AP US History
Chapter 10:
Toward an American Culture
Cultural Influences
 As the transportation and industrial revolutions took off, so did the
culture of the American people
 More and more people read for pleasure, especially newspapers (men)
and novels (women)
 Several factors contributed to a new middle class in the North
 Many people, because of the Market Revolution, were able to start
businesses
 Charles Finney religiously organized the middle class, based on old
Puritan beliefs in sermon, but individualized outside of church
 Division of labor defined the home, where men worked and women
were in charge of house work and raising children
 Authors of the 1800s were successful in marketing stories to the
middle class
 Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, just to name
a few
Religion 1790-1850
 The number of churches and membership declined sharply as the
1800s progressed
 Many rejected the strict guidelines of churches, seeking more
democratic sects or rejecting religion altogether
 New sects formed or greatly increased based on several factors
 Circuit riders: ministers that traveled around, spreading the word
 Rejection of the need of a college degree for ministers, meaning that it
was what was in the heart, not the head
 Methodists and Baptists increased greatly, and the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) was created
 Joseph Smith had visions that led him to found the Church in 1830
 Started in New York, but persecution forced the Church to Illinois,
Missouri, and eventually Utah
Pop Culture
 Blood sports, such as cock fighting, dog fighting, were popular
 Boxing also gained popularity in the 1840s
 Theater became more accessible to people of all walks of life, not
just the rich
 Most popular was minstrel, in which white actors portrayed black
stereotypes
 Novels were printed cheaply, in paperback form for the first time
 Newspapers popular, with exaggerated stories to sell more
copies
Culture of the South
 The South transformed into the Bible Belt during the first part of the
1800s
 Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists gained a strong following amongst
the poor and middle class
 Preached to slaves, while accepting the institution, and women, by
accepting patriarchy as the norm
 Accepted slavery on the grounds that the Bible allowed for it and blocked
any publications that criticized it
 Family was first, the individual second
 Entertainment tended to be a community event, reserving commercial
entertainment for the larger cities
 Literacy rate was lower than in the North
 Racism as it is today developed in the South in the early 1800s
 Blacks seen as inferior to whites
 Some blacks were free, but had to take low paying jobs
Race and Citizenship
 Racial tensions erupted into violence in many cities throughout
the nation
 Discrimination towards blacks prevented good jobs
 Immigrants often scuffled with blacks over jobs
 Some people formed societies to address slavery and black rights
 American Colonization Society called for the formation of an African colony for
people to move to from the United States
 More and more white men called for equality for themselves
 Eventually, religious tests and land ownership requirements were
lifted from voting
 Free blacks were still heavily restricted from voting
 Eventually, free, white and 21 years old became the norm to be able
to vote