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