Key Terms from Chapter 6: The Age of Competing Ideologies to The New Imperialism

Flashcards of key vocabulary terms with definitions, generated from lecture notes to help students review for their exams.

Conservatism

An ideology emphasizing tradition and established institutions.

Nationalism

An ideology that emphasizes loyalty, devotion, or allegiance to a nation or nation-state and holds that such obligations outweigh other individual or group interests.

Liberalism

A political philosophy founded on ideas of liberty and equality.

Mercantilism

An economic doctrine based on the belief that a nation's wealth depends on accumulating precious metals; state control of trade

Laissez-faire

Policy of minimum governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society.

Utilitarianism

The doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority.

Socialism

A political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Utopian Socialists

Socialists who hoped to create humane alternatives to industrial capitalism by building self-sustaining communities.

"Eastern Question"

The problem of European stability, prompted by the weakening Ottoman Empire, throughout the 19th century.

Chartism

A working-class movement in Britain that focused on political and social reform from 1838-1848.

Domestic System

A system of manufacturing based upon work done at home on materials supplied by merchant employers.

Agricultural Revolution

The transformation of farming that resulted in increased production beginning in the 18th century.

Enclosure Acts

Laws enacted in 18th century England that enabled landowners to consolidate and enclose their fields, displacing many small farmers.

Luddites

British workers who between 1811 and 1816 rioted and destroyed textile machinery in the belief that such machinery would diminish employment.

Communism

A political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

Bourgeoisie

The middle class, including merchants, industrialists, and professional people

Proletariat

The working class.

Risorgimento

Italian resurgence; name given to the unification movement.

"Blood and Iron"

The speech that Otto Von Bismarck gave on September 30, 1862 about the unification of the German territories.

"Kulturkampf"

Bismarck's attack on the Catholic Church

"Age of Steel"

Important element in the Second Industrial Revolution.

Social Darwinism

The application of ideas about evolution and "survival of the fittest" to human societies - particularly as a justification for their imperialist expansion.

Anarchism

A political theory favoring the abolition of governments.

Antisemitism

Hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

Pogroms

Organized violence against Jews.

Zionism

A movement founded in the 1890s to promote the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Cult of domesticity

Idealized view of women & home; women, self-less caregiver for children, refuge for husbands.

Feminism

The belief that women should possess the same political and economic rights as men.

Suffragists

People who campaigned for women's right to vote in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Romanticism

A movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual.

Realists

Those who emphasize order and self-reliance; see the world as it actually is rather than how it should be; from each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution.

New Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

"Mad Scramble"

The rush by European powers to colonize Africa.