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Published byVernon Butler Modified over 8 years ago
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First Turnpike- 1790 Lancaster, PA By 1832, nearly 2400 mi. of road connected most major cities.
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Cumberland (“The National Road,” 1811) Connected Baltimore to St. Louis
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Conestoga Covered Wagons were the transport of choice for long trips Conestoga Trail, 1820s
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Erie Canal, 1820s Begun in 1817; completed in 1825
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Erie Canal System
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Principal Canals in 1840
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Clipper Ships Great for oceans, not for Mississippi
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The Railroad Revolution, 1850s Irish and Chinese immigrants built the Northern RRs. Slave labor built the Southern RRs.
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The “Iron Horse” Wins! (1830) Iron Horse = steam locomotive 1830 13 miles of track built by Baltimore & Ohio RR By 1850 9000 mi. of RR track [1860 31,000 mi.]
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Resourcefulness & Experimentation Americans were willing to try anything. They were first copiers, then innovators. 1800 41 patents were approved. 1860 4,357 patents were approved.
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Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin, 1793 Eli Whitney's Invention Separated cotton from the seeds- accelerated farming Further encouraged the spread of slavery
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Eli Whitney’s Gun Factory Brought Interchangeable Parts concept to America
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Oliver Evans First prototype of the locomotive First automated flour mill
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John Deere & the Steel Plow (1837)
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Cyrus McCormick & the Mechanical Reaper: 1831
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Samuel F. B. Morse 1840 – Telegraph
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Cyrus Field & the Transatlantic Cable, 1858
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Elias Howe & Isaac Singer 1840s Sewing Machine
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Robert Fulton & the Steamboat 1807: The Clermont
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z They all regarded material advance as the natural fruit of American republicanism & proof of the country’s virtue and promise. The “American Dream” A German visitor in the 1840s, Friedrich List, observed: Anything new is quickly introduced here, including all of the latest inventions. There is no clinging to old ways. The moment an American hears the word “invention,” he pricks up his ears.
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Samuel Slater (“Father of the Factory System”)
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The Lowell/Waltham System: First Dual-Purpose Textile Plant Francis Cabot Lowell’s town - 1814
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Lowell in 1850
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Lowell Mill
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Early Textile Loom
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New England Textile Centers: 1830s
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New England Dominance in Textiles
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Early US Factory System Used water to power the millsUsed water to power the mills Samuel Slater brought “power looms” to Northern states from EnglandSamuel Slater brought “power looms” to Northern states from England –Could spin cotton AND weave into cloth Employed entire families for low wagesEmployed entire families for low wages –Families were motivated b/c growing conditions in the north were poor
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The “Lowell Mills” Lowell copied Slater’s “mill town” systemLowell copied Slater’s “mill town” system Young farm women worked the mills and lived boarding housesYoung farm women worked the mills and lived boarding houses –Followed strict rules: attend church, learn to read, become ‘the marrying type’ –Working conditions: deafening and dangerous –Pay: high early on; plummeted w/more competition – DANGERS INCREASED
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Lowell Girls What was their typical “profile?”
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Lowell Mills Time Table
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Early “Union” Newsletter
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The Factory Girl’s Garland February 20, 1845 issue.
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I’m a Factory Girl Filled with Wishes I'm a factory girl Everyday filled with fear From breathing in the poison air Wishing for windows! I'm a factory girl Tired from the 13 hours of wok each day And we have such low pay Wishing for shorten work times! I'm a factory girl Never having enough time to eat Nor to rest my feet Wishing for more free time! I'm a factory girl Sick of all this harsh conditions Making me want to sign the petition! So do what I ask for because I am a factory girl And I'm hereby speaking for all the rest!
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Irish Immigrant Girls at Lowell
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Steam Power Innovates the mills After 1850’s steam engines run millsAfter 1850’s steam engines run mills –Could be moved away from water –Wood & coal-driven vs. water-driven HEALTH HAZARDS?HEALTH HAZARDS?
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Creating a Business-Friendly Climate Supreme Court Rulings: *Fletcher v. Peck Peck (1810) *Dartmouth v. Woodward Woodward (1819) *McCulloch v. Maryland Maryland (1819) *Gibbons v. Ogden Ogden (1824) *Charles Rivers Bridge v. Warren Bridge Bridge (1835) General Incorporation Law passed in New York, 1848. Laissez faire BUT, govt. did much to assist capitalism!
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Distribution of Wealth v During the American Revolution, 45% of all wealth in the top 10% of the population. v 1845 Boston top 4% owned over 65% of the wealth. v 1860 Philadelphia top 1% owned over 50% of the wealth. v The gap between rich and poor was widening!
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Regional Specialization EAST Industrial SOUTH Cotton & Slavery WEST The Nation’s “Breadbasket”
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American Population Centers in 1820
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American Population Centers in 1860
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National Origin of Immigrants: 1820 - 1860 Why now?
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POTATO FAMINE in Ireland! (1845-1852)
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In the middle half of the nineteenth century, more than one-half of the population of IRELAND EMIGRATED to the United States. So did an equal number of GERMANS. Most of them came because of civil unrest, severe unemployment or almost inconceivable hardships at home. This wave of immigration affected almost every city and almost every person in America.
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Reasons for Immigration: 1. Irish- potato famien in Ireland (famine means no food)1. Irish- potato famien in Ireland (famine means no food) 2. Chinese- poverty and overpopulation in China2. Chinese- poverty and overpopulation in China 3. German- political and civil unrest and poverty in Germany3. German- political and civil unrest and poverty in Germany
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Changing Occupation Distributions: 1820 - 1860
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ECONOMIC? SOCIAL? POLITICAL? FUTURE PROBLEMS?
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