1. CHAPTER 9 Transforming the Economy 1800–1860
Copyright © 2014 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

2. 1. Who are the people pictured in this early photograph
1. Who are the people pictured in this early photograph? (Answer: These are four young women who worked as weavers in a textile mill in Maine. They are depicted wearing their work clothes and displaying the tools they used on the job.)
2. What does the image reveal about the composition of the textile industry’s workforce in the mid-nineteenth century? (Answer: Image shows that many of the laborers in the textile industry were women, even by the 1860s. As in the Lowell mills of the 1830s and 1840s, these were young farm daughters looking for a way to earn money before they married. Their similar hairstyles and clothing suggests that they were not viewed as individually important and skilled workers, but interchangeable cogs in the larger process of industrial production.)

3. I. The American Industrial Revolution
A. The Division of Labor and the Factory 1. Labor - Mass production enabled products that had been luxury items to be consumed by all. workers’ wages declined as more jobs were now available; increased production and lowered costs to consumers. 2. The factory - Was built for production that was not suitable for the outwork system; concentrated production in one location/building; divided labor among workers efficiently and increased output. Use of water power started in the 1780s; by the 1830s, factories used minerals such as coal instead of water.
I. The American Industrial Revolution
A. The Division of Labor and the Factory
1. Labor – Mass production enabled products that had been luxury items to be consumed by all. During the 1820s and 1830s, merchants in the Lynn, Massachusetts shoe industry introduced an outwork system with a division of labor; some work was performed by semiskilled laborers, and the rest by women working in their homes; workers’ wages declined as more jobs were now available; increased production and lowered costs to consumers.
2. The factory – Was built for production that was not suitable for the outwork system; concentrated production in one location/building; division of labor was utilized; Cincinnati merchants built slaughterhouses that divided labor among workers efficiently and increased output; use of water power started in the 1780s; by the 1830s, factories used minerals such as coal instead of water.

5. I. The American Industrial Revolution
B. The Textile Industry and British Competition 1. American and British Advantages -in 1789, émigré mechanic Samuel Slater built a mill in Rhode Island credited with starting the Industrial Revolution; British had the advantage of inexpensive shipping, low interest rates, and cheap labor from a large population; Americans got help from tariff bills aimed at driving up the costs of imports. 2. Better Machines, Cheaper Workers - Americans improved upon British technology and recruited young women from farm families as laborers; cities like Lowell, MA, had boardinghouses for the girls with cultural events, moral instruction, and strict rules—known as the Waltham-Lowell System.
I. The American Industrial Revolution
B. The Textile Industry and British Competition
1. American and British Advantages – British feared competition from U.S. manufacturers; prohibited mechanics from emigrating for fear they would give away secrets of British industry; in 1789, émigré mechanic Samuel Slater built a mill in Rhode Island credited with starting the Industrial Revolution; British had the advantage of inexpensive shipping, low interest rates, and cheap labor from a large population; Americans got help from tariff bills aimed at driving up the costs of imports.
2. Better Machines, Cheaper Workers – Americans improved upon British technology and recruited young women from farm families as laborers; cities like Lowell, MA, had boardinghouses for the girls with cultural events, moral instruction, and strict rules—known as the Waltham-Lowell System; women had decent living conditions and independence compared to farm life; factories could undersell British competitors with these lower wages. 5

