The Early Industrial and Transportation Revolution
Westward Movement Americans marched quickly toward west very hard w/ disease & loneliness Frontier people were individualistic, superstitious & ill-informed Westward movement molded environment tobacco exhausted land “Kentucky blue grass” thrived
Population Growth from 1620 to 1860 5.3 million
Westward expansion Growth of cities and states by 1850 City growth Westward expansion Growth of cities and states by 1850
The March of the Millions By 1860, 33 states in the United States High birthrate accounted for population growth Population doubling every 25 years 4th greatest population in the Western world Near 1850s, millions of Irish, German came Beginning in 1830, immigration in the US soared
IMMIGRATION Hated because they were willing to work for less
Irish Immigration Irish Potato Famine 1845-1849 Main ports of entry – New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston Irish were too poor to move inland and farm so they stayed in the cities Boston did not particularly like the Irish – Catholic, illiterate, poor “No Irish need apply!” Ancient Order of Hibernians Benevolent society to help Irish Spawned “Molly Maguires” (miners union) Gradually improved and became active politically NY’s Tammany Hall, Irish political machine Hated because they were willing to work for less
German Immigration Most Germans came due to crop failures Germans better off than Irish, came west, many to Wisconsin A few were political refugees from collapse of democratic revolutions in 1848 German contributions include Kentucky rifle, Christmas tree, kindergarten, and abolitionists Some Americans were suspicious because they tried to preserve language, culture and lived in separate communities, and drank beer
Settlements of Immigrants IMMIGRATION Settlements of Immigrants Irish in Northeastern cities: New York and Boston Germans would settle in Midwest
Early Nativism American “nativists” feared 1840s & 1850s invasion of immigrants Took jobs, grew Roman Catholicism Catholics built their own schools, were #1 denomination by 1850 1849: Nativists form Order of the Star-Spangled Banner, developed into “Know-Nothing” party Wanted immigration restrictions Nativists occasionally violent, burned Boston convent (1834) Philadelphia Irish fought back, 13 killed in several days of fighting (1844)
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION A shift from goods made by hand to factory and mass production Technological innovations brought production from farmhouse to factories Invented in Britain in 1750; smuggled to U.S. Beginning of US Factory System US slow to embrace factory system Scarce labor Little capital Superiority of British factories
Promote nationalism was internal improvements to unite the US. AMERICAN SYSTEM Promote nationalism was internal improvements to unite the US. Transportation system of roads, canals, steamships and rivers. 1800 to 1850 roads, canals and rivers first forms of transportation 1860, the railroad is added Henry Clay, Congressmen from Kentucky John C. Calhoun, US Senator from South Carolina Provide economic growth Americans buying American goods American self-sufficiency. Protective tariff (allows US factories to grow) 2nd Bank of the United States 3 Sections working together to build the country
SECTIONAL DIFFERENCES NORTHEAST Business and Manufacturing Daniel Webster ____________ Wanted Tariffs Backed internal improvements Wanted end to cheap public land Increasingly nationalistic Against Slavery and believed the U.S. Govt. must abolish it. Economy Leader __________ Role of Government
SECTIONAL DIFFERENCES SOUTH Cotton growing John C. Calhoun _____________ Opposed tariffs and government spending on American System Increasingly supportive of states’ rights Pro-slavery and opposed any steps of the U.S. Govt. to try and abolish it. Economy Leader __________ Role of Government
SECTIONAL DIFFERENCES Supported internal improvements WEST Frontier agriculture Henry Clay _____________ Supported internal improvements Wanted cheap land Loyal to the U.S. Govt. Against slavery but some supported letting the people decide the slavery issue Economy Leader __________ Role of Government
AMERICAN SYSTEM Population shift because of westward expansion the West demanded transportation. The Land Act of 1820, gave the West its wish by authorizing a buyer to purchase 80 acres of land at a minimum of $1.25 an acre in cash Erie Canal started in 1817 and completed in 1825 NY Governor DeWitt Clinton built the Erie Canal Connected New York City from Hudson River with the Great Lakes and the West Clinton’s Big Ditch--------Other canals follow Navigable rivers and the steamboat the first steamboat on western waters was in 1811.
Erie Canal System
Principal Canals in 1840
Highways AMERICAN SYSTEM Bad roads made transportation highly unreliable The National Road begun in 1811 and completed by 1832 Connected Maryland to Illinois. Built by US government
Cumberland (National Road), 1811
Conestoga Covered Wagons Conestoga Trail, 1820s
Help unite the country as well as improve the economy and the infant industry. Because of the British blockade during the War of 1812, it was essential for internal transportation improvements.
