Chapter 12 The Industrial Revolution Vocabulary

Industrial Revolution Change in American society in the late 1700’s-early 1800’s that focused on new ways to produce goods

Spinning Jenney Machine invented by James Hargreaves in 1764 that could spin several threads at once

Cotton Gin Machine invented by Eli Whitney that could clean seeds from cotton 50x faster than by hand

Capitalist A person who invests in a business to make a profit

Factory System System that brought workers and machines together in once place to produce goods

Interchangeable Parts Identical machine made parts for a tool or instrument

Mass Production The rapid production of large numbers of identical objects

Lowell Girls Girls from Massachusetts farms hired to work in the Lowell textile factories

Urbanization Movement of the population from farms to cities

Turnpike A road built by a private company that charges a toll to use it

Corduroy Road Roads made out of split logs

Canal An artificial channel filled with water to allow boats to cross a stretch of land

Erie Canal A canal built in New York in 1825 that linked the Great Lakes with the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers