Chapter 8 Business

Industrialization Following the American revolution, Americans began to accept possession of material goods as a mark of gentility (as opposed to family name or station, like in Britain). Americans began to demand more crafted goods than home- based craftsmen could produce. Producers responded by expanding workshops, training more artisans, working with larger stocks of materials at a time, and using labor-saving machines.

American factory production began (slowly) in 1790 American factory production began (slowly) in 1790. (Remember how protectionist policies like the Embargo Act somewhat-inadvertently encouraged the growth of American manufacturing?) Gap between owners and workers Blurred line between skilled and unskilled workers Workers also grew less able to argue for change in the workplace, as the importance of skilled labor began to decline America did not develop a self-conscious working class, though. Why? Frontier Ethnic/racial differences Immigrants’ willingness to accept low wages Opportunities for escape

Lowell’s Waltham System: Women as factory workers Who and why? Living conditions were strict and sometimes poor Discontent grew; women found other work Replacement of women with others (immigrants) Immigration: mostly Irish and German Push and pull factors Good long-term effects; not-so-great short-term effects Cotton and slavery Increased demand and increased production Revival of the “peculiar institution”*: greater prejudice and discrimination *Have you all heard that phrase before?

Marshall Court Federalist at heart; strong central government Business and commerce viewed as an agent of progress McCulloch v. Maryland Gibbons v. Ogden