The Transformation of American
Society 1815 - 1840
The progress of invention is really a threat
(to monarchy). Whenever I see a railroad I
look for a republic.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1866
The Transformation of American Society
1815 - 1840
• Alexis de Tocqueville – came to report to
French about Am. Prisons
– Actually wanted to see the new Republic
– Eventually wrote, Democracy in America, (1835,
1840)
– Most insightful analysis of the American character by a
foreigner.
– He witnessed improvements in transportation in the form
of new roads, canals, & steamboats and how they were
stimulating interregional trade and migration to the transAppalachian West.
The Transformation of American Society
1815 - 1840
• Farmers could now grow crops for sale in
distant markets
• New urban dwellers were markets for farm
products and new factories in the
industrialized East
The Transformation of American Society
1815 - 1840
• Tocqueville – (Americans just want to get
rich).
• Americans were industrious and
democratic
• Little tolerance for restraints placed on
tradition or privilege.
• However, whites treated non-whites
poorly.