Unit Nine: The Nationalist Era

The Market Revolution

Nature’s Nation • During the early years of America the major

industry was farming with some commercial, craftsmen, and shipping, but most Americans were rural farmers.

• Most people stayed within 25 miles of the area they were born, with few choosing to venture out into the frontier (land on the fringe of civilized society).

• Most trade was done in local markets from tradesman or craftsmen and the local farmers. (national trade was not common during this time)

A Diversified Economy • People like Alexander Hamilton believed that

America needed a diversified economy (an economy based on more than one industry) to be a reliant and independent nation.

• They also believed that the American economy needed to be based on a free enterprise system (people make their own economic decisions free of government interference) and a capitalist system (means of production are privately owned for the purpose of making profits).

• These things led the early administrations to pass small protective tariffs and establish a Bank of the United States of America (BUS).

Growth of An Economy • The BUS gave the ability for easy loans for much

needed capital (money for investment). • Entrepreneurs (businessmen who started new

businesses) and speculators (people who invest in something, usually land, in the hope to sell it for a profit) used the bank loans to spur economic growth.

• During this time the banking industry grew with individual banks printing bank notes (paper money issued by a bank that could be redeemed for specie, gold or silver) also leading to economic growth.

The Market Revolution

• The Market Revolution was a change from the local barter system and trade of farmers to a national and international trade base, use of currency, change in labor practices, and industry base.

• The Market Revolution was spurred by the American Industrial Revolution, Transportation Revolution, Manifest Destiny, Communication Revolution, Farming Revolution, and mass immigration.

The American Industrial Revolution

• The Industrial Revolution began in England (Birmingham) with the innovation of the textile industry, steam power, and iron making.

• Some key inventions were: – John Kay (1733) – Flying Shuttle – James Hargreaves (1764) - Spinning Jenny – Richard Arkwright (1769) – Water Frame; mill – Samuel Compton( 1779) – Spinning Mule– Edmund Cartwright (1785) – Power Loom

– James Watt (1775) – Steam Engine – Henry Cort (1783) – Puddling Process for Iron

Industrial Revolution

Spinning Jenny

Spinning Mule

Water Frame

Flying Shuttle

Steam Engine

Birmingham, England

The American Industrial Revolution

• To spur invention and innovation in America and to protect entrepreneurs and inventors, Congress passed patent laws in 1790 to give a person a patent (legal sole ownership of an invention and/or idea).

• This allowed for the growth of technology (the application of scientific discoveries for practical uses) for the purpose of increased efficiency, reduce manual labor, reduce the need for skilled laborers, and increased profit margins.

The American Industrial Revolution• In America the textile industry was done in the

home by women with spinning wheels known as Cottage Industry.

• The American Industrial Revolution started when Samuel Slater opened his first water-powered textile mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793 with the aid of his partner Moses Brown.

• To run his mill Slater used the Rhode Island System (employed children ages 7-12 to make the thread).

• To get a finished product he used the putting out system (women were given the thread to weave into to cloth at their homes, which was then brought back to the mill for distribution).

The American Industrial Revolution• Slater chose New England for the

manufacturing boom because of strong running rivers for power, abundant work force (immigrants), soil poor for farming, wealthy capitalists, close to resources, and many ports.

• Another step in the American Industrial Revolution was the establishment of the factory/plant system (all steps to make a good are done in one place) by Francis Cabot Lowell in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1813. (Paul Moody was his engineer).

• Lowell also set his company up as a cooperation with a group of investors known as the Boston Associates who purchased shares of stocks in the venture.

The American Industrial Revolution• Lowell setup a new type of labor system known

as the Lowell system, where he employed young (15-30) single women (Lowell girls) who worked for a wage.

• The Lowell girls moved from the rural farms and lived in boarding houses (factory owned living accommodations) located beside the factory.

• The factories gave women a new sense of independence, that they had never had before.

• Most of the towns that factories were located in were started or owned by the factory owners themselves (e.g. Lowell, MA).

Factory Systems

Samuel Slater

Slater’s Mill Francis Cabot Lowell

Lowell Girls

Textile Mill/Factory

“Bobbin Boys”

The American Industrial Revolution

• Another key figure in the American Industrial Revolution was Eli Whitney with his two inventions, the cotton gin (south) and interchangeable parts (north).

• The cotton gin (1794) made it easier to separate the cotton seed from the cotton, thus making it cheaper to grow cotton.

• The idea of interchangeable parts (1801) (the making of identical parts) was first used by Whitney to make muskets, but soon the idea spread to other industries making mass production (the production of large quantities of an identical product) possible.

The American Industrial Revolution

• Other key American inventors were: – Oliver Evans (1770s-80s) – grain elevator and

high pressure steam engine. – Charles Goodyear (1839) – vulcanizing of

rubber (treatment for strength and elasticity)– Elias Howe (1843) – sewing machine– Isaac Merritt Singer (1851) - Singer Sewing-

Machine and factory. – William Kelley/ Henry Bessemer (1850s) –

Kelley/Bessemer process (inexpensive way of mass producing steel by blowing air over molten iron to remove impurities).

The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations

• The Industrial growth, invention, and innovations of America was showcased at the World’s Fair of 1854 held in New York called the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations. (The first fair called the Great Exhibition was held in London 1851)

• To house the exhibition New York built the New York Crystal Palace.

• The Expo was a direct example of America's nationalist pride and growing place in the industrialized world.

Transportation Revolution • The Transportation Revolution was spurred by a

need to connect the massive nation in a fast and efficient manner and to increase overseas travel speed as well.

• The Americans first started with improving roads through the use of turnpikes, then started digging canals, and later railroads were introduced.

• Water transportation was improved through the use of steam engines and clipper ships (long sleek ship with tall sails)

• From the 1820s to the 1850s America laid more miles of railroad tracks than any other nation, even though it did have problems.

Communication Revolution • The Communication Revolution developed out of a

need to get information over a vast nation in a quick time. The U.S. post office was constantly being reformed to meet the demands of a growing nation. One thing that aided was the use of stagecoaches, which also increase transportation.

• Another means of getting information out West was the Pony Express (used quick horse riders to deliver messages).

• The most important was the invention and expansion of the telegraph. (Ezra Cornell- Western Union)

• The Associated Press (New York AP) used the telegraph to begin to coordinate news and distribute nationwide.

Manifest Destiny • Another issue that spurred the market

revolution was a push westward of Americans into frontier lands opening them up to farming.

• America had massive amounts of land, which it could sell very cheaply allowing for more people to acquire their own farms in the west.

• The sell of these lands and the loans taking out to purchase them helped grow the national economy.

Farming Revolution • As people pushed west and opened new lands

for farming and more people got into farming, people were looking into was to improve it by using technology and science.

• Farmers became more educated on issues such as fertilizers, fallowing fields, crop rotation, and climate through agricultural newspapers, research institutes (the Smithsonian), and new agricultural colleges (Dariner Lyceum)

• Key inventors of th Farming Revolution: – Jethro Wood (1820s) – iron plow with

interlocking parts. – John Deere (1833) – steel plow – Cyrus McCormick (1834) – mechanical reaper

Mass Immigration • Another major factor in the Market Revolution

and the Industrial revolution was massive immigration into America. (1820-1840 over 2.5 million)

• A major wave of immigration came in the 1840s (Black Forties) from Ireland due to the Great Potato Famine.

• Another major wave came in the 1830s from Germany due to environmental issues and the 1840s (Forty-Eighters) due to the rise of an autocratic state (Prince Metternich) which led to political refugees.

• Immigrates also came from other North/Western European countries into America making “people”, America’s leading import.