Chapter 8: Regional Societies Section 1: The North and Midwest Pages: 254-262

The North & Midwest Northern Society (254-255) The Market Revolution, the creation of national markets, widened the gap between the rich and poor citizens

The North & Midwest Northern Society (254-255) The Wealthy: Prosperous bankers, manufacturers, merchants, and their families made up a small elite: the wealthy upper class. They lived in lavish homes with running water, elegant furnishings, and many household conveniences. They decided everyone’s “social grade” They used a secret system of white ball for “yes” votes and black balls for “no” votes to determine if a person should be included or excluded from social gatherings

The North & Midwest Northern Society (254-255) The Poor: The urban (city) poor, lived crowded into small apartments, attics or damp cellars They had few conveniences and no sewers Poor neighborhoods were plagued by crime, disease, and filth. Most people held on to hope for a better life Many believed that the new market economy would provide them with opportunities to improve their lives

The North & Midwest Northern Society (254-255) The Middle Class – poor people did improve their economic status The Middle Class, developed in 1800s, was between the rich and poor The rise of the middle class led to a greater specialization of male and female roles Men were expected to work outside the home and earn money to support their families; more men shifted from farm work to work in factories, mills, offices and shops Women were expected to stay at home, care for the children, and do the housework, for which they received no pay Cult of True Womanhood – women as the moral center of the middle-class

The North & Midwest Northern Society (254-255) The Middle Class Children – typically did not have to work to help support their families Middle class families sent their children – boys more often than girls – to school to learn the skills necessary for adulthood. Children also lived at home with their parents longer before starting independent lives

The North & Midwest Northern Society (254-255) The Middle Class A French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville wrote: “The passion for physical comforts is essentially a passion for the middle class….From them it mounts to the higher orders of society and descends into the mass of people.” The “comforts” of the middle class, particularly those who lived in cities, included entertainment such as concerts, museums, and plays.

The North & Midwest CHANGING INDUSTRIAL AND FARM PRODUCTION (256-257) The Market Revolution was made possible by a dramatic change in the means of production. Francis Cabot Lowell and others introduced a new way of manufacturing goods Lowell and fellow Bostonian Nathan Appleton began to discuss building a waterpowered loom – they would use it to produce cotton textiles like those Lowell seen in Britain To cut costs and increase output, machines did everything under one roof – from spinning the thread to weaving the cloth. This system of manufacturing came to be called the FACTORY SYSTEM

The North & Midwest The Factory System (256) Mill owners, in Waltham and Lowell, usually hired young, single women from New England Farms. This was because most women had the necessary skills for textile mills since they had experience making cloth at home Women were paid less because they were presumed not to be the primary support for their families These single women became known as the Lowell Girls – who lived in company-owned boardinghouses Wanting larger profits, owners cut wages, increased working hours, and sped up production. A high level of unemployment meant that factory owners could easily replace workers who complained

The North & Midwest CHANGING INDUSTRIAL AND FARM PRODUCTION (256-257) Technological Developments: (257) New Technology had a far-reaching impact on American farms and homes John Deere: a blacksmith from Illinois, designed a light but strong steel plow. Cyrus McCormick: developed a mechanical reaper that harvested six acres of grain in a day. Elias Howe, a factory apprentice in Lowell, patented a sewing machine for the home in 1846 Other household inventions and improvements: cooking utensils, butter churns, better stoves, pots, pans and water pumps

The North & Midwest THE RISE OF TRADE UNIONS: (257-258) Despite the general prosperity of the U.S. economy, many workers lived in poverty. In New York City’s garment-making district, entire families worked through the night, earning barely enough money to service. Manufacturers took for granted the availability of child labor for factory work By 1832 in New England, two out of every five factory workers were children. These children faced very grim working conditions. THIS CAUSED UNIONS TO FORM

The North & Midwest THE RISE OF TRADE UNIONS: (257-258) National Trade Union (1834), sought to work reforms such as a shorter workday President Jackson gave federal workers a 10 hour work day; working hours for most other occupations remained longer

The North & Midwest THE RISE OF TRADE UNIONS: (257-258) Labor Unions used many methods to press for reforms Strikes In 1836, in New York City, 20 members of a local tailors’ union were found guilty of conspiracy after striking for higher wages This outraged working-class neighborhoods

The North & Midwest THE RISE OF TRADE UNIONS: (257-258) Union activity forced politicians to pay attention to these problems Lowell girl, Sarah G. Bagley, urged her co-workers to form a union after mill owners sped up production without raising wages. She organized the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association of 1844 Bagley collected more than 2,000 signatures on a petition and urged the Massachusetts legislature to limit the workday to 10 hours Although the movement had little success in Massachusetts, several other states did pass 10-hour workday laws

The North & Midwest Growth in Immigration (259) In 1860 more than 4.1 million Americans – about 13 percent of the population – were foreign born. These immigrants wanted equality, land and work

The North & Midwest Growth in Immigration (259) Irish Immigrants: The largest group of immigrants – more than 1.6 million by 1860 – came from Ireland Discrimination, hunger, and poverty had driven them from their homeland Although most Irish immigrants had been farmers, few could afford to purchase land in the United States. The majority settled in crowded city slums, where they had to compete for even the lowest-paying or most-dangerous jobs Job listings in city newspapers often specified that employers would not hire Irish workers

The North & Midwest Growth in Immigration (259) In the mid-1800s the second-largest group of immigrants to the United States came from Germany Some Germans came for political or religious reasons, but most cane in search of economic opportunity Many German immigrants went into skilled occupations, becoming bakers, brewers, butchers, cabinetmakers, cigar makers, machinists and tailors

The North & Midwest The Nativist Response: (261) Some native-born Americans protested the arrival of these immigrants. Philip Hone, a wealthy New Yorker, wrote that “all Europe is coming across the ocean; all that part at least who cannot make a living at home; and what shall we do with them?” Other native-born Americans disapproved of the immigrants’ customs, such as the beer gardens and the isolation of the Germans. This led to Nativism – favoring of native-born Americans over the foreign-born. Nativists viewed immigrants, particularly the Irish, as politically corrupt and socially inferior.

The North & Midwest The Nativist Response: (261) Nativists urged restricting immigrants rights to vote and hold public office Nativists wanted to limit Irish Catholics’ access to political power because they believed that the pope directed decisions for the Irish Catholics Order of the Star-Spangled Banner: members swore to support only native-born Protestants for public office, lobbied for a 21-year waiting period for naturalization, and to fight the political power of the Roman Catholic Church – later name changed to the American Party When asked about their nativist activities, party members would say “I Know Nothing.” They were thus called the Know-Nothings

The North & Midwest THE MIDWEST (261-262) Farming and Farm life in the Midwest changed. Some midwesterners took part in lumber or mining industries, but commercial farming dominated most of the region Farm families bought new mechanized farm machines, such as the reaper, that increased crop yields and allowed them to cultivate more land with less work. As a result, the midwesterners began to grow cash crops such as wheat or corn and raise livestock to sell at market Midwestern women, who had long made butter and cheese for their families, began selling these items. Many women took pride in their ability to contribute directly to the growing family income

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