CHAPTER 10: AMERICA’S ECONOMIC

REVOLUTION

Presented by: Cheyenne Lawrence, Gabe Foster, Zach Barkley, Adam Hughes, Gibson Bosworth, Shiv Desai,

Sam King, and Fred Safyanov

America’s Economic Revolution

The US after the War of 1812 was mainly a small society, local farmers and tradesmen.

The Northeast had developed the most from this with some manufacturing and over seas trade.

Some large cities

America’s Economic Revolution

By the start of the Civil War in 1861 the US had made big developments both economically

Still had small farms but they were now part of an integrated national and international trade system

Industrial Revolution beginsNorth and Northwest get more large cities and

manufacturing with a fluid free-labor systemSouth and Southwest have a large cotton farming

boom still with a rigid and immobile slavery system Integrates the nation but also puts stress on the

differences between regions

The Changing American Population

Three trends characterized the American population at this time:

The population was increasing rapidly Immigration to towns and west increased The population rose because an improvement

in public health causing the mortality rate to decline, and because their was a high birthrate. Approximately 6.14 children to each mother.

Immigration contributed little to the overall pop. Growth from 1800-1830.

The Changing American Population

After 1830 immigration revamped a grew to about 80,000 in 1837 with most of them being Irish catholic immigrants.

1 out of 30 people had lived in a town with a population over 8,000 by 1790.

New York was America’s largest city by 1810 because of a large harbor and substantial access to the interior of the US.

The Changing American Population

Immigration and Urban Growth, 1840-1860 City growth accelerated dramatically By 1860 26% of the population was located

in cities of over 2,500 people. Major trading posts ports along the

Mississippi turned into major cities Cities also rose up because of trade

between to Great Lakes and connecting waterways, such as Detroit, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Chicago.

The Changing American Population

By 1860 the American population passed Britain’s and was comparable to Germany’s and France’s.

1.5 million immigrants came to America between 1840 and 1850.

Almost 10% of the population was foreign born in 1850.

Most of these immigrants came from Ireland and Germany.

The cause of this was the potato famine in Ireland and the downfall of the empire in Germany in 1848. Most of the Irish immigrants stayed in the cities of the East, and many of the Germans moved West.

The Changing American Population

The Rise of Nativism Industrialists liked the rise in cheap labor gained

from the mass immigration because it kept wages low.

Speculators in the West wanted immigrants to move to their regions so they would have more people to sell to.

Political leaders in the West wanted immigrants in order to grow the population for more political influence.

Nativism-is a defense of native-born people against and a hostility towards immigration.

The Changing American Population

Nativism was born from many reasons- a. racism b. The immigrants filled occupations that native-born Americans

could have filled. c. The protestants disliked the Catholic immigrants because they

believed that the Catholics were gaining too much power in politics. d. Whigs disliked the influx of immigrants because the immigrants

commonly voted democrat. From these prejudices cam many secret societies opposing

immigration. They referred to the immigrants as the “alien menace.” Nativists who formed the Native American Party in Philadelphia. This group became known as the “Know Nothing” party because

their secret password at lodges and such was “I know nothing.” The Know Nothings won major control in Massachusetts.

TRANSPORTATION,COMMUNICATIONS,

&TECHNOLOGY

Transportation, Communications, & TechnologyMain Points

The industrial revolution required an expanding population, and an efficient transportation system.

Without such a system the industrial force would not be able to work as effectively, and goods could not be shipped as quickly.

The first half of the 19th century saw such advances, in both technology, and technological knowledge.

Transportation, Communications, & Technology The Canal Age

1790 – 1820s : The ‘Turnpike Era’ was ending, new more efficient ways of transport were needed to cover the vast distances of the United States.

Rivers had functioned as important transport routes, but were mainly filled with disposable cargo barges rather than effective vessels. The journeys south were generally quick while moving north on the river was very slow.

In the 1820s, steamboats began to revolutionize water travel, they carried along with people, supplies of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco from the various growing areas. Canals began to prove their economic worth in trading.

One drawback to the canals were the costs of digging them, canals were much too expensive for private enterprise to dig and therefore generally fell to being constructed by state government efforts.

Transportation, Communications, & Technology The Canal Age (continued)

Northeast state governments were the first to initiate the construction of advanced canals, and of those New York was the leading state by natural advantage of good land, and access to both the Hudson River and Lake Erie.

The Erie Canal began construction on July 4, 1817, and was the greatest project undertaken by Americans at that time, basically a forty foot wide and four foot deep ditch, lined on the shore by towpaths for horses to tow ships.

Many structures were needed to allow the canal to overpass the terrain: eighty-eight locks to allow the water to rise and lower, as well as aqueducts to allow the water to be a balanced depth throughout, and the canal opened on October 1825.

