Sectionalism in America As America develops, the country is divided into three geographic regions with their own interests and concerns

Who’s Who America in the Early 1800’s WASPs White Anglo-Saxon Protestants Slaves 650,000 slaves brought to the US between the 1600s and 1808 Over three million slaves in the US by 1840 Predominantly in the South

Economic Trends in the Early 1800’s South Predominantly farming Some large plantations 1815: American farmers sell 33% of their crops Northeast Banking Trading and shipping Small production West Fur trade Lumber

Connected by Transportation Early 1800’s Travel by stagecoach Poorly maintained, dirt roads Expensive and time consuming Road Improvements Turnpikes created Best example: Federally funded National Road which ran from Maryland to the Ohio River (WV) Near Scranton, PA

Proud Mary Keep on Rollin’! Steamboat development Robert Fulton designed the Clermont Could travel upstream Travel times before steamboat Travel could be dangerous as the engines were liable to explode! New Orleans  Louisville, KY (1,440 miles) Transatlantic Pre steamboat 4 months (120 days) 25-50 days Post steamboat 20 days 10-14 days

What If There’s No Waterway? Canal construction 1816 100 miles 1840  3,300 miles Built mostly in the Northeast…why? Erie Canal Lake Erie to the Hudson River Cut costs for shipping goods NYC becomes the nation’s trading center POPULATION BOOM!

Railroads Arrived in America from Britain in the 1820s, but the trains were pulled by horses. Steam engines replaced the horses Could move products and people in a quicker, less expensive way than canals. Railroad tracks 1830 13 miles of track 1860  31,000 miles of track

Who Will Build the New Infrastructure? Immigrants Irish Immigrants Push Factors: Potato blight and famine Pull Factors: Jobs, opportunity, freedoms Key years: 1820-1860 German Immigrants Push Factors: Drop failures and political revolutions Pull Factors: Freedoms, jobs, land

How Many? 1821–1830 143,439 immigrants arrive

The Irish Immigrants Leaving in a hurry Poor Uneducated Catholic Speak another language Arrive individually "American labor pays war taxes on all these articles for the sole benefit of Trust, Monopoly & Co.”

Where Do They Settle? Northeast Cities Not far from where they landed or along routes of employment (canals, railroads, etc.)

The German Immigrants Can arrange for travel Many come with money Educated farmers Catholic/Protestant Speak another language Arrive as families

An Interesting Side-BAR!

What Other Employment Opportunities Are There? Industrial Revolution arrives in US from England Slater Mill Pawtucket, RI Slater brought plans for mills from England Employed families in the mills along the rivers Lowell Mills Also stole information from England Used “Lowell girls” as a labor source The factory systems changed more than just the speed of production. How might the worker’s life have changed?

Eli Whitney’s Two Major Impacts Interchangeable Parts OLD SYSTEM: Each item made by hand individually which led to a craftsmen needing to repair or modify the equipment NEW SYSTEM: Make items out of identical parts. This allowed any part of one piece to work in another piece of equipment * Factories develop, costs of items down, “cottage industries” out Cotton Gin OLD SYSTEM: Slaves picked the seeds from cotton plants by hand, a tedious and time consuming process. NEW SYSTEM: Cotton gin pulled seats as the cylinder turned, allowing a single slave to do the work of 50 slaves. * Cotton costs drop, demand up, need for field slaves increases

Division Begins to Be Seen Regions adopt different economic ideas: North: Factory system South: Cotton production West: Farming and Expansion As the regions develop different economic ideas, their cultures also change. This division and greater concern for one’s region as opposed to the greater good of the country is called sectionalism.