• Gradual process by which machines replaced hand tools and steam and other power replaced human and animal power
• Changed the world from a society of farmers to a society of manufacturers
• The Industrial Revolution started in Britain in the mid 1700’s
• British inventors developed new machines that transform the textile industry.
• James Hargreaves developed the Spinning
Jenny that could spin several threads at once
• In the 1780’s, Edmund Cartwright built a loom powered by water.
• It allowed a worker to produce a great deal more cloth in a day than was ever possible before

• Before the factory system, most spinning and weaving took place at home.
• Large machines had to be house in large mills (factories).
• At first most mills were located next to rivers for power
• Rivers powered the water wheels which turned shafts inside the mill which in turn powered the machines that the shafts were connected to.
• The factory system brought workers and machinery together in one place to produce goods
• To set up a mill (factory) required large amounts of Capital (money)
• Capitalists supplied the money.
• The first American mill was built in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
• Eli Whitney invented interchangeable parts, which were identical machine made parts for tools or instruments.

• The idea of interchangeable parts spread rapidly. Investors designed machines to produce interchangeable parts for clocks, locks, and many other goods
• Francis Cabot Lowell combined spinning and weaving into one factory
• An entire town was built around the factory system Lowell had installed (Lowell, Mass.)
• To work in the mills the company hired young women
Industrialization and the lives of workers
• As the Factory System spread, more families left home to work in the factories. In the poorer families, women would go out and work while a wealthy woman’s husband could support the entire family.
• Having a wife who stayed home was a sign of success.
• Child Labor: Boys and girls as young as seven worked in the factories
• Long Hours: Workers worked a 12 hour day, six days a week.

• In the early 1800’s American mills were safer than British mills, but as competition grew, factory owners took less interest in the welfare of their workers.
• Urbanization is the growth of cities. The movement of the population from farms to the cities. By 1850, 15% of the American population lived in the cities.
• Growing cities had many problems such as overcrowding and poor sanitation.
• Under these conditions, disease spread easily. Epidemics of influenza and cholera raged through cities, killing hundreds.
• Cities had many attractions as well.
• Theatres, museums, circuses, etc. created an air of excitement.
• Shopping was very popular in the cities
(ready made clothes, etc.)
• Settlers began moving westward as early as the 1600’s

• By the mid 1800’s many Americans had migrated west. The original 13 colonies’ population had even declined from this migration
• Western routes had well traveled paths such as the Great Wagon Road that went across
Pennsylvania.
• The Wilderness Road led through the
Cumberland Gap into Kentucky
• The National Road was the first road to be built by the federal government.
• It ran from Cumberland, Maryland, to
Wheeling in west Virginia, then on further west.
• Settlers used flatboats to travel down the
Ohio River.
• Whenever possible, rivers would be used to transport goods to the market
• A new invention for water transportation was the steamboat

• Robert Fulton launched his first steamboat, the Clermont, in 1807 on the Hudson River. It carried passengers from NYC to Albany and back (300 miles) in just 62 hours. A record at that time
• Fulton’s success ushered in the age of the
Steamboat
• A canal is an artificial waterway that allows boats to cross stretches of land.
• Western farmers needed ways to get their goods to the markets back east.
• The Erie Canal linked the Great Lakes with the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers.
• Work on the Canal began in 1817 and was finished in 1825.
• The Erie Canal allowed western farmers to ship their goods to the port of New York, bringing businesses to towns along its route
• The Canal dropped the cost of shipping and helped make New York the center of commerce

• This was an era that last approximately 8 years during the Presidency of James
Monroe. (1817-1825) when the Democratic-
Republicans dominated the nations politics
• After the War of 1812, Americans were proud of their growing country.
• Improved transportation allowed for the opening of new lands
• New industries were appearing
• In Congress, a new generation of political leaders sought to direct this expansion.
• James Monroe was elected President in
1816.
• Monroe was a Democratic-Republican from
Virginia
• Monroe wanted to create a sense of National unity
• While conflict between political parties declined, disputes between different sections of the nation sharpened.