7. I. The American Industrial Revolution
C. American Mechanics and Technological Innovation 1. Mechanics - By the 1820s, American mechanics were developing innovative factory technology; were not formally educated but skillful. The Sellars family in Pennsylvania developed a machine to twist woolen yarn and then later built a machines to weave wire sieves; also ran machine shops that built fire hoses, papermaking equipment, and eventually locomotives. 2. Tools - American craftsmen pioneered the development of machine tools—machines that made parts for other machines; Eli Whitney studied at Yale and developed the cotton gin from technology he devised from women’s hair pins; later Whitney built machine tools to produce interchangeable parts.
I. The American Industrial Revolution
C. American Mechanics and Technological Innovation
1. Mechanics – By the 1820s, American mechanics were developing innovative factory technology; were not formally educated but skillful. The Sellars family in Pennsylvania developed a machine to twist woolen yarn and then later built a machines to weave wire sieves; also ran machine shops that built fire hoses, papermaking equipment, and eventually locomotives; the Sellars family and other mechanics founded the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia for instruction in chemistry, math, and mechanical design.
2. Tools – American craftsmen pioneered the development of machine tools—machines that made parts for other machines; Eli Whitney studied at Yale and developed the cotton gin from technology he devised from women’s hair pins; later Whitney built machine tools to produce interchangeable musket parts; early 19th century saw inventions such as lathes, planers, and boring machines; these inventions helped to increase output beyond the British system.

9. I. The American Industrial Revolution
D. Wageworkers and the Labor Movement 1. Free Workers Form Unions - traditional crafts that required specialized skills (carpenters, stonecutters, masons, cabinetmakers) provided a sense of identity that helped men to organize in unions that could then bargain with employers; both Britain and the U.S. viewed unionization as illegal. 2. Labor Ideology - In 1834, National Trade Union formed as first regional union of different trades; in Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842), Supreme Court ruled that unions were not illegal and workers could unionize and strike to enforce a closed-shop agreement; union leaders condemned employers and advocated a labor theory of value. Under this theory, the price of goods should reflect the cost of the labor required to make them, and the income from their sale should go primarily to the producers.
I. The American Industrial Revolution
D. Wageworkers and the Labor Movement
1. Free Workers Form Unions – Outwork and factory system began to replace craft workers; workers received a wage and direction from an employer; working-class men disliked referring to employers as master and instead used the Dutch word boss; traditional crafts that required specialized skills (carpenters, stonecutters, masons, cabinetmakers) provided a sense of identity that helped men to organize in unions that could then bargain with employers; some artisans left urban areas to set up shops in the country and avoid factory work; both Britain and the U.S. viewed unionization as illegal.
2. Labor Ideology – During the 1830s, shoemakers in Lynn, MA, who were not allowed to organize formed a mutual benefit society; others followed, bringing workers together on common ground; in 1834, National Trade Union formed as first regional union of different trades; in Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842), Supreme Court ruled that unions were not illegal and workers could unionize and strike to enforce a closed-shop agreement; union leaders condemned employers and advocated a labor theory of value. Under this theory, the price of goods should reflect the cost of the labor required to make them, and the income from their sale should go primarily to the producers; in 1836, union activists organized nearly 50 strikes for higher wages in the U.S.; striking women workers in New Hampshire won some relief. Increasingly, young New England women refused to enter the mills and were replaced by poor immigrants.

10. 1. Describe the subject of this photograph. Who was he
1. Describe the subject of this photograph. Who was he? What is he holding? (Answer: Photograph depicts a young skilled woodworker in about He is holding some of the tools of his trade—a hammer and a chisel or file.)
2. Why is this manual laborer depicted in a vest, suit jacket, bow tie, and top hat? (Answer: Skilled manual laborers did not wear clothes like these while they worked. This worker donned these clothes specifically for his portrait in order to illustrate his skilled status and the dignity of his occupation. In the rapidly industrializing United States of the mid-nineteenth century, skilled workers emphasized their differences from the growing numbers of unskilled industrial workers.)
3. Compare this photograph to the one earlier in the chapter that depicts the four women weavers from Maine. What are the major similarities and differences? Why are they significant? (Answer: This photograph depicts a single, well-dressed laborer holding the tools of his trade. The previous photograph depicts four similarly dressed female mill operatives holding the tools of their trade. The photo of the woodworker emphasizes his importance as an individual, and the high status and value of his work. The photo of the mill workers emphasizes their lack of individuality, and the drudgery and repetitive nature of mechanical textile operations.)

