1790-1860

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Americans constantly pushed west, cheap land opportunity
First part of 19 th century new immigrants joined movement
(Irish, Germans)
New machinery allowed crops to be cultivated quicker, goods produced faster, expectations for workers changed
New methods of transportation allowed goods, people and products to move quicker
Origins of market oriented economy

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Jackson symbolized the rise of trans-Appalachia
Raw frontier seen as typically American
1850 half of all Americans under 30
Seen as restless energetic, always on the move
Demographic center of America had move steadily westward
Reality of pioneer life was grim (especially for women)
Rugged individualism became part of national character- Was this true?

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People molded physical environment
Left behind fields destroyed by tobacco cultivation
Planted “Kentucky Bluegrass” from charred canfields,
1820-1840 trappers, mountain men had decimated beaver across the West
Buffalo, sea otters were hunted into near extension for their fur
Ecological Imperialism- exploitation of Americas natural bounty

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Many Americans revered nature
American wilderness seen as unique to many
Europeans
Wild unspoiled land one of the nations defining attributed- move west you can always start over
Inspired literature, painting and by the end of the
1800’s a conservation movement

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Population doubling every 25 years
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By 1860 there were 33 states, 4 th most populous country in the world
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Urban growth- by 1860 there were 43 cities with more than 20,000 (1790 only 3)
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Urbanization brought problems (inadequate public services, poor housing)
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1823 Boston developed first sewer system, 1842
NYC first piped in water supply

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By 1840’s population growth comes from immigration
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Most Irish and German
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What caused them to come to America?
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Europe had surplus of population, running out of room
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America seen as land of opportunity
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Freedom of European class system
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Abundant, cheap land
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No compulsory military service

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Mid 1840’s potato crop failure pushes many out of Ireland
1830-1860 2 million Irish come to the
United States
Newcomers too poor to buy land, stayed in cities on eastern seaboard
(NYC largest Irish city in the world)
Irish had to take worst jobs, poorest housing- viewed as a social menace
Competed with African Americans for jobs (Irish did not support abolition)
Formed Irish only clubs (Ancient Order of Hibernians, Molly Maguire's)

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Irish acquired property and improved lives in America
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Politicians wanted to cultivate
Irish vote
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Many entered politics and gained control of political machines (NYC Tammany Hall)
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Dominated police departments

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1830-1860 over 1.5 million Germans immigrated to US
Uprooted farmers, political refugees
German immigrants better off than Irish, had more money
Moved to Middle West, established farms
Less political power, widely scattered population

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Germans more educated than Irish, supported public schools
Were not supporters of slavery
Fled militarism of Europe, became isolationists
Language, culture viewed as suspicious by many
Settled in colonies, separate from surrounding community
Brought Old World drinking habits
(brought beer to America)

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Immigration inflamed anti-foreign sentiment
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Feared they would take jobs, worried about
“popish” newcomers
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1840’s Immigrants establish separate Catholic school system, protect children from Protestant indoctrination
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By 1850 Catholics largest single religious group in
America

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“Nativists” rally for political action, form
Know-Nothing Party 1849
Wanted restrictions on immigration, easier ways to deport “aliens”
Promoted literature to expose foreigners
(most of it untrue)
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Mass violence 1834, Catholic convent burned
1844 Philadelphia nativists, Irish Catholics riot
Effects of immigration a.
made America more pluralistic society b.
c.
Growth of economy really did not jeopardize wealth of others
Labor of immigrants helped fuel economic expansion

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1750 Industrial Revolution begins in England with mass production of textiles
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End of muscle, animal power beginning of machine power
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Slow to catch on in US cheap land, labor scarce
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Capital in short supply, raw materials in America were untapped
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1840’s rise of immigration caused labor pool to grow

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Samuel Slater from England steals plans for first textile machines
1791 first efficient machine for spinning cotton
1793 Eli Whitney invents first cotton gin (separates cotton fiber from seeds, 50X more effective than human labor)
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Changed history of America made cotton growing profitable enterprise

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Slavery had been dying out
Invention of cotton gin caused more acres to be cleared -Cotton Kingdom moved westward (into AL,
MS)
Cotton sent to mills in New England
Factories were established in Northeast
Little manufacturing in South, money tied up in land and slaves
New England ideal for industrialization a) soil too poor for farming, b) c) dense population, markets available shipping allowed for export of finished products d) e) large poor immigrant population for labor rapid rivers good for water powered mills

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Consequences of embargo 1807 and War of 1812 was capital kept in America
Used to invest in American manufacturing
After war British flood America with cheap goods, Tariff of
1816 attempts to protect American manufacturing
Eli Whitney develops idea of mass produced interchangeable parts for muskets, by 1850 became the basis of mass production
Most factories located in the northeast (industrial plant of
America)

