Industrial Revolution

Term Definition
Cottage Industry Before the Industrial Revolution people lived in small
cottages and made their own tools, clothes, grew their
own food, and made other products in the home.
Enclosure The process of taking over and fencing off land formerly
movement shared by the peasant farmers

Urbanization The growth of cities because of population growth.

Factory System The process of moving the production of good to a

factory that uses machines to produce goods.

Capital Money that people can invest in enterprises such as

shipping, mines, railroads, and factories.

Economic The social science that deals with the production,

distribution, and consumption of goods and services and
with the theory and management of economies or
economic systems.
Raw materials An unprocessed natural product used in manufacturing of
goods

James Watt He was a Scottish engineer who improved the steam

engine that would become the power source of the
Industrial Revolution.
James Hargreaves He invented the spinning jenny which spun many threads
at the same time.

Eli Whitney He invented the cotton gin. His invention will force the
need for additional slaves in the United States to keep up
with the demand for cotton.
Henry Bessemer He developed a process for making steel by taking out
the impurities out of iron ore.

Edward Jenner An English physician who is credited with successfully

vaccinating against smallpox.

Louis Pasteur A biologist and chemist who discovered that micro-

organisms and germs which allow him to develop a
process known as pasteurization.
Capitalism An economic system in which the means of production
and distribution are privately owned and operated for
profit.
Adam Smith He was an economist that wrote The Wealth of Nation. In
his book he advocated for free market economies.

Entrepreneur A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk

for a business venture.

Karl Marx He wrote The Communist Manifesto which stated that

economics were the driving force in history. The entire
course of human history, there was a struggle between
the Haves and the Have-nots.
Friedrich Engels He wrote The Communist Manifesto.

Communist A form of socialism that sees class struggle between

employers and employees as unavoidable.

Labor Unions Groups of employees coming together for a common

propose to collectively negotiate for better wage,
benefits, and working conditions against their employer.
Strikes Collective work stoppages by employee.

Utilitarianism The idea that the goal of society should be “the greatest
happiness for the greatest number” of its citizens.

Socialism A system in which the people as a whole rather than

private individuals owning all property and operate all
businesses.
Communism A form of socialism that sees class struggle between
employers and employees as unavoidable.

Proletariat The working class.