1. ©2006 Pearson Education, Inc. THE SECTIONS GO THEIR WAYS Chapter 13 The American Nation, 12e Mark. C. Carnes and John A. Garraty

2. ©2006 Pearson Education, Inc. PROGRESS AND POVERTY Prior to Civil War, United States was a land of opportunity; a democratic society with a prosperous, expanding economy and few class distinctions; people had a high standard of living compared to Europeans Economic opportunities were great and taxation was little so the rich got richer While political opportunity for white men was equal, economic opportunity was increasingly skewed

3. ©2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

4. RAILROADS AND THE ECONOMY Railroads helped determine what land was used and how profitably it could be farmed –“Land Grant” railroads stimulated agricultural expansion by advertising their lands widely and selling farm sites at low rates on liberal terms –Access to world markets gave farmers of upper Mississippi incentive to increase output Agricultural wages rose sharply due to scarcity

5. ©2006 Pearson Education, Inc. RAILROADS AND THE ECONOMY New tools and machines appeared to help ease labor shortage –Steel plowshare: John Deere, 1839 –Mechanical reaper: Cyrus Hall McCormick (two workers could cut 14 times as much as with scythes )

6. ©2006 Pearson Education, Inc. RAILROADS AND THE SECTIONAL CONFLICT East-West linkage had fateful effects on politics –Stimulated nationalism and became a force for preservation of the Union –When the Mississippi ceased to be essential to them, citizens of the upper valley could afford to be more hostile to slavery and especially to its westward expansion South failed to create railroad network of its own –Scattered population of South –Paucity of passenger traffic –Seasonal nature of much of freight business –Absence of large cities –Placed too much reliance on Mississippi River –Leaders not interested

7. ©2006 Pearson Education, Inc. WEBSITES “Been Here So Long”: Selections from the WPA American Slave Narratives http://newdeal.feri.org/asn/index.htm The African American Odyssey http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/images_aa19 Images of African Americans from the Nineteenth Century http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/images_aa19