AMERICA’S ECONOMIC
REVOLUTION
HIST 103
Chapter 10
The Changing American Population
Population
increased rapidly between 1820-1840
- improvements in public health
- high birth rate
- decreasing child mortality rate
Immigration
increased rapidly between 1830-1860
- reduced transportation costs
- worsening European economy
Urban Growth
mostly due to the immigration movements
city: over 8,000 residents
New York City = fastest growing
Mississippi River & Great Lakes
Population Density of the United States
President
Cause of Death
William Henry Harrison
Pneumonia
Zachary Taylor
Stomach illness
Abraham Lincoln
Shot by Booth
James A. Garfield
Shot by Guiteau
William McKinley
Shot by Czolgosz
Warren G. Harding
Stroke
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Cerebral Hemorrhage
John F. Kennedy
Shot by Oswald
Ronald Reagan
Shot by Hinckley
(survived)
George W. Bush
Live grenade
that didn’t
explode
Immigration
1840s: 1.5 million | 1850s: 2.5 million
most ended up in northern cities
New York: 50% of residents
outnumbered natives
St. Louis
Chicago
Milwaukee
Immigration
Where did the immigrants come from?
England, France, Italy, Scandinavia,
Poland, Holland, Ireland, Germany
Irish Immigrants
German Immigrants
oppressive English rule
potato famine (1845-1849)
45% of the U.S. foreign born
1.5 million by 1860
eastern cities
unskilled laborers
no money - young, single women
unevenness of industrial revolution
revolution in 1848
20% of the U.S. foreign born
Northwest
farmers or business
some money
family groups or single men
Views of the Immigrants
Welcoming
Alarming
cheap labor keeps wages low
settle the west as markets
increase political influence
nativism
defense of the native-born people
and hostility to foreign-born
(both west and east)
stop or slow immigration
“Secret” Societies
Forms
- simple racism
- inherent inferiority
- contempt/prejudice
Protestants - “Catholic foothold”
Whigs - “Democrats”
northeast
Native American Party
Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner
American Party
“Know-Nothings”
Rise of American Transportation - Canals
transportation necessary for proper growth during the Industrial Revolution
Age of the Canal
decrease cost of shipping goods to markets
create a waterway to the west
How do we dig the canals?
Who pays for the canals?
Hudson River to Lake Erie
Other Attempts:
40 feet wide - 4 feet deep 1. Ohio & Erie Canal
2.
Hinterland
horse drawn barges
Erie Canal
lock system
connected Chicago to New York City
financial success within seven years
Rise of American Transportation - Railroads
primary transportation system from 1840s - 1950s
Creating the Railroad
•
•
•
seek increased communication
needed: tracks, engines, cars to carry people
both in England and in the United States
Early Railroad Companies
Baltimore and Ohio
Mohawk and Hudson (New York)
trunk lines - short lines from point A to B
originally to connect water routes
Triumph of the Rails
1836:1,000 miles
1840: 2,818 miles
1850: 9,021 miles
1860: 21,000 miles
mostly in the northeast
NE 2x’s NW
NE 4x’s S
Consolidating the Rails
•
•
•
companies were mainly short line
cross the Appalachians and connect to Mississippi River
growth of Chicago as western rail hub
Who is paying for the railroads?
private American investors
local governments (state, county, city)
Federal land grants (1860)
Rise of American Communication
greatly impacted by the development and growth of the railroads
magnetic telegraph - 1844 - Samuel Morse
•
•
allows for better communication between train stations
more present in North
Western Union Telegraph Company
growth of the newspaper
1846 - Richard Hoe - cheaply printed newspapers
Associated Press (1846)
New York Tribune — Horace Greeley
New York Herald — James Gordon Bennett
New York Times — Henry J. Raymond
Growth of American Business
businesses grew rapidly in the 1820s and 1830s
Changes in Retail Distribution of Goods
•
specialization stores in big cities
Growth of the Corporation
1830s - begin a corporation by simply paying a fee
limited liability: stockholders not at risk personally
Emergence of the Factory
began in the New England textile industry (and shoe industry)
mostly in the Northeast
most machinery built out of wood
rise of interchangeable parts
Inventions and Innovations
Charles Goodyear
1839 - vulcanizing rubber
Elias Howe & Isaac Singer
1846 - sewing machine
Cyrus McCormick
1834 - mechanical reaper
John Deere
1847 - steel plow
Jerome i. Case
1840 - threshing machine
Labor and the Factory System
conditions were better than conditions in Great Britain
Lowell System
•
•
•
young, unmarried women
clean boardinghouses owned by the factories
started to decline in popularity with immigrant arrival
Harsh Work Conditions
•
•
•
factories: large, noisy, unsanitary, dangerous
12-14 hour workday
$4 to $10 per week (skilled)
Fighting for Control
emergence of trade unions and the use of the strike
Women in the mid-19th century
in general, men had more rights than women
Education
•
•
encouraged to attend school through the elementary years
coeducation did not exist until after the Civil War
Roles for Women
guardians of domestic virtues
separate spheres for men and women
cult of domesticity
Leisure Activities
only for the wealthy during the mid-19th century
Work Standards
•
•
six day work week
long hours on daily basis
•
•
vacations were rare
Sunday - rest and religion
Holidays
working class and middle class
elaborate Fourth of July celebrations
Other forms of Leisure
*theaters (wealthy or minstrel shows)*
*public sporting events*
*city parks*
Arrival of the Spectacle
P.T. Barnum
American Museum
New York City
1842
circus began in the 1870s
Unofficial Top 5: Largest Construction Projects
5. Hoover Dam
4. The Wilderness Road
3. Trans-Continental Railroad
2. Interstate Highway System
1. Panama Canal