11. II. The Market Revolution
A. The Transportation Revolution Forges Regional Ties
1. Canals and Steamboats Shrink Distance - Land travel was slow so states turned to increasing water travel; Erie Canal connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie; was an enormous project for engineers and mostly Irish workers; changed the ecology of the region, as farming communities were built along the waterway and exploited natural resources. The Erie Canal was a huge economic success that encouraged further building of canals in the nation.
2. Railroads Link the North and Midwest - New York, Boston, and London capitalists invested in the railroad industry; a boom in the 1850s expanded commerce; Chicago grew as a result of ability to transport goods produced in the Midwest via railroad; midwestern farmers could export their crops to the East and to Europe; factories such as John Deere’s manufacturing of farming equipment grew in the region. Northeast and Midwest had diverse economies, while the South remained tied to agriculture.
II. The Market Revolution
A. The Transportation Revolution Forges Regional Ties
1. Canals and Steamboats Shrink Distance – State governments paid private companies to build toll roads (“turnpikes”); in 1806, Congress appropriated money for a National Road built of compacted gravel; the project began in Maryland in 1811 and reached modern-day West Virginia in 1818, ending in Illinois by Land travel was slow so states turned to increasing water travel; Erie Canal connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie; was an enormous project for engineers and mostly Irish workers; changed the ecology of the region, as farming communities were built along the waterway and exploited natural resources. The Erie Canal was a huge economic success that encouraged further building of canals in the nation; by 1848, it was possible to travel an all-water route from NYC to New Orleans; steamboats were utilized for travel and transport.
2. Railroads Link the North and Midwest – New York, Boston, and London capitalists invested in the railroad industry; a boom in the 1850s expanded commerce; Chicago grew as a result of ability to transport goods produced in the Midwest via railroad; midwestern farmers could export their crops to the East and to Europe; factories such as John Deere’s manufacturing of farming equipment grew in the region; Northeast and Midwest had diverse economies, while the South remained tied to agriculture.

16. II. The Market Revolution
B. The Growth of Cities and Towns 1. West and Midwest - Urban population in U.S. grew substantially; towns grew around factories; those cities that started as locations of commerce eventually grew to be manufacturing centers (Chicago and St. Louis) and transit centers (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, New Orleans). 2. Atlantic coastal cities - Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore remained important for import/export but also became financial centers; populations grew as a result of immigration to port cities; New York became the hub for exporting cargo, mail, and people to Liverpool and London, England.
II. The Market Revolution
B. The Growth of Cities and Towns
1. West and Midwest – Urban population in U.S. grew substantially; towns grew around factories; those cities that started as locations of commerce eventually grew to be manufacturing centers (Chicago and St. Louis) and transit centers (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, New Orleans).
2. Atlantic coastal cities – Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore remained important for import/export but also became financial centers; populations grew as a result of immigration to port cities; New York became the hub for exporting cargo, mail, and people to Liverpool and London, England. 16

19. III. New Social Classes and Cultures
A. The Business Elite
1. Before industrialization- Americans considered themselves by rank (“notable families” had a higher status than those of “lower orders”); rural people shared common culture in spite of economic differences.
2. The urban wealthy- Industrialization changed order dramatically; created distinct classes and cultures; differences between rural and urban were increasingly pronounced; small percentage of urban population were becoming extremely wealth.
By 1860, top 10% of wealthy in U.S. owned 70% of the wealth; taxes were mostly paid by consumers as tariffs on products; there were no federal taxes on individual and corporate income; the affluent tried to distinguish themselves from the middle and poor classes through dress and personal property; cities became divided by class, race, and ethnicity. “New rich.”
III. New Social Classes and Cultures
A. The Business Elite
1. Before industrialization – Americans considered themselves by rank (“notable families” had a higher status than those of “lower orders”); rural people shared common culture in spite of economic differences, including church affiliation.
2. The urban wealthy – Industrialization changed order dramatically; created distinct classes and cultures; differences between rural and urban were increasingly pronounced; small percentage of urban population were becoming extremely wealthy: by 1860, top 10% of wealthy in U.S. owned 70% of the wealth; taxes were mostly paid by consumers as tariffs on products; there were no federal taxes on individual and corporate income; the affluent tried to distinguish themselves from the middle and poor classes through dress and personal property; cities became divided by class, race, and ethnicity.