The Railroad Revolution,1850s 1850 to 1860, RR proved most significant development toward national economy Americans demanded transcontinental railroad to California. Completed in 1869. Faster, cheaper, more reliable than canals, defied terrain & weather. 1st RR in 1828; by 1860, 33,000 miles of track, most in North. Obstacles eventually overcome: Pullman “sleeping palace” produced in 1859
Pioneer Railroad Promoters 1800 to 1850: Roads, canals, navigable rivers with steamboats were the main modes of transportation. 1850 to 1860, RR proved most significant development toward national economy Competition between Railroads and Canals Obstacles opposition from canal backers danger of fire poor brakes difference in track gauge meant changing trains
Map rr
Effects of the Transportation Revolution 1860-61, Pony Express connected East-West Telegraph instantly sent messages across US Attraction of many large capital investments and encouraged risk taking in the US economy People moved faster and country expanded Unifying spirit among fellow country men A need for a transcontinental railroad that connected east to west
TRAILS WESTWARD Trails
Samuel Slater was the "Father of the American Factory System." US FACTORY SYSTEM Built first textile mill in 1793 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Born in England on June 9, 1768 and worked in British factories. Slater came to US to make his fortune in the textile industry. Slatersville Mill was the largest and most modern industrial cotton mill of its day Samuel Slater was the "Father of the American Factory System."
Early Textile Loom
US FACTORY SYSTEM The Lowell Mills Americans beat the British at their own game, made better factories Francis Lowell (a British “traitor”) came over here to build British factories and met up with Boston mechanic, Paul Moody Together they improved the mill and invented a power loom that revolutionized textile manufacturing
The Lowell System Lowell, Massachusetts, 1832 Young New England farm girls Supervised on and off the job Worked 6 days a week, 13 hours a day Escorted to church on Sunday
US FACTORY SYSTEM Women & the Economy 1850: 10% of white women working for pay outside home Vast majority of working women were single Left paying jobs upon marriage “Cult of domesticity” Cultural idea that glorifies homemaker Empowers married women Increased power & independence of women in home led to decline in family size
Workers & Wage Slaves With industrial revolution, large impersonal factories surrounded by slums full of “wage slaves” developed Long hours, low wages, unsanitary conditions, lack of heat, etc. Labor unions illegal 1820: 1/2 of industrial workers were children under 10
Workers & Wage Slaves 1820s & 1830s: right to vote for laborers Loyalty to Democratic party led to improved conditions Fought for 10-hour day, higher wages, better conditions 1830s & 1840s: Dozens of strikes for higher wages or 10-hour day 1837 depression hurt union membership Commonwealth v. Hunt Supreme Court ruled unions not illegal conspiracies as long as they were peaceful
1830s, Industrialization grew throughout the North… US FACTORY SYSTEM 1830s, Industrialization grew throughout the North… Southern cotton shipped to Northern textile mills was a good working relationship.
New Inventions: "Yankee Ingenuity"
Resourcefulness & Experimentation Americans were willing to try anything. They were first copiers, then innovators. 1800 41 patents approved. 1860 4,357 patents approved.
The invention which changed the South, cotton, and slavery. ELI WHITNEY The invention which changed the South, cotton, and slavery. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry. He is also noted for the concept of mass production and interchangeable parts by creating dyes for pistols and rifles. Very important early pioneer in America’s industrial revolution.
Whitney Ends the Fiber Famine Cotton gin invented in 1793 50 times more effective than hand picking Raising cotton more profitable South needs slavery more than ever for “King Cotton” New England factories flourish with Southern cotton
ROBERT FULTON 1807, Fulton's Clermont, was the first commercially successful and reliable steamboat. Steam boat would revolutionize water travel. The steamboat was often the only mechanical means of river travel and freight transportation from 1808 through 1930.
John Deere & the Steel Plow
Cyrus McCormick & the Mechanical Reaper
“WHAT GOD HATH WROUGHT” Samuel F. B. Morse 1840 – Telegraph “WHAT GOD HATH WROUGHT”
Cyrus Field & the Transatlantic Cable, 1858
Elias Howe & Isaac Singer 1840s Sewing Machine Perfected by Singer Gave boost to northern industry Became foundation for ready-made clothing industry Led many women into factories