• In Congress, three men would play major roles in politics for the next 30 years. Each of the three represented one of the three different regions of the country
• He supported the War of 1812
• He was a firm defender of Slavery
• He opposed any policy that would strengthen the federal government
• He opposed the War of 1812
• Wanted the federal government to take a larger role in building the nation’s economy
• He opposed slavery and thought it was evil
• Was the leader of the War hawks and therefore supported the War of 1812
• Favored a more active role for the federal government in promoting the country’s growth

• Despite the nation’s great physical growth and the soaring spirits of its people, the
United States’ economy was facing severe problems.
• This was because the charter had run out on the National Bank, and it did not exist, anymore
• The National Bank would lend money and regulate the nation’s money supply
• Even though state banks tried to make up for the loss of the National Bank, they would often put too much money into circulation.
• The National Bank needed to be reinstated
• Tariffs are taxes placed on foreign goods that come into the country
• Tariffs were placed on British and European goods to keep the foreign competition out of the American markets
• The idea behind tariffs is to protect
American industry

• After the War of 1812, the British flooded the
American market with manufactured goods.
The British had a head start in the Industrial
Revolution, so they were able to manufacture and sell their products cheaper than the Americans.
• Congress passed the protective tariff to protect the American manufacturers from foreign competition
• Higher tariffs led to angry protests from
Southerners because the South bought products cheaply from the British
• Southerners complained that Tariffs made northerners rich at the expense of the South

• Sectionalism is loyalty to one’s state or region rather than to the nation as a whole.
• Americans began to identify themselves as
Southerners, Northerners, or Westerners.
• To promote economic growth in all sections of the nation, Henry Clay developed a program called the American System
• The American System called for high tariffs on imported goods which would help the northern factories
• The North would then use the extra money to buy products from the South and West.
• High tariffs would also reduce America’s dependence on foreign goods
• Clay urged Congress to use the money from these tariffs to build improvements in transportation.

• Spanish Colonies in the Western Hemisphere were wanting their independence from
Spain.
• Latin America refers to the Western
Hemisphere regions where Latin based languages are spoken. (Spanish, French,
Italian, Portuguese)
• In 1816 Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador won their Independence
• In 1819, the Republic of Great Colombia won its independence from Spain. The new republic included the present day nations of
Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama
• In 1821, the people of Central America declared their independence from Spain. The new nations included Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala
• In 1821, Mexico also wins its independence from Spain
• The Portuguese colony of Brazil won its independence peacefully
• By 1825, Spain had lost all of its colonies in the Western Hemisphere except for Cuba and Puerto Rico

• Many Americans wanted to gain possession of Florida because of the disturbances across the border
• Creek and Seminole Indians raided settlements in Georgia
• Florida was also a refuge for runaway slaves
• Seminoles had allowed African Americans to live near their villages in exchange for crops.
• Black Seminoles adopted many Indian customs
• In 1818, Andrew Jackson had invaded
Florida with 3,000 soldiers to capture
Seminole and Creek outposts as well as runaway slaves.
• Spain did not resist because it was busy fighting wars in Latin America
• In the end, Spain agreed to peace talks
• Secretary of State John Quincy Adams negotiated a treaty with Spain
• Spain agreed to give Florida to the United
States for 5 million dollars
• The Adams-Onis Treaty was signed in 1819, and took full effect in 1821

• Americans were happy for the Latin
American countries who had gained their independence
• However, Secretary of State Adams and
President Monroe were concerned about
European response.
• European countries like Prussia, France,
Spain, and Austria seemed ready to try and take back some of the colonies that Spain had lost.
• Russia was also in the mix claiming lands on the Pacific coast of North America.
• The British, also concerned wanted to issue a joint statement with the United States, but
President Monroe acted on his own.
• The President issued the Monroe Doctrine
• The Monroe Doctrine declared that the
United States would not interfere in the affairs of European nations, or existing colonies of Europe.
• At the Same time it warns that the United
States will not tolerate any further colonization by Europe in the Western
Hemisphere.

• It also warns against any attempt to regain lost colonies
• The message of the Monroe Doctrine showed that the United States was determined to keep European powers out of the Western
Hemisphere
• In the early years of the Monroe Doctrine, the United States did not have the military strength to back up the doctrine, but Great
Britain who had supported the doctrine helped enforce it with their superior navy.
• As the United States became stronger over the years, it could back up the Monroe
Doctrine on its own.
• On several occasions the United States successfully backed up the Doctrine against
European challengers
• The Monroe Doctrine shaped American foreign policy for more than 100 years