Many states followed suit, some benefited greatly, others not. However generally, canals were not the best pathway westwards.

Transportation, Communications, & Technology

The Early Railroads

During the 1820s and 30s, the railroad were merely secondary transport routes, but those set the ground work for rail travel prevailing as the best way to bridge the gap between the east and west coast.

Technology Timeline : 1804 – Steam engines experimented on 1820 – John

Stevens tests a steam locomotive in NJ.

1831 – New York begins running its train line. 1836 – Over one thousand miles of track had been laid in eleven states.

Critical Innovations : The invention of railroad tracks, improved efficiency steam engines and the creation of the steam locomotive, and the development of rail cars to function for both passengers and freight.

Transportation, Communications, & Technology The Early Railroads(continued)

Complications : -Generally short lines

-Varied track widths from line to line

-Erratic schedules

-Frequent wrecks Solutions : -Longer lines laid to make larger connections

-Heavy iron rails make roadbeds more stable

-More powerful and advanced engines were less prone to failure

-Redesigned passenger cars were more stable, and better Very quickly, the railroads and the canal systems were in bitter

competition with one another. Railroads had a critical advantage, more freedom of travel, which would result in railroads surpassing canals. As other methods of travel were proposed, the many advantages of the rail dominated the transport needs of both people and cargo, leaving the rail to almost always prevail as the primary source of transportation.

Transportation, Communications, & Technology

The Triumph of the Rails

By 1840, there were roughly 2,818 miles of track, by 1850, 9,021 miles of track were in place and were being used. Bursts of rail construction continued throughout the 1850s, with so much expansion no region of the country was left untouched by rail influence as the lines pushed into the South and West of the Mississippi River.

Long lines called ‘trunk lines’ were the forefront to connecting the nation, by 1853, four major trunk lines had crossed the Appalachian Mountains and connected the Northeast to the Northwest. Chicago became a hub for rails that branched into the interior of the country.

Resources for the lines came from many sources of investors and donors in the form of land, loans, stock subscriptions and subsidies. As well by 1860, Congress had allotted over 30 million acres to eleven states to assist in railroad construction efforts.

Transportation, Communications, & Technology

Innovations in Communications & Journalism

Alongside the railroad expansion, a second revolutionary device grew with it, the magnetic telegraph. (Invented in 1844 by Samuel Morse.) Telegraph lines extended along the tracks connected from one station to the next, from there then branching to cities allowing for near instant communication between distant places.

Telegraph lines were low cost, and durable, serving as the ideal communication connection for long-distances.

By 1860, more than 50,000 miles of wire connected most of the country, and a 3,595 mile set of wire connected New York and San Francisco.

All lines eventually joined to form one single organization, the Western Union Telegraph Company.

Transportation, Communications, & Technology Innovations in Communications & Journalism(continued)

In 1846, Richard Hoe invented his steam cylinder rotary press, which allowed for extremely fast production of newspapers at a low cost. In the same year, newspaper publishers formed the Associated Press to promote news cooperation. Major metropolitan newspapers began to appear almost instantly.

New York’s Newspapers : Horace Greeley’s Tribune, James Gordon Bennett’s Herald, and Henry J. Raymond’s Times.

Journalism became a both unifying and sectional dividing agent in the country, which would eventually feed to spurn on the Civil War. Newspaper companies in the North produced a more national product, while in the South, the low budget focus was on local issues. Both contributed to a growing awareness of the country, and indeed the deep differences between the North and South.

By: Gibson Bosworth

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Big changes Economic Growth caused by

population growth and The Transportation Revolution.

Retail distribution of goods became more efficient and systematic.

Many specialized shops appeared in larger cities.

Small town still depended on a General Store to supply their needs.

Commerce and Industry Expansion of Business, 1820-1840

Commerce and Industry Expansion of business continued…

Had an advantage over merchants because they had combining resources of shareholders.

Developed rapidly in the 1830s Many states passed legislation the changed the

requirement of a legislative charter to a charter that you pay a fee to obtain.

Individual investment was not protected. If the company failed, you lost your money. Many banks failed because corporations would use credit

and banks gave to many notes than their actual gold and silver resources. As a result, many banks failed.

Corporations

Manufacturing Improving technology and

business prompted faster and efficient.

The first factories were textile mills in New England.

From there many entrepreneurs built more factories.

Technology allowed factories to make goods cheaper and faster.

Shoes that were traditionally hand made began to be produced in factories.

Technology in the US advanced the fastest in the world.

Commerce and Industry The Emergence of the Factory

Commerce and Industry The Expansion of Industry, 1840-1860

In 1840, the gross production of manufactured goods was $483 million in the US.

In 1860, it reached $1 Billion. By 1860, it passed $2 Billion. It was the first time it equaled agricultural products. There were approx. 140,000 factories in the US in 1860 The northeast had most of them. 1,311,000 factory workers, 938,000 in the Northeast

alone.

