Ch 15 Forging The National Economy

The West

-- 1840: Population demographic crossed Alleghenies; Eve of the Civil War OH River -- Emerging i Life in out West: 1. Grim life for most families -- Poorly fed / Ill Clad / Housed in hastily erected shanties -- Victims of disease / depression / premature death -- Unbearably lonely, esp. women 2. Pioneers -- Often ill informed / superstitious / provincial / individualistic -- Participated in no-holds-barred wrestling matches Western Landscape:

Working Con 1. Long hours 2. Unsanitary 3. Labor unio 4. Exploited c Small Scale R -- Jacksonian -- Van Buren

-- Workers re

Effect Cause 1 Barren, rain-gutted fields -- Hasty pioneers exhausted the land in tobacco regions -- 1842: Com 2 KY Bottomlands -- Characterized by high (15 ft) sugar cane fields 3 KY Bluegrass -- Thrived in charred (sugar) cane fields Women and th Exhaustion of the otter, beaver -- Fur trappers/traders and Indians traded animal skins--for N.E. farm g 4 and bison (buffalo) manufactured goods -- The majorit -- George Catlin and other artists' renditions of the beautiful 5 National Parks landscape that stretched across the land -- Upon marri Changing Role

A New America

-- Choice of s

Continuing Population Boom: -- Mid-1800s, population was still doubling approximately every 25 years -- Families gr 1. Original 13 states evolved into 33 states (1860) 2. Urbanization -- Smaller fam -- 43 cities claimed populations over 20,000 and 300 claimed over 5,000 (1860) -- Slums / feeble lighting / inadequate policing / impure water / no sewage Modern & garbage Fam /r 3. Increased immigration -- Small, affe -- Apx. 3 million Irish and German immigrants flocked into the US (1840-1860) -- Beneficiary of "surplus" of people in Europe Wealth and Po -- Introduction of steamships greatly sped up travel and decreased mortality 1. rates Advances i 2. Growth of

3. Social Mob -- Americans exploded in

A New Wave of Immigrants Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-

The Irish Early Pioneers: Problems at Home: -- Cleared ou 1. War ravaged Ireland fed hungry armies, forcing farmers to use every available acre 2. Once the War (of 1812) was over wheat price plummeted, forcing landlords to evict tenan 3. 1845: A blight ravaged the potato crop, causing a great famine for years New Invention -- Over a million died, and another million sailed to America (in 5 years) 1. 1837: John Struggles in America: 1. Most were too poor to buy land, livestock, or equipment forcing them to move 2. 1830s: to citiesCyr -- Mostly confined to the eastern seaboard; Many littered the streets of Boston / NYC 2. Worked in mostly low-skill occupations (some gradually improved) -- Large-scale -- Resented blacks b/c they had to compete with free ones in the North for jobs 3. Forced to live in slums, and scorned by "natives" for taking jobs and worshiping -- Self-sufficie Catholic Politics: 1. Gained control of powerful political machines and reaped patronage The Transport -- Most notably NY's Tamany Hall -- Early trans 2. Dominated police departments in big cities (drove "Paddy Wagons") New Forms of 3. Hated the British for their oppression in Ireland 1. 1790s: Lan

The Germans -- Germans came to America to escape their autocratic homeland 2. 1807: Rob Characteristics: -- Possessed moderate amount of material goods, unlike Irish -- Less potent politically because of wide scatter of population 3. 1811: Fede -- Mostly uprooted liberal farmers, displaced by crop failures and other hardships -- Generally better educated than Americans in the west Life in America: 4. 1817: NY G 1. Most scattered throughout the Midwest, notably WI, settling and establishing model farm -- Building towns in WI, agricultural colonies in TX, religious communities in PA -- Amish towns in PA / IN / OH; some still exist today 2. Formed an influential body of voters, but not as potent as Irish 5. 1828: First 3. Brought numerous innovations from their homeland to America -- Conestoga wagon, KY rifle, Christmas tree, beer, Kindergarten, etc. 4. Towns in WI had beer gardens, a volunteer fire company, and a German-English academy 6. 1858: Cyru Antiforeignism: -- "Nativists" feared the new wave of foreigners were a threat to the "native stock" Short-lived Tr -- Some feared the establishment of the Catholic Church, a threat to Protestantism 1. 1840s-50s -- 1849: The Order of the Star Spangled Banner / "Know Nothing" Party formed -- Supported restrictions on immigration, naturalization, and laws permitting 2. deportation 1860: Pon -- Violence ensued in Boston (1834) and Philadelphia (1844) between nativist mobs and Cath

Mechanization and Manufacturing Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-

-- 1750: A group of British inventors perfected a series of machines of mass production of te -- Ushered in the modern factory system and Industrial Revolution -- The factory system would spread throughout Europe and the US in following generatio Why was America so slow to embrace the machine? 1. Virgin soil in America was cheap, and land-starved descendants of land-starved peasant rather toil the fields in God's sunlight than be cooped up in factories 2. Money for capital investment was not plentiful 3. Raw materials lay undeveloped, undiscovered, or unsuspected (i.e. coal) 4. Labor and consumers were scarce, making it difficult to profit 5. Established British factories were far superior to the emerging Yankee manufacturers -- British also had a monopoly on textiles, whose secrets they kept hidden

