1. AMERICA’S ECONOMIC REVOLUTION
Chapter 10
AMERICA’S ECONOMIC REVOLUTION

2. The Changing American Population
Population Patterns Post 1812
1790: 4 million, most east of the Appalachians
1840: 17 million, 1/3 west of the Appalachians (between Apps and Mississippi River)

3. The Changing American Population
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the United States grew more rapidly in population than Britain or Europe?

4. The Changing American Population
Between 1820 and 1840, the population drastically increased
Faster rate than Europe
industrial centers of NE and NW (Midwest)
public health improved, higher birth rate, lower mortality

5. The Changing American Population
Immigration: increased rapidly during and after 1830s
lower transportation costs, econ. opportunity in U. S.
Immigration and internal migration led to increased populations in urban cities
NE farming was less profitable
1810 NY was largest U.S. city

6. The Changing American Population
Agricultural econ. of Midwest
led towns/villages/trading posts to become big cities
1860 U. S. pop. greater than Great Britain (rivaling France and Germany)

7. The Changing American Population
Largest number of immigrants came from Germany and Ireland:
Germany:
German industrial rev. caused poverty
collapse of liberal rev. of 1848
Tended to move to the Northwest
single males
farmers/business (Cincinnati)
wealthier than Irish
Accustomed to the “Continental Sunday’’ drank huge quantities of an amber beverage called bier

8. The Changing American Population
Largest number of immigrants came from Germany and Ireland:
Irish:
English rule
Potato famine
move to eastern cities
unskilled workers
young women, domestic and factory work
little to no money

9. The Changing American Population Cont.
immigrants meant to some:
cheap labor
pop. that would translate into higher dem,and for goods
increased pop. would translate into more political influence
Nativism:
Distrust and dislike of foreigners; favoring “Native-born” Americans
Wanted to stop or slow the influx of immigrants

10. The Changing American Population Cont.
Reasons for Nativism:
Immigrants would work for lower wages
Belief that immigrants were destroying America and its culture
Fear of the Catholic Church and Pope
“Stealing” votes (immigarnts voted for the Democrats)

11. The Changing American Population Cont.
Examples of Nativism:
Native American Assoc. 1837, Native American Party 1845
Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner (“Know- Nothings” or the American Party)
NINA

12. The Changing American Population Cont.
Nativism:
ban Catholics from office
restrict naturalization
literacy tests for voting
feared that these foreigners would "outbreed, outvote, and overwhelm the old “native stock"

13. Transportation, Communications, And Technology
Taking a turn from the Turnpike Era (1790’s-1820’s)
Steamships helped but...
farmers/merchants clamored for more direct route
lower production and transportation costs
1820s saw an increase in canals
expensive to build for private cos. (NE States took the lead)
NY – Erie Canal: construction , 363 miles, Albany to Buffalo
“Clinton’s Big Ditch”
Built by Irish “Paddies”
Gave NYC access to Chicago

14. Transportation, Communications, And Technology

15. Transportation, Communications, And Technology
New York gained the most from the new transportation routes built in this era?

16. Transportation, Communications, And Technology
Canals also stimulated settlement in the Northwest
Ohio River and Lake Erie connected
increased white settlement
NY dominated trade
Sectionalism grew

17. Transportation, Communications, And Technology
Railroads had so many advantages over canals that, where free competition existed, they almost always prevailed?

18. Transportation, Communications, And Technology
Railroads:
1820’, 30’s not that much of a factor
primarily connected water routes
Baltimore and Ohio
Problems with early railroads?
Different gauges on tracks
Frequent accidents and erratic schedules
not cost effective to compete with canals

19. Transportation, Communications, And Technology Cont.
1850s saw a huge increase in railroad development
track lines tripled, NE mainly but all regions grew
“Trunk Lines” – shorter lines consolidated into longer lines
Helped decrease importance of canals
NE connected to Midwest and beyond (Chicago)

20. Transportation, Communications, And Technology Cont.
Mississippi River less of an influence on west
north/south economies less connected
Funding for railroads:
State, local and federal governments, (and foreign investors)
State and local through $
Federal through land grants

21. Transportation, Communications, And Technology Cont.
Morse Code:
magnetic telegraph lines ran along RR
communication between cities
N and NW (South excluded)
Samuel Morse
James K. Polk’s nomination for the Dem. Party in 1844
1860 Western Union

22. Transportation, Communications, And Technology Cont.
Journalism:
1846 Richard Hoe’s steam cylinder rotary press
1846 Associated Press
most newspapers/mags in N (sectionalism)

23. Commerce and Industry Business grew
pop. increase
transportation innovations
new practices
Indiv. and merchant businesses still operated but…
Growth of corporations:
Increased in 1830s (relaxed laws made them possible by paying a fee)

24. Commerce and Industry Limited Liability: Credit
Stockholders would only lose value of stock if the corporation failed
Credit
businesses relied on it
state banks not as stable
stifled growth

25. Commerce and Industry Emergence of the Factory:
pre 1812, most mfg. in homes or small scale
NE, water power
1860’s value of mfg. goods equalled value of agricultural goods
stifled growth
Mfg. of machine tools (tool and die)
tools/parts to make the machines
wider use of interchangeable parts

