Economic History

Second Industrial Revolution

the unprecedented increase in economic productivity during the late 1800s. Included large leaps forward in technology with expansion of use of electricity, petroleum, and steel.

Importing

buying from other countries

Example

The US imports cars from Japan

Eli Whitney

Invented the cotton gin in 1794

Dutch East India Company

One of the first joint-stock companies

Prince Henry The Navigator

Most notable explorer who found alternate trade routes to India through investing in larger and better ships

Robert Fulton

Invented the steamboat in 1807

Industrial Revolution

period of rapid growth in using machines for manufacturing and production; began in Great Britain in the mid-1700's

World Wars

WWI and WWII occuring overseas (with the exception of Pearl Harbor) allowed the US to maintain and grow its production capacity, leading to massive economic expansions

Exporting

selling to other countries

Example

US farms exports soybeans to Europe

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Regulated business practices

Keynesian Economics

free markets can lead to economic inefficiencies and governmental intervention can lead to a stable, productive economy

Example

Governments can stimulate the economy by reducing interest rates and investing in infrastructure.

Great Depression

an unprecedented period of worldwide economic downturn that began in Oct. 1929 with the United States stock market crash and ended due to a combination of the New Deal and World War II

John Deere

Designed a steel plow in 1837

Capitalism

An economic system characterized by private, rather than government, ownership of industry. Prices, production, and distribution of goods are determined by competition in a free market.

Example

United States

Laissez-Faire

Adam Smith's theory that the government should not interfere in the economy; translates to "let the people do as they choose."

Age of Exploration

A period of time from the early 15th Century until the early 17th Century in which European ships traveled around the world in search of new trading routes.

Black Plague / Black Death

An outbreak of the Bubonic Plague. A deadly epidemic that struck Europe in the mid-1300's and killed millions.

Mercantilism

The economic idea that a country needs to amass wealth through more exporting than importing and measures wealth by the amount of gold that a nation possesses.

Example

The British thought that colonies should provide raw goods for cheap to them (cotton) and pay for manufactured goods from them (textiles).

Steamboat

Made sailing upriver much easier, which made the shipping of goods easier and less labor-intensive.

Adam Smith

The father of capitalism. Wrote "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations." Argued that an invisible hand guides the economy to its greatest productivity.

Globalism

Economic and foreign policy planning on a global basis

The New Deal

A series of policies, public work projects, and financial reforms passed by Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1936 in an attempt to stimulate the economy

Example

Social Security, unemployment benefis, FDIC

Samuel Slater

Called the "father of the American Industrial Revolution" and the "father of the American factory system." Brought designs of textile mill machines to America

Joint-Stock Company

A company whose stock is owned jointly by shareholders.

Supply Side Economics / Reaganomics

the belief that government intervention in trade should focus on increasing the ability of suppliers to produce. This policy dominated the 1980s

Example

Governments might lower barriers to entry in markets through the reduction of regulation and taxation.

Progressive Era

The rapid economic expansion of the Second Industrial Revolution also led to an increase in the difference between the haves and the have-nots, as well as the growth of oligopolies and monopolies

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Tariffs passed in 1930 on over 20,000 imported goods with the intention of protecting American jobs, but resulted in decreased international trade

Cyrus Mccormick

Invented the mechanical reaper in 1831

Cotton Gin

A machine that separated seeds from cotton, increasing cotton production and the need for slaves to harvest more cotton.