The Market Revolution 1800 - 1860

A. Industrialization

Rise of the factory system Most profound movement of early 19th c. Take a raw material and turn it into a finished product all in one place Industrialization began in earnest because of Embargos & War Samuel Slater Father of the Factory System Emigrated in 1791 Brought designs from England

Interchangeable parts Allowed for mass production of high quality goods Invented by Eli Whitney in 1798 First used for Rifles Eli Whitney’s Gun Factory

The Textile Industry Began the IR in the U.S. Ideas for machines smuggled out of England 1st major factory was owned by the Boston Associates in Waltham, MA Run by Francis Cabot Lowell 1st all in one factory Spun, wove, dyed, & printed 1823 – Lowell, MA established Early Textile Loom

New England was the industrial center Soil made farming difficult Dense population for labor and markets Shipping and seaports for transportation of raw materials and finished goods Rivers provided an early power source

Resourcefulness & Experimentation Americans were willing to try anything They were first copiers, then innovators Stole England’s ideas, then developed their own 1800  41 patents were approved 1860  4,357 patents were approved

First prototype of the locomotive Oliver Evans First automated flour mill First prototype of the locomotive

Cyrus McCormick & the Mechanical Reaper: 1831

Samuel F. B. Morse 1840 – Telegraph

Elias Howe & Isaac Singer 1840s Sewing Machine

Growth of Cities Urbanization occurred 1860: 150 cities people looking for jobs in factories 1820: only 12 cities with a pop. over 5,000 1860: 150 cities 1860: 6 million people lived in urban areas

Developments in the 1820’s & 1830’s Protective Tariffs As more industries develop → more tariffs are created to protect them from competition Transportation Revolution improvement in the distribution of goods Emergence of new general incorporation laws Makes it easier to start a business

Favorable Supreme Court Decisions Fletcher v. Peck (1810) Secured contracts Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) Government could not alter contracts/charters Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Fed. Government ONLY can control interstate trade Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837) Monopolies are illegal

Changing Occupation Distributions: 1820 - 1860

Regional Specialization Northeast → Industrial 1860: had 81% of country’s industrial capacity Most populous region West → Agriculture Country’s Breadbasket South → Cash Crops Does not industrialize b/c capital is tied up in slavery Political Implications: West and NE tied together South is isolated

B. Labor

Effects on slavery in the South Textile mills had a high demand for cotton Increased Southern reliance on slavery

Factory Workers Wages: paid per hour not on the product they produced By 1860 40% of the population were “wage slaves” Working conditions were atrocious: Low wages, few breaks & long hours Poor lighting & ventilation, unsanitary conditions Dangerous machinery Exploitation of child workers

Labor Unions Labor Unions are against the law Seen as conspiracies Dozens of strikes erupted during the 1830’s & 1840’s Most lost Union membership grew to 300,000 by 1830 Panics will hurt union numbers Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842): MA Supreme Court Ruled that unions are not conspiracies Union influence very limited until after the Civil War

Women and the Economy Women found employment in factories BEFORE they married The Lowell System: Offered chaperoned boarding houses to young female workers Factory jobs were scarce Main jobs were nursing, domestic service, and teaching

C. Transportation

Turnpikes Turnpikes = Paved Toll Roads 1832: U.S. had 2,400 miles of road “Shunpikes” People did not want to pay the toll Built detours around toll booths

Cumberland (National Road), 1811-1839 Cumberland Road (National Road) completed in 1839 Became vital highway to the west

Steamboat Developed by Robert Fulton 1807: sailed the Clermont up the Hudson River Importance: 2 way transportation on rivers Increased speed & decreased cost

Canals Erie Canal was 1st major canal built Began in 1817 – completed in 1825 Gov. DeWitt Clinton approved financing Dropped shipping costs from $100 to $5 from Buffalo to NYC Dropped shipping time from 20 days to 6

Erie Canal System

Canal building began in earnest after Erie By 1837 over 3,000 miles of canals built NY Harbor becomes more important than New Orleans

Iron Horse Most important transportation improvement was the Railroad Fast, reliable, easy to construct, didn’t freeze in the winter 1830: 1st RR built by the Baltimore & Ohio Company (B&O) By 1860: 31,000 miles of RR lines ¾ of the RR lines in the North

The Railroad Revolution Immigrant labor built the No. RRs. Slave labor built the So. RRs.

Inland Freight Rates

Conestoga Covered Wagons Westward Ho! New transportation will open the West Between 1790-1840 4.5 million people cross the Appalachian mountains Conestoga Covered Wagons

D. Immigration

Immigration No records kept until 1820 1820 → 8,385 1830 → 23, 322 1854→ 430,000 Industries welcomed immigrants Needed workers Without them, IR would have been impossible Immigrants settled in ethnic neighborhoods

National Origin of Immigrants: 1820 - 1860

Irish Immigrants Large numbers began to immigrate in the 1840’s To settle Canada, Britain offered a reduced passage (100 shillings → 5shillings) Irish took advantage of it, but hated the British so came to the U.S. 1845-1849: Potato Famine Over 1.5 million emigrated to the U.S Arrived in NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, & Baltimore Destitute: stayed in cities because they could not move west In Boston – ran into problems Highly educated, Puritan Bostonians did not like the illiterate Irish Catholic peasants Hung signs “No Irish Need Apply” Later hatred towards Irish common in all cities

German Immigrants Large numbers began to emigrate in the early 1850’s because of political & economic instability Weren’t as poor as the Irish Settled mainly in the West in German enclaves

Nativist Reaction Not happy about the Irish Created a political party to show their anti-Catholic beliefs Know-Nothing Party Believed Catholics in office took orders straight from the Pope and that the Irish were creating violent cities