Unit 7: Industrialization, Modern Society, and Global Expansion

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards reviewing the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, modern culture and science, late 19th-century geopolitics and alliances, and the modernization of Meiji Japan.

Industrial Revolution

The shift from hand production and farming toward machine production and factories.

Agricultural Revolution

Improvements in farming that increased food production.

Enclosure movement

The consolidation of common lands into privately controlled farms.

Steam engine

An invention that powered machinery and transportation, helping factories and industry expand.

Urbanization

The growth of cities as people move from rural areas.

Railroads

Transportation networks that connected markets, transported raw materials and finished products, and made the movement of goods more efficient.

Spinning jenny

An invention that increased the speed of spinning thread.

Water-powered loom

An invention that mechanized weaving.

Second Industrial Revolution

A period of industrial growth associated with steel, electricity, chemicals, and new manufacturing methods.

Industrial capitalism

An economic system in which private owners invest in industry for profit.

Labor union

An organization of workers that seeks better pay and working conditions.

Strike

A work stoppage used by workers to pressure employers to improve wages, hours, and working conditions.

Social democracy

A political movement that generally seeks social reform and greater economic equality through democratic means.

Henry Bessemer

Inventor who developed the Bessemer process, which made the mass production of steel cheaper and easier.

Karl Marx

Thinker who believed history was characterized by conflict between social classes and criticized capitalism.

Guglielmo Marconi

Inventor known for developing wireless telegraphy, an important step in radio communication.

Germ theory

Scientific theory that helped explain infectious diseases, encouraged vaccination and sanitation initiatives, and supported public health improvements.

Assembly line

A production method in which work is divided into steps, allowing products to move through a sequence of tasks to increase speed and efficiency.

Marie Curie

Pioneering scientist associated with the discovery of radium and research on radioactivity.

Sigmund Freud

Scientist who developed psychoanalysis and emphasized how unconscious processes and past experiences influence people.

Modern architecture

An architectural movement that emphasized function over decoration, simplicity, practical design, new materials, and the elimination of unnecessary ornamentation.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Suffragettes

Activists who campaigned for women's voting rights.

Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)

A British women's suffrage organization associated with militant protest tactics.

Nationalism

Strong loyalty or identification with one's nation.

Imperialism

Extending a country's power over other territories.

Militarism

Building up armed forces and emphasizing military strength.

Alliance

An agreement between countries to support one another.

Triple Alliance

A major alliance consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, directed in part against France.

Triple Entente

An alliance consisting of Britain, France, and Russia formed for cooperation among the three powers.

Spanish-American War

A conflict through which the United States gained control of Puerto Rico and Guam, strengthening its position as a world power.

Meiji Restoration (1868)

A political transformation in Japan that restored imperial rule and began major modernization.

Zaibatsu

Large business conglomerates influential in Japan's economy.

Treaty of Kanagawa (1854)

An agreement between the United States and Japan that opened Japanese ports to U.S. ships under specified terms.

Commodore Matthew Perry

American naval officer who arrived with U.S. ships, leading to the opening of Japanese ports through the Treaty of Kanagawa.

Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)

A conflict in which Japan's victory over Russia demonstrated that Japan had become a major international power and challenged assumptions about European dominance.

Maji Teritory

Meiji Restoration (1868): Political transformation that restored imperial rule and began major modernization. Meiji government: The government responsible for modernizing Japan.