26. Commerce and Industry Technological advances: Use of coal:
Interchangeable parts – Eli Whitney
Used for bicycles, sewing machines, typewriters, etc.
Charles Goodyear:
Rubber
Elias Howe and Isaac Singer:
Sewing machine (250 stitches/minute)
Use of coal:
Allowed factories to move away from water
Cities began to grow to mine coal (Pittsburgh)

27. Commerce and Industry
mid 1800’s mfg. replacing trade for merchant class
merchant class opening factories
textile corporations growing

28. Men and Women at Work Farm land in MW, mechanization of machinery
Advancements in transportation allowed farmers to ship goods to all regions of the country
Leads to an increase in specialization of industry
NE farmers less of a need
NE flocked to factories
some industries brough entire families
others sought young females

29. Men and Women at Work
When compared to working conditions in European industries, the Lowell mills were a paradise for working women?

30. Men and Women at Work “Lowell System” (aka Waltham System)
Young, single women (farmers’ daughters) would work in a factory
Boardinghouses for workers, curfews, churches
High wages (relative)

31. Men and Women at Work
“80% of Factory Workers in Lowell and Waltham Mills were female
conditions were hot, humid
long hours

32. Men and Women at Work Why did the “Lowell System” decline?
monotonous job
Panic of 1837 hurt wages
Union of Factory Girls Assoc. strikes
immigrants that worked for less
competitive market made it difficult to keep high standards

33. Men and Women at Work and the children?
In 1820 half the nation’s industrial workers were children under the age of
"Spindle Cities"
"Whipping Rooms"

34. Men and Women at Work Cont.
Immigrants, low-skill level, low wages
Construction Gangs of immigrants helped build the infrastructure
Immigration helped lead to a decrease in working conditions
Many Americans were not concerned with conditions for immigrants
“piece rates” vs. daily wages

35. Men and Women at Work Cont.
Factories displaced skilled artisans (embodiment of republican independent worker)
Early unions:
early 19th century organizations and labor unions occasionally
1820’s/30’s skilled craftsmen unions
Common law viewed most early unions as “an illegal conspiracy”
financial panic hurt movement

36. Men and Women at Work Cont.
Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842):
Massachusetts Supreme Court case that stated unions were legal
strikes were lawful (provided their methods were “honorable and peaceful")
Other states soon agreed
Unions did not gain more power until the late 19th century

37. Men and Women at Work Cont.
Union ineffectiveness
immigrant labor for replacements
ethnic divisions
capitalists had more econ., social, and political power

38. Men and Women at Work Cont.
Women were not included in unions
“Free Labor”
Northern workers viewed freedom as an absence of slavery
Northern workers disliked slavery for two reasons:
Lack of freedom
Took away jobs
Free African Americans had little freedom as well
Not considered legal citizens

39. Patterns of Industrial Society
Comm. and industrial growth did equate into avg. income of Americans getting higher but…
Urban areas saw high poverty rates
Many were immigrants and often homeless
Economic growth not shared equally:
Slaves, Native Americans, unskilled workers were left out

40. Patterns of Industrial Society
Free blacks in the North faced severe difficulties:
Could not:
Vote
Attend public schools
Use public services

41. Patterns of Industrial Society
Geographic Mobility:
“Safety-valve” theory – Frederick Jackson Turner:
In times of economic crisis, Americans could always move west to the frontier

42. Patterns of Industrial Society
Middle-Class Life
fastest growing class
land no longer necessarily equated to wealth
cultural movement
cast-iron stoves, women stayed home, better diets (iceboxes)

43. Patterns of Industrial Society Cont.
Families
farms to cities
jobs, not land, important
uh, about that inheritance
family size impacted (by circumstance and design)
Men and women had increasingly different social roles
men-wage earners
women-”guardians of domestic virtues”

44. Patterns of Industrial Society Cont.
Women could almost never obtain a divorce
“Cult of Domesticity”:
Women and men had “separate spheres”
Women were encouraged to stay home and raise children and instill moral values, religious instruction
custodians of morality

45. Patterns of Industrial Society Cont.
Single women did not have many occupational choices:
Teachers, nurses, and domestic servants
Except for teaching and nursing, work by women outside the household gradually came to be seen as a lower-class preserve.
Middle class/affluent women did not have to work

46. Patterns of Industrial Society Cont.
Leisure:
Scarce except for wealthy
Sundays only days off...reserved for church
Sporting events increased
“there’s a sucker born every minute”

47. The Agricultural North
Old Northwest (OH, IL) specialized in meatpacking
Cincinnati! (Porkopolis)
Chicago
Specialization in Agriculture:
The typical white citizen of the Northwest was the owner of a reasonably prosperous family farm
West: Livestock and dairy
South: Cashcrops
North and Mid-Atlantic – wheat, fruits, and vegetables

48. The Agricultural North
Population grew in the "Old Northwest"
sought fertile land for farming
Ohio:  
1800=45,000
 1820=581,000
1840=1.5 million
Michigan: 
1810=5,000
1840=212,000  

49. The Agricultural North
Agricultural inventions:
John Deere: steel plow
Cyrus McCormick – mechanical reaper
Helped with harvesting wheat
Rural Life:
Church played a large role – brought the community together