Industrial Revolution: Economics, Labor Reform, and Social Change

Urbanization

The shift of populations from rural farming areas into cities, with U.S. urban population growing from under 10% in 1800 to over 70% by 1990.

Bourgeoisie (Middle Class)

Social class of educated professionals, doctors, lawyers, managers, and business owners created by industrialization who gained significant wealth and influence.

Proletariat (Working Class)

Low-skilled factory laborers, miners, and servants who sold their physical labor for low wages under harsh living and working conditions.

Factors of Production

The necessary resources for industrialization: Land (raw materials/water), Labor (growing population), and Capital (money to invest in machinery/business).

Capitalism

Economic system where individuals and private businesses own property and capital, driven by competition and self-interest with minimal government intervention.

Socialism

Economic system where the public or state owns key industries and resources, managed to meet society's needs through cooperation and equal wealth distribution.

Adam Smith

Scottish economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations (1776) and defended free-market capitalism and economic freedom.

Three Natural Laws of Economics

Adam Smith's economic principles: 1) Self-interest, 2) Competition, and 3) Supply and demand.

The Invisible Hand

Adam Smith's concept that individuals seeking their own self-interest unintentionally benefit society through the free market.

Laissez

Faire - Policy where government avoids interfering in business and the economy, opposing minimum wage laws and safety regulations.

Division of Labor

Breaking production into specialized, repetitive steps to increase efficiency, as illustrated by Adam Smith's pin-factory example.

Thomas Malthus

Laissez-faire economist who argued that population grows faster than the food supply, leading to inevitable poverty and suffering.

David Ricardo & "Iron Law of Wages"

Economist who argued that an expanding population creates labor competition, which permanently depresses worker wages.

Jeremy Bentham & Utilitarianism

Philosophy stating that actions, laws, and policies should be judged based on their usefulness to provide the "greatest good for the greatest number."

John Stuart Mill

Utilitarian thinker who questioned unregulated capitalism and supported equal distribution of wealth, worker welfare, and women's voting rights.

Robert Owen

British factory owner and Utopian Socialist who built cooperative worker communities with improved conditions, free schooling, and affordable housing.

New Harmony

Cooperative community founded by Robert Owen in Indiana (1825) aimed at creating an ideal, harmoniously shared society.

Karl Marx

German philosopher who co-authored The Communist Manifesto (1848) and developed Marxism, predicting a working-class revolution against capitalism.

Class Struggle

Karl Marx's view that history is driven by conflict between social classes, specifically the owners (Bourgeoisie) and workers (Proletariat).

Communism

A classless society envisioned by Karl Marx in which all means of production are collectively owned by the public, and private property ceases to exist.

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

A transitional stage in Marxist theory where workers control the government after overthrowing the capitalist class.

Child Labor Exploitation

Factory owners hired children because they could be paid lower wages, were compliant, and could fit inside tight machine spaces or mine shafts.

1832 Sadler Commission

British parliamentary inquiry exposing harsh child labor conditions, 14-16 hour shifts, physical abuse ("strapping"), and severe bodily deformities.

Luddites

Group of British textile workers who destroyed factory machines starting in 1811 because automation was destroying their jobs and livelihoods.

Labor Union

An organization of workers joined together to demand better pay, shorter hours, and safer working conditions from employers.

Collective Bargaining

Negotiations between organized union workers and employers over wages, working hours, and workplace conditions.

Strike

A organized refusal to work used by laborers to pressure employers into meeting their demands.

Combination Acts

British laws passed in 1799 and 1800 that outlawed labor unions and strikes; Parliament later repealed them in 1824.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

US labor union alliance formed in 1886 that successfully used strikes to win higher wages and shorter working hours.

Factory Act of 1819

First British law restricting child labor age limits and working hours in cotton mills.

Factory Act of 1833

British legislation prohibiting factories from hiring children under age 9 and limiting work hours for older children.

Mines Act of 1842

British law banning women and children from working underground in mines.

Ten Hours Act of 1847

British law limiting the workday to 10 hours for women and young children working in factories.

National Child Labor Committee (1904)

American reform group formed to end child labor and establish statutory limits on youth working hours.

Abolition

The movement to end the slave trade and completely eliminate slavery.

William Wilberforce

British politician and reformer who led the successful campaign against slavery across the British Empire.

British Slavery Abolition Dates

Great Britain ended its official slave trade in 1807 and abolished slavery throughout its entire empire in 1833.

Gender Wage Gap in Factories

Industrial women earned significantly less than men for factory work, often receiving only one-third of a man's wage.

International Council for Women (1888)

Organization created by women reformers to advocate internationally for women's rights and suffrage.

Jane Addams & Hull House

American reformer who co-founded Hull House in Chicago to provide childcare, education, and community support to working-class immigrants.

Horace Mann

American education reformer who advocated for free, compulsory public education for all children.

Jethro Tull & Seed Drill

Agricultural inventor (c. 1701) whose seed drill planted seeds in neat rows, boosting crop yields and spurring the Agricultural Revolution.

James Watt

Engineer who significantly improved the steam engine in 1765, making it far more efficient while using less coal fuel.

John McAdam

Engineer who developed macadam roads using smooth stone layers, allowing heavy wagons to travel reliably without sinking into mud.

European Railway Boom (1840-1900)

Exponential expansion of rail networks across Europe that lowered transport costs, expanded markets, and accelerated industrial growth.