Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization

1833 Slavery Abolition Act

Ended slavery in parts of the British Empire, creating a need for labor.

Alexander Graham Bell

Invented the telephone in 1876; held the most valuable patent ever issued.

Alessandro Volta

Italian scientist who invented the first electric battery.

André-Marie Ampère

French scientist who worked out the principles of electromagnetism.

Anarchist

A person who opposes all forms of government.

Assembly Line

A manufacturing method where a product is put together as it moves along a belt with individuals performing specific tasks.

Assimilation

The act of becoming part of another culture.

Banana Republics

Small Central American countries under the economic power of foreign corporations.

Berlin Conference

A meeting of European powers to discuss the orderly colonization of Africa and establish boundaries.

Bessemer Process

A process to make stronger steel at a lower cost.

Black Gold

A nickname for oil.

Boer Wars

Conflicts (1880-1881 and 1899-1902) between the British Empire and independent Boer states over British presence in South Africa.

Bourgeoisie

Owners during the 1800s capitalist stage whom Marx believed were unfair to the proletariat.

Boxer Rebellion

A violent uprising in China (1899-1901) seeking to drive out all foreigners.

British East India Company

A monopolistic trading body that exploited Southeast Asia and India and spread British influence.

Cartels

Corporate combinations that control entire industries.

Collective Bargaining

Groups of workers negotiating with management as a single group.

Compulsory Education

The requirement for children to attend school through a certain age.

Congo Free State

A colony privately owned by King Leopold II (1885-1908) where up to 8 million workers died due to exploitation.

Cottage Industry

Manufacturing, such as weaving, that occurs in a person's home.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 U.S. law prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers.

Chinese Immigration Act

1855 Australian law limiting the number of Chinese immigrants per ship.

Culture System

1830 Dutch system in the East Indies forcing farmers to grow cash crops or perform unpaid work.

David Ricardo

British economist who stated that working-class poverty was inevitable due to population growth dropping wages.

Division of Labor

Assigning different tasks in manufacturing to different people to improve efficiency.

The Enclosure Movement

A movement in England to change public land into privately owned, fenced land.

Economic Imperialism

When foreign business interests exert great power and exploit natural resources outside their borders.

Edmund Cartwright

English inventor of the first wool combing machine.

Eli Whitney

American inventor known for the cotton gin and the idea of interchangeable parts.

Entrepreneur

A person who starts a business and takes on its risks and profits.

Ethnic Enclaves

Neighborhoods or groups of people from the same foreign country.

Export Economies

Colonies that focused on sending raw materials or products to other locations.

Factors of Production

The combination of land, capital, and labor.

Factory Act of 1802

UK legislation designed to improve conditions in cotton mills.

Factory Act of 1833

Enforced the 1802 Act, improved conditions for children, and extended laws to all textile mills.

Free Enterprise

Economic system allowing competition for profit with minimal government interference.

George Stephenson

English engineer who perfected the steam locomotive on rails.

Ghost Dance

Rituals performed by Northern Paiute Indians (c. 1869) believed to drive out white invaders and return native lands.

Great Famine

Potato crop destruction in Ireland (1845-1849) causing 3 million people to emigrate.

Henry Ford

Perfected the system to mass-produce cars at lower prices.

Humanitarians

People who work to improve the conditions of others.

Imperialism

Extending a country's power through diplomacy or military force.

Indentured Servitude

Labor (often coerced) where a person works without salary to repay a loan.

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Also called the Sepoy Mutiny; a violent uprising against the British sparked by the use of animal fat in rifle cartridges.

Indian Removal Act of 1830

Forced relocation of Cherokee and other Native Americans to Oklahoma.

Industrial Capitalism

Economic system where trade, industry, and capital are privately controlled for profit.

The Industrial Revolution

Transition to new manufacturing processes beginning in the 1760s.

Interchangeable Parts

Identical machine parts that allow for easy replacement of broken components.

James Watt

Inventor known for improvements to the steam engine.

