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Robert Bakewell
Livestock breeder who increased his mutton output by allowing only his best sheep to breed. other farmers began to follow bakewell's lead. Between 1700 and 1786 the average weight for lambs climbed from 18 to 50 pounds. These improvements in farming that began in the early 1700's made up an agricultural revolution. -
Flying Shuttle
Machinist John Kay made a shuttle that sped back and forth on wheels. It was a boat shaped piece of wood attached to yarn and it doubled the work a weaver could do in a day. -
Spinning Jenny
James Hargreaves invented a spinning wheel which he named after his daughter. This invention allowed one spinner to work eight different threads at one time -
Adam Smith
Wrote the book Wealth of Nations. Argued that if individuals freely followed their own self-interest, the world would be an orderly and progressive place. Sellers made money producing things people wanted to buy. Buyers spent money for what they wanted most. Smith thought that in such a market, social harmony would result without any government direction -
Utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham introduced the philosophy of Utilitarianism in the late 1700's. He argued that people should judge ideas, institutions and actions on the basis of therir usefulness. He also argued that the government whoule try to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In general the individual should be free to pursue their oen advantage without interference from the state. -
Cotton Gin
American inventor Eli Whitney invented a machine to speed up the process of removing seeds from raw cotton. His cotton gin multiplied the amount of cotton that could be cleaned. Production of cotton skyrocketed from 1.5 million pounds (1790) to 85 million pounds (1810). -
Railroad Locomotive
Richard Trevithik invented this machine by winning a bet of several thousands of dollars. He did this by hauling ten tons of iron over nearly ten miles of track in his steam-driven locomotive. Other British engineers soon improved his invention -
Steam Boat
Robert Fulton ordered a steam engine from Boulton and Watt and after it proved to be successful, the Clermont ferried people up and down the Hudson River. Water transportation improved in England with the creation of canals. -
Francis Cabot Lowell
Francis Cabot Lowell and four other investors revolutionized the textile indusrty. They mechanized every stage in the manufacturing of cloth. Their weaving factory earned the partners enough money to fund a larger operation in another Massachusetts town. When Lowell died the partners named the town after him. Lowell Massachusetts became a booming town by the late 1820's. -
Socialism
Charles Fourier and Saint-Simon wanted to offset the effects of the industrialization with this new economic system. In socialism the factors of production are owned by the public and operate for the welfare of all. This philosophy grew out of an optimistic view of human nature, a belief in progress and a concern for social justice. Argued that the government should actively plan the economy rather than depending on free-market capitalism to do it. -
Alexis de Tocqueville
French writer who contrasted the brutal conditions in American prisons to the "extended liberty" of American society. Reformers took on the challenge of prison reform, emphasizing the goal of restoring prisoners to useful lives. -
Women Right's Movement
Women who had rallied for the abolition of slavery began to wonder why their own rights were being denied on the basis of gender. Women activists around the world joined to found the International Council for Women. -
Communism
A form of complete socialism in which the means of production (all land, mines, factories, railroads, and businesses) would be owned by the people. Private property in effect cease to exist. All goods and services would be shared equally. Believed that economic forces alone dominated society. -
Marxism
Radical type of socialism. Argued that human societies have always been divided into warring classes. While the wealthy contolled the means of producing goods, the poor performed backbreaking labor under terrible conditions and this resulted in conflict. According to this philosophy the industrial revolution enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor. Predicted that the workers would overthrow the owners. "The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains". -
Point about the US
Horace Mann, one of the most prominent reformers warned "If we do not prepare children to become good citizens... if we do not enrich their minds with knowledge, then our republic must go down to destruction". Today our government has established systems of public schooling. It is also a socialogical fact that with knowledge comes change. I think this is one point the US distinctly focuses on because attending school is enforced by law and highly encouraged. -
Abolition of Slavery
The same impulse toward reform, along with the ideals of the French Revolution, also helped to end slavery. William Wilberforce was a member of Parliament who led for the fight to end the slave trade in the British West Indies in 1807. Britain finally abolished slavery in 1833. The enslavement of African Americans finally ended in the United States when the Union won the Civil War in 1865. -
Telegraph
New England painter F.B. Morse first sent electrical signals over the telegraph. -
Jane Addams
Addams and her friend Ellen Starr set up Hull House in a working class district in Chicago. Eventually the facility included a nursery, gym, kitchen, and a boarding house for working women. Hull House not only served the immigrant populaton of the neighorhood, it also trained social workers. -
Elizabeth Gasell
British writer whose novels such as Mary Barton and North and South show a sympathy for the working class. Cranford deals with the life of a peaceful English village. -
Factory Act of 1833
Parliament set up a committee to investigate child labor. As a result of their findings they passed the Factory Act of 1833, making it illegal for children under the age of nine to work. Children from the age of nine to twelve couldn't work more than eight hours a day. Young people from thirteen to seventeen couldn't work more than twelve hours.
