Industrial Growth, Agriculture, and Economic Independence

Vocabulary flashcards covering the rise of industrialization in New England, key inventions, economic systems, agricultural growth, and urbanization.

Waterpower

Power supplied by the abundant rivers and streams in New England to run water-powered mills.

Cotton gin

A machine invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 that removed seeds from cotton fibers.

Interchangeable parts

Uniform pieces that are easily fixed or replaced, used by Eli Whitney to make 10,000 muskets in 2 years for the U.S. government.

Patent

Legal protection for the rights of inventors, granting the sole right to make money from an invention for a certain amount of time.

Samuel Slater

An individual who memorized the design of machines in British factories and replicated them in the United States.

Francis Cabot Lowell

An entrepreneur who improved upon replicated British textile machinery to create the factory system.

Capitalism

An economic system in which individuals and businesses own property and decide how to use it.

Capital

Buildings, land, machines, and money used to create wealth.

Free Enterprise system

A system centered on economic freedom, profit, private property, and competition, where individuals are free to work where they want and choose what to buy, sell, or produce.

Ohio River region

An agricultural area where family-run farms primarily raised pork and grew corn and wheat.

Corporations

A type of business with many owners that expanded after legal changes paved the way in the 1830s.

Stock

A share of ownership in a company sold to raise money to build and expand factories.

Cholera and dysentery

Diseases that ran rampant in rapidly growing early industrial cities due to the absence of sewer systems.