of common lands in Britain that pushed small tenant farmers off rural estates and directly into cities to form the factory labor pool.

Domestic System

The home-based manufacturing system (also known as the cottage system) that was replaced by centralized urban factories due to technological innovations.

The Sadler Report (1832)

British Parliamentary testimony that exposed the brutality of child labor, directly pressuring the government to pass factory acts limiting work hours and setting safety standards.

Labor Unions

Working-class organizations that utilized collective bargaining and strikes to demand higher wages, shorter shifts, and safer working conditions.

Laissez-Faire Capitalism

An economic system outlined by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations based on private ownership, free markets driven by supply and demand, and minimal government intervention.

Bourgeoisie

In Marxist theory, the wealthy middle-class factory owners who own the means of production.

Proletariat

In Marxist theory, the exploited working class who do not own the means of production and sell their labor for low wages.

Marxist Communism

An ideology created by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels asserting that history is driven by class struggle, aiming to overthrow the bourgeoisie and establish a classless, stateless society with no private property.

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

A temporary phase following a violent worker revolution in Marxist theory during which workers seize the means of production before creating a classless society.

Nationalism

A 19th-century political force that served to unify people sharing a common language, culture, and history, but acted as a divisive force for multinational empires like Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.

Risorgimento

The 19th-century movement for Italian unification led by figures such as Giuseppe Mazzini, Count Camillo di Cavour, and Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Giuseppe Mazzini

Known as "The Soul" of Italian unification; the founder of the organization Young Italy who ignited national pride and revolutionary spirit.

Count Camillo di Cavour

Known as "The Brain" of Italian unification; the Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia who employed practical diplomacy and an alliance with France to expel Austria from northern Italy.

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Known as "The Sword" of Italian unification; leader of the volunteer Red Shirts who liberated southern Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies before yielding control to King Victor Emmanuel II.

Realpolitik

A system of practical politics based on raw power, national interest, and tangible outcomes rather than moral ideals or treaties, championed by Otto von Bismarck.

"Blood and Iron"

Otto von Bismarck's doctrine stating that the great questions of the day and national unification would be resolved through military conflict and industrial power rather than speeches.

Second Reich

The unified German empire proclaimed under Kaiser Wilhelm I following Prussia's victory in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.