7th Grade Social Studies
Industrial Revolution
Famous People:
Granville T. Woods: Inventor of improvements to the railroads including developing a
telegraph system that allowed communication between trains and the stations. His most
noted invention was a system for letting the engineer of a train know how close his train
was to others.
Alexander Graham Bell: primary inventor of the telephone and microphone and advocate
for the education of deaf people.
Thomas Edison: Inventor of the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a longlasting, practical electric light bulb
John D. Rockefeller: Standard Oil Company owner and founder, (mega rich)
Lewis Latimer: engineer/partner with Thomas Edison, responsible for inventing the water
closet for railroad cars - the electric lamp with an inexpensive carbon filament and a
threaded wooden socket for light bulbs.
Andrew Carnegie: steel company, mega rich, founded a university,
Ida Tarbell: American journalist best known for her pioneering investigative reporting
that who exposed the corrupt business practices of Standard Oil Company and led to the
breakup of Standard Oil Company’s monopoly. (known as a muckraker)
Jane Addams: social reformer, founder of the Hull house which provided child care,
educational courses, an art gallery, a public kitchen and several other social for
immigrants and poor families. She was named a co-winner of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize.
Vocabulary Words:
Utopia: deal and perfect place or state where everyone lives in harmony
Populist: a political party who believed that common people could solve society’s
problems.
Pragmatism: theory of thought that decides if a scientific laws, theories or belief is
worthwhile depending on the success of practical application.
Capitalism: economic system based on private ownership and competitive market place
of buying and selling of goods for profit.
Laissez-faire: Opposes governmental regulation or interference in commerce beyond the
minimum necessary for a free-enterprise system to operate.
Free-enterprise: a system in which private businesses are able to compete with each
other with little control by the government.
Stock: share of capital (money) held by an individual investor in a company or business.
Stockholders: somebody who owns one or more shares of a company's stock.
Dividends: stockholders share of the profts
Social Darwinism: a belief that states that the strongest or fittest should survive. In
practice it’s the elite classes or those possessing wealth and power, are biologically
superior in the struggle for existence.
Proprietorship: owner of a commercial enterprise or establishment such as a store, hotel,
or restaurant.
Trust : holding and managing of money or property belonging to somebody else.
Monopoly: one company controls an industry or is the only provider of a product or
service
Sherman Antitrust Act: First and most significant of the Anti-trust Laws that stated the
public is best served by free competition in trade and industry. When businesses fairly
compete for the consumer's dollar, the quality of products and services increases while
the prices decreases.
Progressive: political party that calls itself progressive or advocates social reform.
Muckrakers: a form of investigative reporting that wants to seek out and publicize
misconduct by prominent people or businesses. This term became popular because of its
use by President Theodore Roosevelt.