A Nation Grows Day 1

The South and the West

American History I SRMHS

Mr. Hensley

After the War of 1812

•  WarbringsAmericanstogether–asenseofasharediden*ty

•  WesternandSouthernstatesnolongerneedtoworryabouttheNa*vethreat(why?)

•  Interna;onaltradeissafeagaina<erNapoleon

TheWestExpands

•  Na;vesareforcedout,Americansmovein

•  Economyandpopula*ongrowatratesof3to5%peryear

•  Ruleof72•  IndianaandIllinoisbecomestatesa<ertheWarof1812

Technology:PlowsandReapers

•  JohnDeereperfectsthesteelplowbythe1830’s

•  CyrusMcCormickperfectsthemechanicalreaperinthe1830’s

•  Farmerscangrowmorewithlesseffort

Transporta;onRevolu;on•  Steamboatsmovegoods

alongmajorriversquicklyandcheaply(Mississippi,MissouriandOhio)

•  1811:steamboatserviceconnectsPiCsburghtoNewOrleans

•  Daysoftravel;meinsteadofweeks(ormonths)

•  Nowfarmfoodsfromthewestcanquicklyreachnewmarkets

ErieCanalLinksWesttoEast•  Completedin1825,theErie

CanalconnectsLakeErietotheHudsonRiverinNewYorkstate

•  ConnectstheGreatLakesregiontoNewYorkCity

•  BeforetheCanal,overlandtravelfromNYCtoOhioverydifficult(mountains)

•  NowWesternfarmscanselltheirproduceinNYC

TheWestWants…RoadsandCanals

•  Westernpoli;cianswillsupportastrongna;onalgovernmentthatcanbuildinterstateroadsorcanals

•  Theywillwantalargena;onalarmytoprotectthefron*er

•  SomeintheWestwantana*onalbanktomakepapermoneymorerelaible

TheWestWants…FreeBanking

•  Newtownsneedloanstogetstarted

•  Newfarmersneedloanstobuyequipment

•  TheWestwillwantbanksthatcanissuenotes(papermoney)withouthavingtobackitupwithgold(redemp;on)

Technology:Co^onGin

•  Co^onseedshadtobeseparatedbyhand

•  EliWhitneyinventsthecoCon(en)gin(e),whichseparatestheseedsmechanically

•  Co^onisnowcheaperandbecomesthepreferredsourceforclothandfabric

Cotton is King

•  Mississippi(1817)andAlabama(1819)becomestates-climateidealforcoCon

•  Co^onprimarilysoldtoEngland(cashcrop)

•  Co^onproduc;onin1790:3,000balesperyear

•  Co^onproduc;onin1820:almost200,000bales

•  CheaplandpluscheapslavelaborequalscheapcoCon

Co^onandSlavery

Who Buys the Cotton?

�  Co^onisgrownonlargeplanta*onsandsoldprimarilytoEngland

� Over50%ofallAmericanexportsareco^on

� Northerntex;lefactoriesalsodemandco^on

�  Clothingrevolu;on–cheapclothesmeanspeoplecanaffordmul*plesets

ProsandConsofSpecializa;on

•  Planta;onsystemcanbeeasilytransplantedtonewstates

•  Aslongasdemandexceedssupply,pricesstaystable

•  Samecropover;medepletesthesoil–alwaysneedmoreland

•  Incomeinequality

SouthWants…Slavery

•  Southrefusestonego*ateonslavery

•  Alltheirmoneyis*edupintheplanta;onsystem

•  SouthwantsrunawayslavesreturnedfromNorthernstates

•  Southernwayoflifeonlypossiblewithslavery

SouthWants…FreeTrade

•  Planta;onownersbuyluxurygoodsfromEurope(especiallyEngland)

•  Tariffsmakethosegoodsmoreexpensive

•  Tariffsalsoledtoretalia*on–fearfulofanEnglishtariffonAmericanco^on

Review:TheWestandSouth

BIG QUESTION: What changed in the South and the West after the War of 1812?

First, the West was transformed by the end of the

Native threat, by advances in river travel and by better roads/canals that linked the farms of the West to hungry markets in the East. The South embraced

cotton, after the invention of the cotton gin made the crop profitable. “King Cotton” locked in slavery as a way of life and concentrated wealth in the hands of a

few plantation owners and their families.