The Antebellum Economy

Factory System System that cut costs and increased output by having machines do everything under one roof Example: spinning thread and weaving cloth Francis Cabot Lowell Traveled to England and toured factories and cotton mills Constructed a power loom that was water powered and produced cotton textiles

Technology In the textile industry: New tools allowed precise cutting, stamping and shaping of materials Farming: Improvements to the plow and development of mechanical reaper John Deere designed a light, but strong steel plow Cyrus McCormick developed a mechanical reaper that harvested 6 acres of grain a day Household: Elias Howe patented a sewing machine for the home Cooking utensils, butter churns, better stoves, pots and pans, and water pumps

Deere and McCormick

Trade Unions Factory conditions and child labor lead to the rise of unions By 1832 in New England, 2 out of every 5 factory workers were children National convention held by labor leaders in 1834 This founded the National Trades Union, which sought work reforms, such as shorter workdays

Trade Unions cont. Used strikes, or the refusal to work until employers met union demands, to achieve reform Higher wages or shorter work days were the most common In 1836 in NYC, 20 members of a local tailor’s union were found guilty of conspiracy after striking for higher wages Created a rift between the rich factory owners and the poor workers

Immigration Immigrants were an important part of the labor force By 1860, more than 4.1 million Americans (or 13% of the population) were foreign born Largest immigrant group were from Ireland (1.6 million) Settled in city slums and competed for the lowest-paying or most-dangerous jobs Helped build canals and railroads, mined coal, and unloaded freight By the 1880s, Irish Americans ran local governments in several cities, mostly Eastern cities

Immigration cont. Second-largest immigrant group=Germans In one year, 215,000 Germans traveled to America They became bakers, brewers, butchers, cabinetmakers, cigar makers, machinists, or tailors German Jews remained on the East coast, while others moved to the Midwest and Southwest

Nativism Some Americans feared the immigrants, viewing them as politically corrupt and socially inferior Nativism=favoring native-born Americans over the foreign-born Blamed immigrants for slum conditions