Vocabulary
Define "capitalist"
economic system characterized by owning goods and investments
-money is the priority!
What is the seed drill?
Machine, pulled by horses that planted pasture seeds by placing them at a specific and similar depth and covering them with soil in one single job
-Reduced labour, increased efficiency
What was the impact of coal and iron during the Industrial Revolution
-Britain had large deposits of both
-coal burned for heat, heat used as fuel for steam engine
-better metals like cast iron improved wheels, pots pans, engines and bridge supports
Explain the significance of the Spinning Jenny and who created it?
-created by James Hargreaves, allowed a single operator to spin multiple spools of thread/yarn by one hand powered wheel
-helped transition textile industry away from cottage system and into factors, increased productivity
Why was child labour rampant during the Industrial Revolution?
-children were small, valuable especially for textile industry
-cheap wages
-obedience: easier to manage
-needed for family's survival
Define "fodder"
hay, straw, cornstalks given to domestic farm animals (cattle, horse, sheep)
Explain the enclosure system and what it meant for people?
Enclosure - dividing shared public land into private property fenced by individual owners
-meant loss of rights, poverty and displacement, urban migration
What were the "Poor Laws?"
-Britain's attempt to address poverty; ineffective
-made charity responsibility of local authorities, left many poor people without relief
Explain the significance of the Steam Engine
-the world's first system to take steam and produce mechanical work
-allowed deeper mineral extraction and increased efficiency in labour
Explain the significance of the Irish Potato Famine?
-1845, entire potato crop died due to disease, meaning millions of rural farmers had no wages to fall back on and no food as potatoes were main form of sustenance
-millions of Irish emigrated to US, Canada and Britain who then began living in these cities fuelling the Industrial revolution in these places more
-failure of laissez-faire system - government did not help the starving people
Define "piecework"
employer pays a worker a fixed rate for each unit produced, item assembled, task completed etc rather than hourly wage or salary
What was Lord Townshend's crop rotation system?
He rotated crops of turnips, barley, grasses and wheat from field to field so that he could use every field every year, increase crops and grow cheap fodder
What was the cottage system and some advantages and disadvantages of the system?
-work involved in making a product takes place in stages by different workers working in their homes
advantages: could look after families while doing work, could work in own communities with support of family, income benefited whole family, business owners did not have to build a factory
disadvantages: worked extremely long hours, paid very little, isolated from one another, workers had little power when dealing with owners who paid them
How was transportation via road changed during the Industrial Revolution?
-engineers improved road construction through layering methods... John McAdam small crushed rocks pack tightly (asphalt)
-faster wagon service, could take more weight to replace horses
Why was Britain the initial place for the Industrial Revolution?
-abundance of natural resources (coal, iron)
-agricultural revolution (improvements in farming techniques... crop rotation, livestock breeding)
-major technological inventions (textile industry, steam engine, etc.) moved away from cottage industry into factories
Explain the term "laissez-faire"
minimal to zero government intervention in business and trade
-hands off
-consequences: harsh conditions, wealth gap
Explain changes to livestock during the Industrial Revolution
farmers realized by increasing their fodder they could keep more animals and develop livestock breeds
-eg. cattle were bred to provide meat instead of milk, sheep for thicker wool
-new breeds made them hardier and more resistant to disease, which increased profits
What was the abolition movement?
Social reformers and lower class working together to end slavery
How was transportation via rail changed during the Industrial Revolution?
-steam locomotives replaced human, horse and wind power with coal driven speed
-trains traveled much faster speeds allowing heavier goods to cross quickly
-intercity railways provided new access
Explain the significance of the clearances in Scotland?
-poor farmers forced off their properties and ended up going to the cities to work in factories to make some money
-landlords cleared people to make more profit with large sheep farming etc.
Explain how social reform lead to labour unions
-dangerous workplaces, exploitation of labour, poverty etc lead people to want a system to protect them and have job security
-public outrage led to demand for government intervention
-gradually legalized unions once laissez faire approach failed
Explain the overall impact of all the agricultural change during the Industrial Revolution
-farms more productive than ever before in Britain
-many small farmers struggling financially because they couldn't compete with wealthy farmers
Explain the Factory Acts and its impact
Children first to benefit, after people so disturbed by the impacts of the working conditions
-illegal for children to work more than 12 straight hours
-illegal to hire a child under age 9 in textile industry
-workers association became legal and labour unions established
How was transportation via water changed during the Industrial Revolution?
-canals, steamboats and iron ships replaced older methods
-man made canals linked factories, mines and cities to rivers and ports
-heavy freight capacity allowed heavy materials to move cheaply
Explain the significance of the Peterloo Massacre?
-peaceful protestors killed and attacked
-marked turning point between working class and the government/wealthy
-began the long term path to democracy