| Term | Definition |
|---|
| parliamentary democracy | government in which voters elect representatives to a lawmaking body which chooses a prime minister to head the government |
| bicameral parliament | the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers in government |
| luddite | one of the 19th century English workmen who destroyed labor-saving machinery that they thought would cause unemployment |
| liberal/conservative | want change, favor progress and individual freedom while others support tradition |
| revolution, paradigm shift | occurs when a new technology or business model comes along that dramatically alters the nature of demand and competition |
| whigs and tories | These were the two parties in the Parliament. The Whigs were mostly liberal and wanted change while the Tories wanted to keep the government as it was |
| right wing/left wing | believe individual is more important than the country, believe country is more important than individual |
| agrarian | relating to land, land tenure, or the division of landed property: agrarian laws. |
| rural/urban | coutryside, city |
| social mobility | movement up or down the social class ladder |
| social class | a group of people with similar backgrounds, incomes, and ways of living |
| aristocrat | n. A hereditary noble or one nearly connected with nobility. |
| laissez-faire | a policy based on the idea that government sould play as small a role as possible in the ecomony |
| enclosure acts | commons are fenced off, people look for jobs in the city |
| entrepeneur | a person who starts up & takes the risk of a business |
| agricultural revolution | A time when new inventions such as the seed drill and the steel plow made farming easier and faster. The production of food rose dramatically. |
| steam engine | A machine that turns the energy released by burning fuel into motion. Thomas Newcomen built the first crude but workable steam engine in 1712. James Watt vastly improved his device in the 1760s and 1770s. Steam power was then applied to machinery. (607) |
| spinning jenny | allowed the operator to spin eight or more threads with additional spindles, invented by James Hargreaves in 1764 |
| cottage industries | Weaving, sewing, carving, and other small-scale industries that can be done in the home. The laborers, frequently women, are usually independent. (p. 353) |
| factory system | A method of manufacturing first adopted in England |
| parliament | a legislature, especially in those countries whose systemof government is based on the westminister system modeled after that of the u.k. |
| report of sadler committee | In 1832 Michael Sadler secured a parliamentary investigation of conditions in the textile factories and he sat as chairman of the committee |
| middle class/bourgeoisie | the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage labor, the social class between the lower and upper classes |
| member of parliament | a representative, an elected member of the British Parliament: a member of the House of Commons |
| parliamentary committee | a committee which takes part in the Fiscal committee, the policy committee and the rules committee |
| constitutional monarchy | A King or Queen is the official head of state but power is limited by a constitution. |
| legislation | the act of making or enacting laws |
| prime minister | the leader of the executive branch of a parliamentary government |
| multiplier effect | total effect on the economy caused by an expansion or contraction in one part of it. For example, a new mine employing 300 people may cause 900 other jobs to develop in manufacturing and services. |
| strike | a work stoppage caused by the mass refuse of employees to perform work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. |
| free trade | international trade free of government interference |
| tariff | a government tax on imports or exports |
| trade union | Organization of workers with the same trade or skill |
| chartism | the principles of a body of 19th century English reformers who advocated better social and economic conditions for working people |
| petition | formal request to someone in authority, usually written and signed by a group of people |
| working class/proletariat | a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages |
| meritocracy | the belief that rulers should be chosen for their superior abilities and not because of their wealth or birth |
Combine with other sets
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