Chapter 8 The Northeast Section 3 - The North’s People CA Standards , 8.6.3, Section 3 - The North’s People CA Standards , 8.6.3,

Looking Back, Looking Ahead In Section 2, you learned how advances in transportation changed the geography of America. In Section 3, you will learn about the people and the economy of the North.

Focusing on the Main Idea As industrialism grew in the North, many saw the need for reforms in working conditions. Immigrants entered northern cities from many parts of Europe. They often faced hardships and discrimination upon arriving in America.

People to Know Henry Boyd Samuel Cornish John B. Russwurm Sarah G. Bagley

Vocabulary to Know trade union strike prejudice discrimination famine nativist

Did You Know? Lowell, Massachusetts, did not produce only textiles. It is also the birth-place of the soft drink Moxie, which was the first mass-produced soft drink in the United States.

What Were Factory Conditions Like? Between 1820 and 1860, more of the nation’s manufacturing moved from homes to factories. Working conditions in factories worsened as the factory system developed. Most factory workers averaged 11.4 hours a day, and on-the-job accidents were common. No laws existed to protect workers from poor working conditions.

Why Did the Workers Organize? Workers began organizing to improve working conditions, forming trade unions— organizations of workers with the same trade, or skill. In the 1830s, skilled workers in New York City staged a series of strikes, refusing to work to put pressure on employers to give workers higher wages and limited work hours.

What Problems Were African American Workers Facing? Slavery had largely disappeared in the North by 1820, but racial prejudice—an unfair opinion not based on facts—and discrimination—unfair treatment of a group—remained. Most communities did not allow free African Americans to attend public schools. Free African Americans were segregated in public facilities, such as hospitals.

Who were some African American Businessmen? Henry Boyd was an African American who owned a furniture manufacturing company. Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm founded the Freedom Journal, the first African American newspaper.

What Problems Were Women Workers Facing? Employers discriminated against women, paying them lower wages. Unions excluded women, and men wanted women out of the workplace to make more jobs for men. Sarah G. Bagley founded the Lowell Female Labor Reform Organization and petitioned the state legislature for a 10-hour workday.

Discussion Question What discrimination did female workers face? (Women were not paid the same wages as men, and they were not allowed in the unions. Men also did not want women to work in factories because they wanted more jobs for men.)

Why Were Cities Growing? The growth of factories helped Northern cities grow. Immigration, the movement of people into a country, increased between 1840 and Factory owners welcomed immigrants, who would work for low wages.

Who Were the Immigrants? The largest group of immigrants came from Ireland between 1846 and 1860 after the Great Irish Famine—an extreme shortage of food that occurred when the potato crop failed. Irish immigrants, who had been farmers in Ireland, took jobs in factories or performed manual labor, such as working on railroads. The second-largest group of immigrants came from Germany between 1820 and Germans arrived with enough money to open their own businesses or buy farms.

Who Was the Know- Nothing Party? Immigrants brought their own languages, customs, religions, and ways of life with them. Some Americans feared immigrants were changing the nation for the worse. People opposed to immigration were known as nativists. They formed secret anti-Catholic societies and a new political party called the American Party. Their party became known as the Know- Nothing Party. The party split in the 1850s over the issue of slavery.

Discussion Question What accusations did the nativists make about immigrants? (The nativists accused immigrants of taking jobs from “real” Americans. They also accused the immigrants of bringing crime and disease to America’s cities.)

Section 3 Review page What was the nation’s largest city in 1860? 2. How did German and Irish immigrants differ in where they settled?