Jane Addams

Founder of the Settlement House Movement and first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Jan Matzeliger

Patented a machine that drastically increased footwear production speed.

Jeremy Bentham

Founder of utilitarianism who argued laws should be useful and people should be educated.

Jethro Tull

Agricultural pioneer who created the seed drill for efficient planting.

John D. Rockefeller

American founder of the Standard Oil Trust and known as a ruthless competitor.

John Kay

Invented the flying shuttle, which sped up cloth production.

John Stuart Mill

Philosopher who believed government should protect individual liberty and improve conditions for workers and children.

Joseph Pulitzer

Created the first modern mass-circulated newspaper (New York World) featuring sensational headlines.

J.P. Morgan

Gained control of railroads and steel by buying troubled companies to eliminate competition.

Kangani System

Recruitment system in SE Asia where entire families were sent to work on plantations.

Knights of Labor

First major U.S. labor organization (1869) that campaigned for an eight-hour workday.

Laissez-faire Economics

Minimal government or regulatory involvement in private business operations.

Manifest Destiny

19th-century belief that Americans were destined to expand across the continent.

Mark Twain

Famous American writer and humorist; considered the father of American literature.

Mary Harris Jones

Labor organizer known as 'Mother Jones' who fought for coal miners and child labor laws.

Mass Production

Manufacturing large quantities of a specific product.

Matthew Boulton

Financed the first factory for steam engines, which eventually replaced water as a power source.

Mechanization

The use of automatic machinery to increase production.

Migration

Movement of people to new areas for work or better living conditions.

Monocultures

A lack of agricultural diversity, common in developing nations.

Monopoly

A market with many buyers but only one seller.

Monroe Doctrine

1823 U.S. policy opposing European colonialism in the Americas.

Nationalism

Identifying with and supporting one's own nation, often to the detriment of others.

Natal Indian Congress

Organization founded by Gandhi to expose discrimination against Indians in South Africa.

Opium War

War (1839-1842) between China and Britain over the importation of opium.

Patent

Document giving the sole right to make and sell an invention.

Penal Colony

A colony for relocating convicts, such as Australia in 1788.

Proclamation of 1763

British act reserving land between the Appalachians and Mississippi River for Native Americans.

Proletariat

The working class that Marx believed would revolt after being driven into poverty.

Realist

Writers who attempted to depict life as it actually is.

Richard Arkwright

Invented waterpower-driven machines and began the modern factory system.

Robert Fulton

Built the first profitable steamboat.

Samuel Morse

Invented the telegraph and Morse code for practical communication.

Samuel Gompers

Creator of the American Federation of Labor for skilled workers.

Spanish-American War

1898 U.S. victory that granted control of Guam, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

Social Darwinism

The belief that only the fittest survive in political/economic struggle; used to justify racism.

Socialism

System where the government owns and operates the means of production for the benefit of all.

Steerage

Large open area beneath a ship's deck used for low-cost travel.

Tariffs

Taxes on imported goods.

Ten Hours Act of 1847

Limited the workday to 10 hours for women and children.

Thomas Newcomen

English inventor of the atmospheric engine, the first practical fuel-burning machine.

Tenements

Overcrowded, poor-quality housing with lack of clean water and high crime.

Thomas Malthus

Economist who theorized that population growth would outrun the food supply.

Trail of Tears

Forced relocation route of over 100,000 Native Americans (1830-1850).

Treaty of Nanking

Agreement ending the Opium War that forced China to open ports and give Hong Kong to Britain.

Urbanization

Movement of people from rural areas to rapidly growing cities.

Utopian Socialist

Early socialists who believed in cooperative settlements and collective ownership.

White Australia Policy

Legislation that stopped non-European immigration to create a white society.

White Man's Burden

European claim of responsibility to 'civilize' natives in their colonies.

Wilbur and Orville Wright

First to build and fly an airplane (1903).

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized journalism that distorts news to attract readers.