Ch 7, “From Sectionalism to
Nationalism”
1815-1840
The Industrial Revolution
 Spread
from Britain
 New sources of power, such as steam,
replaced human and animal power
 Machines replaced hand tools
 Economy shifted from farming to
manufacturing
 Population shift to cities
Hargreave’s Spinning Jenny,
1764
Factory system
 Textile
factories came first
 Investors lent money (capital) to textile
mill owners so they could build their
factories. These investors were called
capitalists.
 Women and children mostly worked in
the factories, 12 hrs a day, 6 days a
week
Large dams were constructed to harness even
more power from the rivers. Shown below is a
dam located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. This dam
was 1,019 feet long and could generate 30,000
horsepower.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lodonnel/holyoke/holyoke31.html
Children in Factories
 Boys
and girls as young as seven would
work 12 hour days in the factories.
 They were especially useful for
squeezing into the machines to change
parts.
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/index.html
One of the spinners in Whitnel Cotton Mill. She was 51 inches high. Has
been in the mill one year. Sometimes works at night. Runs 4 sides - 48
cents a day. When asked how old she was, she hesitated, then said, "I
don't remember," then added confidentially, "I'm not old enough to work,
but do just the same."
The overseer said apologetically, "She just happened in." She was working steadily.
The mills seem full of youngsters who "just happened in" or "are helping sister."
Workers Stringing Beans, Baltimore, MD
June 7, 1909
National Archives and Records Administration
Records of the Department of Commerce and Labor, Children's Bureau
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstat
es/childlabor/
Eli Whitney
 Interchangeable
parts, cotton gin
Americans move west
 Turnpikes
were built with gravel so
water would shed off them
 Corduroy roads kept wagons from
sinking in the mud
 Congress approved money for a
National Road to be built
Steam transport
 Robert
Fulton launched the start of
steamboat travel with his steamboat
The Clermont
Steamboat travel could be
dangerous
 As
steamboat captains raced each
other along the river, high-pressure
boilers sometimes exploded.
 Between 1811 and 1851, 44 steam
boats collided, 166 burned, and more
than 200 exploded!
Erie Canal - linked the Great Lakes with the
Mohawk and Hudson Rivers.
ERIE CANAL SONG
I've got a mule, her name is Sal,
15 miles on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal,
15 miles on the Erie Canal
We've hauled some barges in our day
filled with lumber, coal and hay
And we know every inch of the way from
Albany to Buffalo.
Chorus:
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge for we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor, you'll
always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.
Unity
 James
Monroe, a
Revolutionary war
hero, hoped to create
a sense of national
unity with his “era of
good feelings”
Division
3 Sectional Leaders
John C. Calhoun
South
For Slavery
Against strong federal govt.
Daniel Webster
North
Slavery was evil
Fed govt should help economy
Henry Clay
West
Favored strong govt.
The American System
 Henry
Clay’s idea
 High tariffs on imports to protect
American manufacturers
 The South didn’t like the plan
Supreme Court expanded
federal power
v Maryland –
states couldn’t interfere
with federal institutions
(like the National Bank)
 Gibbons v Ogden –
states couldn’t regulate
interstate commerce
 McCulloch
Adams-Onis Treaty
 Spain
sold Florida to U.S. for $5 million
in 1821
Monroe Doctrine
 We
would stay out of European affairs.
 We would resist any European attempts
to gain control of the new Latin
American nations.
 Britain supported our position…so here
begins the long standing tradition of
friendship and alliance.