Climb in Numbers

Specialized manufacturing is developed.

The patent number grows

Many cities like Pittsburg and Chicago thrive.

Many inventors emerged, like Charles Goodyear (Vulcanized Rubber)and Elias Howe (sewing Machine).

Merchant Capitalism declines.

Industrial Capitalism takes command as the leading class in the Northeast.

Commerce and IndustryThe Expansion of Industry Continued…

MEN AND WOMEN AT WORK

By Shivkumar Desai

Men and Women at WorkRecruiting a Native Work Force

90% of the American people in the 1820s still lived and worked on farms.

New, vast, fertile farmlands in the Midwest, the improvement of transportation systems and the development of new farm machinery helped increase food production dramatically.

Systems of recruitment to bring new labor supply: Bringing whole families to mills Enlisting young women, usually farmers daughters (Lowell/ Waltham

System) European and American labor systems differed greatly

English treatment of women workers was considered both inhumane and unimaginably wretched.

The Lowell System of America was considered a paradise because they lived in clean boardinghouses and dorms as well as being well fed.

Men and Women at WorkRecruiting a Native Work Force

(Cont’d)

This transition from farm life to factory was often difficult and traumatic in some cases.

Women were often not given a choice on their work place, as the farm life became minimal and they were barred from manual labor, such as construction or from sailors on the dock, and traveling alone.

The Lowell system declined as the great standards could not upheld and wages declined and the work hours lengthened.

A union- the Factory Girls Association- staged two strikes by 1836, but they failed.

Sarah Bagley, a militant woman, got these Lowell women and created the Female Labor Reform Association who worked for better working conditions.

But by this time, women jobs were leading into teaching, domestic service or marriage, while the labor supply came from immigrants.

Men and Women at WorkImmigrant Work Force

Immigrants from different places came to America and has access to a cheap and plentiful source of labor.

They were exposed to much worse working conditions because of their large, growing number as well as their unfamiliarity with the nation.

Irish performed heavy, unskilled labor on turnpikes, canals, and railroads.Low wages; hard to support familyFlimsy shanties that endangered health (Irish shanty)

Men and Women at WorkImmigrant Work Force (Cont’d)

# of Irish workers increase leads to less care of working conditions for them, in comparison to women.

As time went on, things changed:The average workday was extended t0 12-

14 hoursWages declinedChildren and women weren't given pay as

much as men

Men and Women at WorkThe Factory System and the Artisan Tradition

Independent craftsmen believed they were the American ideal because they thought that the economy was different than the life that the capitalist class promoted.

Independent craftsmen began workingmen’s political parties and the first labor unions to protect their endangered position.Factory-made goods cost less than the artisan’s

goods. Some one these craftsmen included carpenters,

masons, joiners, plasterers, hatters and shipbuilders.

Men and Women at WorkThe Factory System and the Artisan Tradition (Cont’d)

Trade unions formed to join forces against skilled workers of each craft (working together).

In 1834, the National Trades’ Union was set up Did poorlyThey were considered an illegal conspiracy

by the common law.Weakened further by the Panic of 1837They kept trying.

Men and Women at WorkFighting for Control

Workers worked on setting a maximum workday so they wouldn't’t be overworked.

Commonwealth v. HuntDeclared that unions were lawful organizations

and that the strike was a lawful weapon.Occurred in Massachusetts, but others states

accepted this. Often unions that contained significant

numbers of people couldn't’t muster enough strength for a strike.

Men and Women at WorkFighting for Control (Cont’d)

Artisans and skilled workers were part of unions that were common with preindustrial guilds rather than modern labor groups.

New groups were created by these workers (ex. National Typographical Union and the Machinists).

Women were excluded in these, but they started their own protective tariffs.

English workers became powerful and united to shape the political structure, unlike America.

Natives and immigrants argued on internal working and jobs rather than worrying about their unfair employers.

PATTERNS OF SOCIETY

Patterns of SocietyThe Rich and the Poor

The Industrial Revolution lead to an increase in the average income of Americans; however, this increase in wealth was distributed unevenly amongst the American people with less than ten percent of the population holding well over half of the wealth. Those of the wealthy upper class congregated in cities in order to isolate themselves from the lower classes and to display their opulence. On the other hand the majority of Americans were struggling to sustain themselves with many having to rely on crime or charity for survival.

Patterns of SocietySocial Mobility

In antebellum America, there was surprisingly little disdain between social castes. One of the key reasons for this lack of disdain was the fact that material life for all social classes was improving dramatically, as even the lower classes had access to more commercial goods. On top of this, there was more mobility than ever before, both socially and geographically. A very limited number of workers were able to climb the social ladder which gave hope to thousands of others, and at the same time there was the brimming possibility of moving and settling west. Finally, workers were more active in politics, with many taking great pride in the ability to vote.

