Key terms:

Industrial Revolution: A period beginning in the 1700s in which production shifted from simple hand tools to complex machinery and sources of energy shifted from human or animal power to steam and electricity. This time period affected many lives and was one of the most important economic changes in history, especially since before this, life had changed very little for civilization.

Anesthetic: A drug that prevents pain during surgery. An example of the scientific innovations that occurred during the industrial revolution.

Enclosure: The process of taking over and consolidating, or combining, lands formerly shared by peasants.  These larger fields could be cultivated more efficiently which increased the rate of production, and needed less people working there which all contributed to the rise of the Industrial Revolution.

James Watt: Scottish man who invented the steam engine. He started out helping his father with building models and measuring instruments and later apprenticed with a maker of mathematical instruments. In 1765 he started working on the steam engine which had a separate condenser which kept the steam from escaping. He continued making and working on machines as well as being a land surveyor until he retired in 1800. He lived from 1736-1819. The steam engine was a vital source of power for the Industrial Revolution. It also made coal mining easier since it was based on Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine which pumped water out of coal mines.

Smelt: Melt in order to get the pure matter away from its waste matter. It helped to get pure iron from iron ores. This pure iron was then used to build steam engines and machines which increased the industrial revolution.

Capital: Money or wealth used to invest in business or enterprise. One of the four factors of production that makes a country better at industrialization and production. Capital is very important because it changes the power and economic advantages between countries.

Enterprise: Business organization in such areas as shipping, mining, railroads, or factories. There were more enterprises after the Industrial Revolution because people wanted to  make money and start business ventures more often.

Entrepreneur: Person who assumes financial risk in order to make a profit. Similar to the word enterprise because an entrepreneur will often start business enterprises because they have the determination and money for it. Having many entrepreneurs will advance a country in industrialization because they will invent machines and boost the economy.

Putting-out system: system developed in the 18th century in which tasks were distributed to individuals who completed the work in their own homes; also known as cottage industry. This system was beneficial to peasants because they could work in their own homes but the process was still much slower than the machinery after the Industrial Revolution.

Eli Whitney: Lived 1765-1825 and his main invention was the cotton gin which was important to the industrial revolution because it boosted the economy of the South and made the textile industry more efficient and profitable. However Whitney himself did not profit from the cotton gin because the south was in debt to him. He showed mechanical interest at a young age, graduated from Yale and went south where his skills were requested. His invention helped to lower the cost of the labor to process cotton. After this, he continued to design new inventions until his death.

Turnpike: Private road built by entrepreneurs who charged a toll to travelers to use it.

Liverpool: Industrial city in northern Britain that was part of the first major railway line; it went from Liverpool to Manchester. This is an example of Britain industrializing first and creating and first using one of the biggest industrial machines that changed life greatly.

Manchester: Industrial city in northern Britain that was part of the first major railway line; it went from Liverpool to Manchester. This is an example of Britain industrializing first and creating and first using one of the biggest industrial machines that changed life greatly.