The Industrial Revolution: Urbanization, Factory Life, and Social Classes

Vocabulary flashcards covering the rise of the Industrial Revolution, city living conditions, tenement housing, the factory system, labor unions, and class divides.

Growth of cities

The shift of populations into urban centers caused by a decreased need for farm labor and a high demand for factory jobs.

City living conditions

Urban environments characterized by crowded and polluted streets, loud factory noise, river pollution and smell, and the rapid spread of diseases.

Tenements

Crowded dwellings where factory workers lived, featuring tiny rooms, no water or plumbing, and garbage and waste in the streets.

The factory system

A work structure where laborers worked under a strict boss and followed set factory hours, shifting away from earlier seasonal farm labor with no boss.

Factory life

Daily working conditions requiring $12$ to $16$ hours of labor per day with unsafe machines, exposure to inhaled gases, and loss of employment if a worker fell ill.

Child labor

The employment of children favored for their small hands and quick movements to provide family income, working long hours for less pay with risks of twisted limbs, lack of education, or death.

Labor unions

Organizations formed to improve working conditions by demanding higher pay and an end to child labor, ultimately resulting in shorter hours and safer conditions.

Middle / upper class

Social groups including entrepreneurs and investors who profited from industrialization, lived in well-furnished homes with good wealth, and held no sympathy for the poor.