Patterns of SocietyMiddle-Class Life

Economic and Industrial development allowed for people to have a broader spectrum of economic opportunity by providing any number of valuable services such as owning shops, or managing businesses in an era in which wealth was determined by commerce and industry. Soon middle class society and culture was prominent all across America as many families owned substantial homes, enjoyed the luxuries of new inventions like the cast-iron stove, and finally a much broader array of dietary options. Finally, middle class families had the disposable income to decorate their homes with new items such as carpeting and curtains. Beyond that, middle class homes also had the luxury of multiple bedrooms, and most notably indoor plumbing.

Patterns of SocietyThe Changing Family

Industrialization in the north profoundly changed the nature and function of the family.

Families moved from farms to cities and land was no longer the most valued commodity, jobs were.

There was a shift from earning income from working out of the home to working in the shop, mill, or factory.

Those who did still farm began to rely less on family members and hired on male workers.

A sharp distinction began to emerge between the public world of the workplace and the private world of the family.

Patterns of SocietyThe Changing Family

There was a decline in birth rate. In 1800 the average number of children a

women had was 7; in 1860 it declined to five and decreased even more in urban areas.

The deliberate effort among middle-class couples to limit family size was a reflection of the new increasingly secular, rationalized, and progressive orientation of the developing American North.

Patterns of SocietyWomen and the “Cult of Domesticity”

The new distinction between public and private worlds also made distinctions about the social roles of men and women.

The husband was assumed to be the Bread Winner and the wife to stay home and engage in domestic activities.

The proper role of women became a subject of broad discussion in middle-class societyin the mid-nineteen hundreds.

Their roles as mothers and wives became more important; their new role as consumers also became important.

Patterns of SocietyWomen and the “Cult of Domesticity” Women learned to place a high value on keeping a

clean and comfortable home, on entertaining, and on dressing stylishly.

Some women began to develop their on female culture. Friendships between women became intense, they began to form social networks (eventually, clubs and associations).

A distinct feminine literature emerged. (romance novels and magazines that focused on their private sphere).

Middle-class people came to consider work by women outside the house unseemly.

Patterns of SocietyLeisure Activities

Leisure time was scarce for everyone except the wealthiest Americans.

Vacations were rare and Sundays were reserved for religion and rest so holidays took on a special importance.

Men gravitated towards taverns for drinking, talking, and games during leisure time while women gathered in one another’s homes for conversation, card games, or to help in household tasks. For educated people, reading became a principle activity.

The Agricultural NorthThe Industrial Northeast and Agricultural

Northwest The economies in

the North were centered around commerce, industry and agriculture.

In the Northeast , industry and commerce ruled.

In the Northwest, agriculture was the dominant economy.

The Agricultural NorthNortheastern Agriculture

In the Northeast, many farmers were moving to the Northwest for better and richer soil conditions. Many agricultural industries such as; wheat, corn, grapes, cattle, sheep, and hogs moved to the West. Apples and potatoes were one of the only agricultural products produced in the East that actually surpassed that of the West for a while.

Major Northeastern agricultural areas such New York(wheat, corn, cattle, apple), Pennsylvania(wheat, corn, cattle), Ohio(wheat, corn), and Virginia(wheat, corn), and New England(cattle) were the leading agricultural powerhouses in the 1840’s.

In the 1860’s, the Northeastern agricultural powerhouses shifted to the Northwest to Illinois(wheat, corn, cattle), Indiana(wheat, cattle), Wisconsin(wheat), Ohio(wheat, corn, cattle, dairy), Michigan(wheat), Missouri(corn), and Iowa(cattle).

With the agricultural industry growing in the West, many farmers chose to move with crowd, but others decided to stay and supply food to the ever growing industrial population of the East.

The Agricultural NorthThe Old Northwest

There were relatively few industries in the Northwest, and most of them were centered around agriculture. These industries were centered around Cincinnati and Chicago.

The Northwest was primarily inhabited by Indians until the coming of the Civil War.

White settlers in the Northwest were primarily farmers and owned an average of 200 acres of land.

The growing population in Europe(through the Napoleonic wars as well as industrialization) and America(through industrialization) raised the prices of food and encouraged farmers in the Northwest to joined the commercial economy. With the need for food from the East and the abundance of

farmers and food in the west, a strong economic relationship formed.

Also, a growing need for food motivated a need for expansion both East and West of the Mississippi.

The Agricultural NorthThe Old Northwest (continued)

The growing need for food also brought on new innovations:Cast Iron Plowo The Automatic Reaper by Cyrus H.

McCormick of Virginia in 1834o The Thresher which was primarily

manufactured by the Jerome I. Case factory in Racine

The Northwest was probably the most self-consciously democratic section of the country.