Forging the National Economy 1790 1860 The progress

Forging the National Economy 1790 -1860 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 Westward Movement • “Europe stretches to the Alleghenies; America lies beyond. ” –Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844 • 1850: ½ of Americans were under 30

Map 14. 1: Westward Movement of Center of Population, 1790 -1990 Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 3

Frontier Life • • • Life was grim for most families Poorly fed and dressed Lived in shanties and lean-tos Disease, depression, death Separated from other families Jacksonian politics and “rugged individualism” • Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” 4

Map 14. 2: Cumberland (National) Road and Main Connections 5

Shaping the Western Landscape • • • Exhausted land in the tobacco regiions Fur-trapping “ecological imperialism” Still revered nature George Catlin advocated for the creation of national land preservation Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 6

March of the Millions • 1850: population was doubling every 25 years • 33 states by 1860 • Urban growth exploded (New York, New Orleans, Chicago) – Slums, limited law enforcement, sewage, rats – Boston pioneered a sewer system in 1823 – NYC had city water by 1842 Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 7

Figure 14. 1: Population Increase, Including Slaves and Indians, 1790 -1860 Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 8

The Irish • Potato Famine • Poor moved to Boston and NYC • Discriminated against and forced into lowpaying, menial jobs • “No Irish Need Apply” • Ancient Order of Hibernians • Molly Maguires: Irish miners’ union in PA • Political Machines: Tammany Hall in NYC Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 9

Old Immigration Period (pre-Civil War) • Immigration tripled in the 1840 s and quadrupled in the 1850 s • Million and a half Irish and almost as many Germans • Journey now only took 10 -12 weeks due to steam power • Push Factors – Overpopulation in homeland • Pull Factors – Freedom from aristocracy and state religion – Letters home: low taxes, no compulsory military service, 3 meals a day 10

German Forty-Eighters • Many uprooted farmers • Few liberal political refugees fleeing collapsed democratic revolutions in 1848 • Most had a few material goods • Influential group of voters • Conestoga wagon, Kentucky rifle, Christmas tree were all German contributions • Many drank “bier” in huge quantities 11

Anti-Foreignism • Immigration sparked “nativism” • By 1850, Catholicism was the number one religion • Order of the Star-Spangled Banner: Know. Nothing party 12

Creeping Mechanization • Why was the United States so slow to mechanize? – Land was cheap – Labor was scarce until immigration increased – Little money for capital investment – Could not complete with mass-produced European goods – British had a monopoly on textile machinery Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13

Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin • Led to increased number of textile mills in the North • Factory system began to flourish • Interchangeable parts and the early assembly line – Colt revolver – Sewing machine – 28, 000 new patents by 1860 14

Other New Inventions • Morse’s telegraph • Mc. Cormick’s reaper • Goodyear’s vulcanized rubber goods Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 15

Workers and Wage Slaves • Pre-Jackson – Forced to work in unsanitary conditions – Could not form labor unions – Child labor – “whipping rooms” – Slater’s mill: first machine tenders were all under the age of 12 • Jacksonian Democracy – Strikes, improved conditions – Commonwealth v. Hunt 16

Women and the Economy • • “Factory Girls” Teachers House Servants Once married, women left work and became part of the “cult of domesticity” – Women’s and Men’s spheres – Families became clower and smaller 17

Transportation Revolution • Highways, Turnpikes, the Cumberland Road • Steam Ship • Canals • Railroads • Pony Express 18

Map 14. 3: Erie Canal and Main Branches Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 19

Map 14. 4: Principle Canals in 1840 Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 20

Map 14. 5: The Railroad Revolution Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 21

Map 14. 6: Industry and Agriculture, 1860 Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 22

Map 14. 7: Main Routes West Before the Civil War Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 23

All of this creates a Market Revolution! Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 24