Whitney and Slater Revolutionize Industry: Samuel Slater: -- "Father of the Factory System" (in America), memorized plans for the British textile mach escaped to America in disguise -- 1791: Backed by Moses Brown [RI], he reconstructed the machine and put it into oper -- The machine for spinning cotton was ready, but picking the cotton was slow Eli Whitney: 1. 1793: He built the cotton gin, a device for separating the seed from short-staple cotton -- It was 50x more effective than handpicking -- Greatly increase the profit of growing cotton, and revived slavery in the South -- Southern farmers cleared acres of land, creating a Cotton Kingdom in the SW -- England bought most of the cotton early on, but it fed the emerging northern textile factor -- Factories flourished in N.E. and spread to NY / NJ / PA -- N.E. was favored b/c of its stony soil, dense population, abundant water power, shipping 2. 1798: Seized upon the idea of interchangeable parts to mass produce muskets for the -- Became the basis of modern mass production and assembly-line methods

Growing American Industry: -- American factories grew slowly until 1807 (embargo, nonintercourse, war, blockade) -- Some local authorities offered bounties to encourage buying American made goods -- 1815: American manufacturers were struck a blow after the Treaty of Ghent -- After the war, British competitors dumped its surpluses in the US, causing many closi 1. 1846: Elias Howe invents / Isaac Singer perfects the sewing machine -- Boosted northern industry / drove seamstresses from homes to factories 2. Samuel Morse invented the telegraph, allowing for long range communication 3. 1848: Free Inc. Laws were passed in NY, allowing creation of corporations without ind. c 4. Limited Liability permitted ind. Investors to risk no more capital than they put in (legal c -- Encouraged more people to create corporations, w/o fear of personal loss

Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-

Workers and Wage Slaves

-- Emerging industry brought people from their homes and small shops to stuffy factories -- "Wage Slaves" clustered in slumlike hovels nearby Working Conditions: 1. Long hours, low wages, and skimpy meals 2. Unsanitary buildings with poor ventilation, lighting, and heating 3. Labor unions forbidden by law 4. Exploited children: mentally blighted, emotionally starved, physically stunted, and even whipp Small Scale Reform: -- Jacksonian Democracy gave working men the right to vote; most supported the Democrats -- Van Buren reduced federal workers to a 10 hour work day -- Some other states reduced work hours -- Workers realized the power of strikes, and fought for shorter days, higher wages, etc. -- Most strikes failed b/c owners hired strikebreakers, "scabs" -- 1842: Commonwealth v. Hunt declared that trade unions were legal, and not conspiracies

Women and the Economy: -- N.E. farm girls worked the factories of the Boston Associates -- The majority working women were single -- Self-supporting women usually worked as nurses, teachers, or domestic servants -- Upon marriage, women left jobs to take care of the home, commanding immense moral power Changing Roles:

-- Choice of spouse began to sway more toward love than "arrangement" -- Created more closely knit and affectionate families -- Families grew smaller, as "fertility rate" continued to fall -- Birth control was primitive, but family limitation was being practiced -- Smaller families resulted in more child-centered families; giving children more individual at -- Despite European stereotypes, American children were punished and their will shaped Modern Family: -- Small, affectionate, child-centered, and provided a special arena for the talents of women

Wealth and Poverty: 1. Advances in transportation and manufacturing widened the gap between the rich and the poo 2. Growth of cities bred extremes in economic equality -- Unskilled workers made up the majority the city population and were at worst -- Many were drifters, left little behind, and were the unsung / unstoried of the era 3. Social Mobility became increasingly more difficult -- Americans still enjoyed a general prosperity, which defused the potential class conflicts that of exploded in Europe

Revolution in the Fields Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-

Early Pioneers: -- Cleared out forest, planted corn, and raised livestock, specifically pigs -- Corn distilled into liquor and used it to feed the hogs, making it easier to ship -- The hogs, in turn, fed the "Cotton Kingdom" New Inventions: 1. 1837: John Deere [IL] produced a steel plow -- It was light enough to be pulled by horses and was able to break the virgin soil 2. 1830s: Cyrus McCormick created the mechanical mower-reaper -- This horse drawn chariot-reaper allowed 1 man to do the work of five -- Large-scale, specialized, cash-crop agriculture dominated the trans-Allegheny west -- Farmers bought more land and machinery, increasing debt -- Self-sufficient food production led farmers to look elsewhere for profits

The Transportation Revolution -- Early transportation was slow, uncertain, and dangerous New Forms of Transportation: 1. 1790s: Lancaster Turnpike (PA) was completed, connecting Philadelphia & Lancaster (62 mi -- Highly successful and attracted a rich trade in Philadelphia -- Turnpikes stimulated western development and beckoned to Conestoga wagons 2. 1807: Robert Fulton launched the first steamboat, the Clermont -- Allowed for two-way navigation of rivers and greatly aided shipping -- Opened up the South and West to trade and travel 3. 1811: Federal government began construction on the National (Cumberland) Road -- Interrupted by the War of 1812 and, later, states' rights shackles -- 1852: Completed with state / federal aid, connecting MD with IL 4. 1817: NY Gov. DeWitt Clinton's plan to build the Erie Canal began -- 1825: Completed, connecting the Hudson River with Lake Erie and the Great Lakes -- Increased the value of land, industry, farming in the NW, & waterfront cities (Det., Chi., Cin -- Prices for consumers and shippers decreased / Forced N.E.'ers to turn to industry 5. 1828: First railroad appeared, but had several flaws -- Frequent spark spraying and accidents -- Feeble brakes often resulted in missed stations -- Often required multiple transfers to reach destination 6. 1858: Cyrus Field set up a cable across the North Atlantic -- 1866: Heavy permanent cable replaced the old (broken) one Short-lived Triumphs: 1. 1840s-50s: Clipper ships sped across the Atlantic in record times -- Required wind, sacraficed speed for cargo space; eventually overtaken by iron steamers 2. 1860: Pony Express carried mail over a 2000 mile stretch in the West -- Failed due to its heavy financial loss

Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-

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Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-

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Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-

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Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-

Copyright 2006 -Steven Harada-