Antebellum Economic Developments
I.Productivity Factors Behind the “Industrial Revolution” and the “Market Revolution”
A) Abundant Natural Resources Lumber
B) Technological Innovations Eli Whitney Cotton Gin & Interchangeable Parts
Robert Fulton & the Steamboat
Ex: John Deere & the Steel Plow
Ex: Cyrus McCormick & the Mechanical Reaper
Ex: Samuel Slater & the Factory System
Ex: Samuel Morse & the Telegraph
C) Transportation Developments
Rivers, Canals & Turnpikes Main Transport Arteries Before 1850
Railroads Begins To Dominate Transport By 1860
D) Abundant (Cheap) Labor
E) Government Financial & Political Support For Economic Growth Easy Credit (State Banks & B.U.S.) Protective Tariffs “Common Wealth” Laws (ex: Limited Liability & Eminent Domain) “Laissez-Faire” Labor Regulation
II. The Industrial & Market Revolutions Increase Political Sectionalism
New England Textile Mill
“King Cotton” in the South
Foodstuffs in the West
“Regional Specialization” Leads to “Comparative Advantage”
III. Social Impacts of Economic Changes
Urbanization mainly in the North
“Outwork System” Replaced by “Factory System” & “Division of Labor”
American Urbanization Example: Lowell, Mass. “Model” Factory Town??
Increase in Child & Female Labor
Growing Inequality Leads to: “Wage Slaves” Loss of Individual Craftsmanship
Journeymen Artisans Lose Status Despite Unionization Efforts
“Labor Theory of Value” Loses to the efficiency of the Factory System
Nativism Grows as immigrants come seeking jobs and face backlash ex: “Know Nothing” Party
Anti-Catholic Cartoon