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1846 Isaac Singer, Elias Howe invent sewing machine (mass production of clothes)
Patents increased 306 in 1800, 28,000
1860
Legal status of business organizations changed
Limited liability principle allowed investors to invest in companies
Companies could concentrate capital
Investment capital companies used in textiles, railroads, insurance and banking
1844 Invention of telegraph (Samuel Morse) brought world closer together
(revolutionized exchange of information)

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Industrial Revolution end of age of close personal relationships with boss
Spindle Cities grew up around factories to house workers
Hours long, wages low, poor working conditions
Could not form labor unions to improve life at work (criminal conspiracy)
Child labor a huge problem

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Wages did rise (1820’s-1830’s), growth of middle class Americans
More workers could vote
Supported Democratic Party of Jackson
Fight against all forms of privilege (Bank of US), reflected anxiety about new capitalist economy
1840 Van Buren reduces work day for federal workers, states eventually followed
Workers gained right to strike but usually lost
They could easily be replaced by workers “fresh off the boat” from
Europe
Commonwealth vs. Hunt (1842), Mass; unions were not conspiracies

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Women left farms, went to work in factories
Gave them greater economic independence
Lowell Mills (Mass.) seen as a model workplace for “factory girls”
Factory provided income, protected morality
Overall employment opportunities for women were scarce
Influence of Harriet Beecher Stowe, many women became teachers (feminized profession)
Vast majority of working women single

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Women married, left jobs
Work as wives and mothers called “cult of domesticity”, glorified functions as a homemaker
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Home was women’s sphere
Love determined choice of spouse
Nuclear family became closer
Home was a refuge from the industrial world
Number of children per family dropped
Domestic feminism in the home, growing power and influence of women
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New ideas of raising children, family more child centered, affectionate
Children raised by morals of “modern family” were good citizens

XII. Western Farmers Reap a Revolution in the Fields
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Farms were changing the West
Pioneer families planted corn, lots of it
Staple market item, had many uses
Western goods floated down Mississippi River
Fed the south
Western Farmers wanted to cultivate more acres but soil hard to break up
1837 John Deere introduces steel plow
1830’s Cyrus McCormick introduces mechanical reaper, could do the work of 5 men
Farmers could plant more land, rise of large scale cash crop agriculture for region
Farmers became businesspeople, looked east for a new market for their crops

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Need for cheap and efficient carriers of products
1790’s Lancaster Turnpike first highway
(charged toll and made a huge profit)
Turnpike building spurred western development, allowed for easy access to the
West
Use of federal funds to build roads opposed by state’s righter's and Eastern states (fear of loss of population)
1811 Federal government builds
Cumberland Road (finished 1852)

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1807 Robert Fulton launches steamboat craze
Steamboats could travel upstream, against the current
Navigable rivers two way arteries of transportation
1820- sixty steamboats on Mississippi River
1860- over 1,000
Steamboats opened up West and South
Goods could be shipped out cheaply, quickly
Bring in manufactured goods
New population centers grew up along the banks

Canal cutting craze
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1817-1825 New York financed building of Erie Canal, linked
Great Lakes and Hudson River
Cost of shipping and time of transportation dropped
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Value of land along canal went up, new cities (Rochester, Syracuse)
Interior cities population exploded
(Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland)
Settlers migrated from northeast to
Midwest

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Railroad not limited by geography
1828 first RR in US
1860 30,000 miles of track, most of it in north
Faced opposition from canal backers, considered as public menace
Problems overcome by technologydifferences in gauge (as time went by became more standardized), improvements in brakes, Pullman sleeping car introduced (1859)

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1858- first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable connected Europe and US
1840’S-1850’s- “Golden Age of American Shipping”
Clipper Ships rapidly move freight across Pacific, eventually replaced by steam powered ships
1860- Pony Express established, folded after 18 months (telegraph better)
Dying technology of wind and muscle power, replaced by machines

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Before 1830 West linked to
South by Mississippi River
Building of RR linked North to
West, robbed Mississippi
River of it’s traffic
NYC became major port of nation
Emergence of continental economy, each region specialized in economic activity

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Market Revolution transformed country from small, scattered subsistence farmers and workshops into national network of industry and commerce
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Questions over who should regulate economy? Who owns technology?
Supreme Court decisions sided with liberal state laws that encouraged greater competition in the marketplace “rights of the community”
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Self sufficient households transformed
Wage earners went to work, made money and purchased manufactured goods
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Home became a place of refuge from work, separate sphere for women
Gap between have and have-nots grew, greatest in cities
Rising wages and middle class helped diffuse potential conflict between classes