Toward a National Economy Chapter 8 Toward a National Economy

Gentility and the Consumer Revolution The democratic revolution was accompanied by widespread emulation of aristocratic behavior In Europe, gentility was the product of ancestry and cultivated style In America, gentility was largely defined by possession of material goods This culture eventually extended even to frontier homes

Gentility and the Consumer Revolution Demand for products resulted in expansion of workshops, increase in numbers of artisans, and desire for labor-saving machines Need for capital and ways to get raw materials to factories and products to consumers Market revolution followed by industrial revolution

Birth of the Factory Industrial Revolution in Britain by 1770’s Textiles – cheap and good quality US wanted British technology – offered bonus Britain guarded secrets of machinery

Birth of the Factory Samuel Slater Left England secretly Depended on memory to construct machines Helped establish first American factory in Rhode Island 1790

Birth of the Factory First factory Francis Cabot Lowell Only made cotton thread Cloth made by cottage industry Machines worked by nine children By 1812, 213 factories in existence Francis Cabot Lowell Smuggled plans for power loom Waterpower Successful factory – changed face of New England

An Industrial Proletariat? Decrease in skilled labor = decrease in ability of workers to influence working conditions Gap widening between owners/workers and skilled/unskilled workers Very little class conflict. Why? Labor – women and children. Good thing?

Lowell’s Waltham System Employed young, unmarried women Salaries $2.50 - $3.25 per week Company boardinghouses Strict rules No cards or alcohol Developed social life amidst factory Were not supporting themselves Established sewing circles Wrote periodicals and attended lectures

Lowell’s Waltham System Women made up 85 percent of workforce but no women in management Some “strikes” protested lowered wages and rising boarding costs By 1840’s, women moving to new jobs as teachers and clerks – mill jobs increasingly going to new Irish immigrants

Irish and German Immigrants US population doubled to 9.6 million between 1790 and 1820 through natural increase After 1812, immigration increased dramatically By 1850, US population 23 million – more than 10 percent immigrant Most came from Germany and Ireland, but also from Britain and Scandinavia

Irish and German Immigrants Push and Pull factors – describe Poor immigrants had to settle in eastern cities Immigration stimulated the American economy Irish caused resentment as they took jobs for lower wages

Rise of Corporations The modern method of organizing large enterprises was through corporations General opinion that only public infrastructure were entitled to incorporation Incorporation only possible through act of state legislature Corporations equated with monopoly and corruption

Cotton and the South Demand fueled by Britain’s Industrial Revolution 1786 - Introduction of “sea-island” cotton South needed new commercial crop -hardy “green-seed” cotton not economically viable Eli Whitney – cotton gin High profits = more production – spread to other states

Revival of Slavery Cotton boom revived slavery Concept of property rights held back many from demanding manumission Increased fears of slave revolts – fear led to repression Increased restrictions on free blacks. Why?

Revival of Slavery The Colonization Movement Black leaders saw colonization as way to escape discrimination – black nationalism White leaders either saw colonization as way to escape slavery – others did not want free blacks around (deportation) 1817- American Colonization Society founded Republic of Liberia established Little enthusiasm by blacks

Revival of Slavery Cotton boom put brake on movement – need for labor Price of slaves doubled – severe decline of manumissions Clandestine slave trade / increase in domestic trade Pre-existing state laws barring inter-state slave trade ignored or repealed Northern blacks experienced segregation

Assignment 1 Make a poster that shows Three problems facing America due to its primitive infrastructure Solutions introduced to enhance commerce Outcomes due to these solutions Use pages 235-243

Dartmouth College v. Woodward Assignment 2 How did the following court cases impact America? Use pages 244-245. Court Case Issue Involved Ruling Impact Dartmouth College v. Woodward McCullough v. Maryland Gibbons v. Ogden