20. 1. Describe the scene depicted in this mid-nineteenth century portrait of a family in Hartford, Connecticut. (Answer: This family portrait includes a husband and father seated at the right, wearing an elegant silk robe. His eldest son leans on his chair while his daughter plays the piano. The youngest child holds the family dog. The wife and mother sits behind the daughter, perhaps supervising her piano practice. A very young black servant girl serves fruit to the mother. The elaborately decorated room is part of a larger house, part of which is visible through the doorway.)
2. What does this portrait reveal about the lives of wealthy families in the industrializing northeast in the mid-nineteenth century? (Answer: Elite families had fewer children than in the early nineteenth century; they had leisure time; they had enough wealth to afford large houses with fancy finishings such as wallpaper, paintings, and pianos; they doted on their children and provided them with luxuries like musical training and purebred dogs; they employed servants, some of whom might have been slaves.)

21. III. New Social Classes and Cultures
B. The Middle Class 1. Who they were - The middle class included farmers, mechanics, manufacturers, traders, contractors, lawyers, surveyors, business owners, and clerks; lived mostly in the Northeast, with some in the South; per capita income was increasing as the cost of consumer products was declining with industrialization; men worked to supply the family with a comfortable home, transportation, and clothing; women had help in the household and time to read books, play piano, decorate their homes; focused on moral and mental discipline; stressed schooling and hard work. By 1860, 20% of M.C. in U.S. owned 20% of the wealth. 2. The self-made man - Notion that one’s work ethic could lead to success/wealth. This became a central theme of popular culture: the man who works hard rises from laborer to owner/manager, from poor to middle class or wealthy.
III. New Social Classes and Cultures
B. The Middle Class
1. Who they were – The middle class included farmers, mechanics, manufacturers, traders, contractors, lawyers, surveyors, business owners, and clerks; lived mostly in the Northeast, with some in the South; per capita income was increasing as the cost of consumer products was declining with industrialization; men worked to supply the family with a comfortable home, transportation, and clothing; women had help in the household and time to read books, play piano, decorate their homes; focused on moral and mental discipline (against carnivals, festivals); stressed schooling and hard work.
2. The self-made man – Notion that one’s work ethic could lead to success/wealth. The posthumous publication of Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography (1818) emphasized the importance of being industrious, which became a central theme of popular culture: the man who works hard rises from laborer to owner/manager, from poor to middle class or wealthy.

24. III. New Social Classes and Cultures
C. Urban Workers and the Poor 1. Laborers - In 1840, about half of the nation’s white population worked for someone else; men and women of the lower class worked in dangerous and often temporary jobs; wages often did not cover the cost of food/rent; could not afford consumer items that they produced in the factories; children often worked instead of attending school; housing conditions were unsanitary and overcrowded. Sadly, by 1860, 70% of W.C. in U.S. owned only 10% of the wealth. 2. Alcohol - Many wage earners sought solace in alcohol; during the 1820s and 1830s, consumption of beer and rum by wage earners increased; men drank during the workday, resulted in fights, robberies, and brawls; urban police were unable to control resulting problems.
III. New Social Classes and Cultures
C. Urban Workers and the Poor
1. Laborers – In 1840, about half of the nation’s white population worked for someone else; men and women of the lower class worked in dangerous and often temporary jobs; wages often did not cover the cost of food/rent; could not afford consumer items that they produced in the factories; children often worked instead of attending school; housing conditions were unsanitary and overcrowded.
2. Alcohol – Many wage earners sought solace in alcohol; during the 1820s and 1830s, consumption of beer and rum by wage earners increased; men drank during the workday, resulted in fights, robberies, and brawls; urban police were unable to control resulting problems.

