Unit 8: A Changing Nation Flashcards
social reform
a movement to make changes in society
Industrial Revolution
Gradual process by which machines replaced hand tools, and steam and other new sources of power replaced human and animal power
urbanization
process of a population’s shifting from farms to cities
spinning jenny
machine that could spin several threads at once
capital
money raised for a business venture
capitalist
a person who invests in a business in order to make a profit
factory system
method of producing goods that brought workers and machinery together in one place
interchangeable parts
identical, machine-made parts for a tool or instrument
Lowell girl
Young woman who worked in the Lowell Mills in Massachusetts during the Industrial Revolution
Triangular Shirtwaist Factory fire
deadly fire in a shirt factory that showed dangerous working conditions
cotton gin
invention that made harvesting cotton much more efficient
Eli Whitney
inventor of the cotton gin
abolitionist
people who worked to end slavery
flatboat
Boat with a flat bottom used for transporting heavy loads on inland waterways
patent
a license from the government that gives an individual or organization sole ownership to make, use, or sell their invention
