Economy & Society Economy & Society in Antebellum America
TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION
Eras of Transportation River Era1790s-1820s River Era1790s-1820s Canal Era s Canal Era s Railroad Era1850s-1940s Railroad Era1850s-1940s Automobile Era1920s-present Automobile Era1920s-present
TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION
1. Steamboats –Robert Fulton –Clermont (1807) Impact on transportation and trade Robert Fulton’s Clermont plies the Hudson River
TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION 2. Canals Had effect on transportation and trade patterns
TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION Principal Canals in 1840 Roads and Canals,
Paths of Northern Migration after 1800
TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION 3. Railroads a)Promoted national trade and economic growth b)Promoted the growth of other industries Iron Coal Telegraph c) Encouraged farmers to specialize d)First great corporations in US – model for later large businesses
TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION
Mohawk And Hudson Railroad’s Dewitt Clinton
CHANGES IN SOCIAL/CLASS STRUCTURES
BEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION Factory System Rise of Corporations Technological Innovations Labor
BEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION Samuel Slater - Father of Factory System Built 1 st textile Mill in US
Early Textile Loom Boarding Houses
INVENTIONS & INNOVATIONS Patents Approved: 1800: : 4,357 Patents Approved: 1800: : 4,357 Americans were willing to try anything They were first copiers, then innovators
(Actually invented by a slave) Eli Whitney: The Cotton Gin, 1791
Eli Whitney’s Gun Factory Interchangeable Parts Rifle
John Deere & the Steel Plow
Samuel F. B. Morse 1840 – Telegraph
Cyrus Field & the Transatlantic Cable, 1858
Elias Howe & Isaac Singer 1840s Sewing Machine
Distribution of Wealth The gap between rich and poor was widening. During the American Revolution, 45% of all wealth was in the hands of 10% of the population Boston – the top 4% owned over 65% of the wealth Philadelphia – top 1% owned over 50% of the wealth
WORKFORCE & LABOR Skilled artisans vs. unskilled workers working class Immigrant work force The Factory Girl’s Garland February 20, 1845 issue.
POPULATION GROWTH, IMMIGRATION AND NATIVIST REACTION
POPULATION GROWTH Million Million Million Million Million
POPULATION GROWTH Causes Natural increase Immigration Immigration to the United States,
Immigration Major immigrant groups Irish Germans English National Origin of Immigrants: Immigration to the United States,
Participation of Irish and German Immigrants in the New York City Workforce for Selected Occupations, 1859
The distribution of foreign-born residents of the United States in 1860.