25. III. New Social Classes and Cultures
D. The Benevolent Empire 1. Conservative social reform - Congregational and Presbyterian ministers led benevolence organizations; were concerned with alcohol, adultery, prostitution, crime; instead of relying simply on sermons, went into the community and created organized groups (e.g., Prison Discipline Society, American Society for the Promotion of Temperance). 2. Discipline - Benevolent societies encouraged discipline and “regular habits”; wanted to ban drinking alcohol at public events (carnivals); devised institutions to help the needy and control the unruly (provided homes of refuge and asylums for insane.
III. New Social Classes and Cultures
D. The Benevolent Empire
1. Conservative social reform – Congregational and Presbyterian ministers led benevolence organizations; were concerned with alcohol, adultery, prostitution, crime; instead of relying simply on sermons, went into the community and created organized groups (e.g., Prison Discipline Society, American Society for the Promotion of Temperance).
2. Discipline – Benevolent societies encouraged discipline and “regular habits”; wanted to ban drinking alcohol at public events (carnivals); devised institutions to help the needy and control the unruly (provided homes of refuge and asylums for insane); argued that working on Sundays was part of society’s decline; boycotted companies that did business on Sundays. The Benevolent Empire’s efforts to impose its Sabbatarian values was opposed by workers and freethinkers; southerners opposed suggestions that slaves be taught Christian religion.

26. III. New Social Classes and Cultures
E. Charles Grandison Finney: Revivalism & Reform 1. Evangelical Beliefs – “Father” of modern revivalism. Intense conversion experience led to his career as a minister; part of the Second Great Awakening; “God has made man a moral free agent” with the ability to choose salvation; “free will”; middle class liked his message; converted people of all classes. 2. Temperance - Was the most successful evangelical social reform effort; in the 1830s, the American Temperance Society had more than 200,000 members nationwide; used revivals and group prayer to get their message out; annual consumption of spirits was in decline by In 1820, 7 gallons of whisky or rum per year per capita (person). By 1830, it had risen to 10 gallons. The present rate, barring Nevada, is at 4 gallons.
III. New Social Classes and Cultures
E. Charles Grandison Finney: Revivalism and Reform
1. Evangelical Beliefs – Intense conversion experience led to his career as a minister; part of the Second Great Awakening; “God has made man a moral free agent” with the ability to choose salvation; “free will”; middle class liked his message; converted people of all classes, especially the wealthy; in 1830, moved to Rochester, NY, to preach daily; middle class vowed to change and encourage their workers to change their social habits (drinking, etc.); the Rochester poor and the city’s craft organizations disliked the message because it impeded their freedom outside of the workplace.
2. Temperance – Was the most successful evangelical social reform effort; in the 1830s, the American Temperance Society had more than 200,000 members nationwide; used revivals and group prayer to get their message out; annual consumption of spirits was in decline by 1845.

28. III. New Social Classes and Cultures
F. Immigration and Cultural Conflict 1. Irish Poverty - Most immigrants between 1840 and 1860 avoided the South because of slavery; poorest migrants were fleeing a famine in Ireland; most settled in New England and New York; most lived in squalor in urban areas; Catholics built charitable societies, orphanages, militia companies, parochial schools, and political organizations. 2. Nativism - Anti-Catholic sentiment rose as the number of Catholics increased in the Protestant nation; Samuel F. B. Morse’s Foreign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the United States argued that Catholics would obey the pope and not the republican government; economic problems worsened anti-Catholic sentiment and increased arguments in favor of immigration restrictions. In addition, both Irish & German immigrants (mostly Catholic) were also drinkers culturally, at a time when the temperance was strong.
III. New Social Classes and Cultures
F. Immigration and Cultural Conflict
1. Irish Poverty – Most immigrants between 1840 and 1860 avoided the South because of slavery; poorest migrants were fleeing a famine in Ireland; most settled in New England and New York; most lived in squalor in urban areas; Catholics built charitable societies, orphanages, militia companies, parochial schools, and political organizations.
2. Nativism – Anti-Catholic sentiment rose as the number of Catholics increased in the Protestant nation; Samuel F. B. Morse’s Foreign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the United States argued that Catholics would obey the pope and not the republican government; economic problems worsened anti-Catholic sentiment and increased arguments in favor of immigration restrictions.