Industrial Revolution Definitions

corporation

a business owned by stockholders who share in its profits but are not personally responsible for its debts

authoritarian socialism / communism

a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs

domestic system

a system in which people work in their homes

division of labor

a system in which the manufacturing process was divided into steps and then each worker was assigned to a specific job

factory system

a system in which workers and machines were together in one place to make goods, and the employees worked a set number of hours for a certain amount of money

crop rotation

alternating different kinds of crops in order to preserve soil fertility

unions

associations of workers that planned actions and coordinated the demands of different types of workers in the same factory

cartels

corporations combining to control entire industries

free enterprise

economic system in which individuals and businesses are allowed to compete for profit with a minimum of government interference

enclosure movement

farmers fencing off common lands into individual holdings

laissez-faire

governments should not interfere with the operations of business

utilitarianism

idea that the goal of society should be to bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people

interchangeable parts

identical components that can be used in place of one another in manufacturing

collective bargaining

negotiation between an employer and trade union

democratic socialism

political system in which the government takes over the means of production peacefully; people retain basic human rights and partial control over economic planning

utopian socialists

socialists who hoped to replace the overly competitive capitalist structure with planned communities with cooperation

factors of production

the basic resources necessary for industrialization: land, capital, and labor

Bessemer process

the cheap process of making steel by forcing air through the molten metal to burn out carbon

monopoly

the complete control of the production or sale of a good or service by a single firm

industrial capitalism

the economic system in which capitalists are more involved in producing and manufacturing goods themselves

commercial capitalism

the economic system in which capitalists were merchants that bought, sold, and exchanged goods

capitalism

the economic system in which individuals rather than governments control the factors of production

depression

the lowest point of a business cycle

bourgeoisie

the owners of property

business cycle

the pattern of good and bad economic times; when one industry does well, other industries also prosper

Industrial Revolution

the rapid development of industry that occurred in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It was characterized by the use of steam power, the growth of factories, and the mass production of manufactured goods.

mass production

the system of manufacturing large numbers of identical items

mechanization

the use of automatic machinery to increase production

proletariat

the working class

sole proprietorship

when a business is owned and controlled by one person

partnership

when a business is owned and controlled by two or more peopl

strike

when workers make a list of demands and tell their employer that they will not work until their demands are made