The Antebellum North and West Economic and Industrial Change

Economic Transformation Question: What factors led to a 12 fold increase in industrial output during the first forty years of the 19 th century?

Dramatic Increase In Industrial Output Agricultural Productivity Urbanization Factory System Shift in PowerTransportation

Rise in Agricultural Productivity McCormick Reaper and Deere plow. Gains most profound in North and West Expansion to new lands in the West (cheap land) Population of “west” (now Midwest) increased 10 fold!

Urbanization 20% of Americans living and working in cities. New York, 1840— experienced amazing growth.

Factory Output Interchangeable parts fueled an industrial change that led to them being 50% more productive than the new farming industry!

Shift in Power Shift from water to steam…factories were more productive and could be in more diverse areas as just opposed to mills along rivers. Huge discoveries of coal in Minnesota and Pennsylvania fueled the changes.

The Change in Rail Captured the imagination of an era. Phenomenal growth: 9k miles in 1850 by 1860 it was 30k! Fueled other changes as well—telegraph. The rule of 6:1—fuels the railroad boom.

Summary The westward expansion fueled population changes and agricultural development which began to facilitate renewed industrialization and urbanization.

Impact on class Industrialization led to a class structure change in the North that saw the emergence of a super-rich class (McCormick) while the average wealth stood only at about $2,000 dollars. Yet only 25% possessed that dollar figure! The North was increasingly devoted to free labor and opportunity. Yet 90% of African Americans were landless.

Immigration Major surge in immigration 4.5 million between 1840 and % of the total US population in 1854 arrived during that year as immigrants! ¾ of the immigrants during the time were from Germany and Ireland. Germans were very well received—the Irish were not. Why?

The Movement West