Forging the National Economy 1790-1860
Bell Ringer “A revival is not a miracle, or dependent on a miracle in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of the right use of the constituted means.” When is reform necessary? In what aspects should we be progressive?
Objectives Examine the effects of early industrial development on labor and society. Analyze the relation between the growing national economy and the regional economic specialization of the Northeast, South and Midwest. Essential Question: What significant events take place that help to develop the nation’s economy?
The Western Movement The westward movement molded the environment Population begins to double every 25 years High birthrate accounts for population growth
Nativist Attitudes Irish potato famine leads to immigration – “Black Forties” Germans pour in due to crop failures Nativists form the “Know-Nothings”
Manufacturing and the Market Revolution Samuel Slater - “father of the factory system” Eli Whitney – cotton gin Elias Howe & Issac Singer – sowing machine Samuel Morse – telegraph Factory system leads to impersonal relations, poor benefits Labor unions form, Commonwealth v. Hunt Home becomes a place of refuge, women take charge Lancaster Turnpike and Cumberland Road opens economic expansion Other notables… John Deere Cyrus McCormick Robert Fulton DeWitt Clinton Iron horse Pony Express
The Ferment of Reform and Culture 1790-1860
Objectives Explain the revivals of the Second Great Awakening. Examine the nature of the 19th century family and its relation to society. Describe the early women’s movement.
Reviving Religion Deism and Unitarian beliefs challenge religion Liberalism in religion spawned the Second Great Awakening Encouraged Christians to take back their faith Revival further fragments religious faiths (slavery) Joseph Smith develops the Mormon faith
Age of Reform Horace Mann – “father of public education” Reformers oppose tobacco, alcohol, profanity American Temperance Society stresses prohibition Gender differences increase with different economic roles Seneca Falls Convention and Declaration of Sentiments launch modern women’s movement
American Achievements Medicine was primitive, life expectancy low Gothic forms gain popularity in architecture Americans pour literature into practical outlets Literature dawns with the Transcendentalist movement (Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman) Others not associated with transcendentalism Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, George Bancroft