1. Chapter 14 Forging the National Economy 1790-1860

2. Life in the western frontier
Very difficult, lonely, disease and illness rampent
Shaping the Western Landscape
Fur trapping large industry in Rocky Mountain area
George Caitlin
Painter and student of Native American life
One of the first Americans to advocate for preservation of nature
Proposed the idea of a national park

3. Growing nation Mid-1800s - population doubling every 25 years
1860 - 33 states & U.S. was 4th most populous country in western world
Increased population and larger cities brought about disease and decreased living standards
1840s and 1850s - more European immigration
Came to America for more space, escape aristocratic caste and state church, and more opportunity to improve one's life
Transoceanic steamboats reduced ocean travel time

4. New Immigrants Irish Immigration German Immigration 1840s
Came because of potato famine
Most Irish were Roman- Catholic
Politically powerful because they bonded together as one large voting body
Increased competition for jobs, so hated by native workers
Hated the blacks and the British
German Immigration
Between 1830 and 1860
Came because of crop failures and collapse of German democratic revolutions
Unlike Irish, Germans possessed a modest amount of material goods when they came to America
Moved west into Mid-West (Wisconsin)
More educated than Americans
Opposed to slavery.

5. Antiforeignism Prejudices of new European Immigrants
American nativists – Americans who only supported native-born citizens
Catholics created entirely separate educational system to avoid American Protestant educational system
American party (Know-Nothing party) created by nativists who opposed the immigrants
Many people died in riots and attacks between Nativists and immigrants

6. Early Industrial Revolution
steam used with machines to take the place of human labor  enabled Industrial Rev in England
Took a while for it to spread to America because
Soil was cheap
People preferred to grow crops as opposed to working in factories
Labor scarce until immigrants came to America s
Lack of investment money
British factories had monopoly on textile industry
America could not compete

7. Rising Manufacturing
Samuel Slater: "Father of the Factory System" in America
Escaped Britain with memorized plans for textile machinery
first machine to spin cotton thread in 1791
War of 1812 created boom of American factories and use of American products
Surplus in American manufacturing dropped following  Treaty of Ghent
British manufacturers sold their products to Americans at very low prices
Congress passed the Tariff of 1816 to protect the American manufacturers
New England became  industrial center of the Industrial Revolution in America 
Poor soil for farming
Dense population for labor
Shipping brought in capital - enabled import of raw materials and export of finished products

8. More Innovation Eli Whitney
Built first cotton gin in 1793
More effective than slaves at separating cotton seed from fiber.
Affected entire world
South's production of cotton increased and demand for it revived demand for slavery
1798  came up with idea of using machines (instead of people) to make each part of musket
Principle of interchangeable parts caught on by 1850 and became the basis for mass-production
Elias Howe: invented sewing machine in 1846
Boosted northern industrialization & became foundation of ready- made clothing industry
Samuel F. B. Morse: invented telegraph

9. Investing in America
Limited Liability - investor only risks personal investment in company in event of bankruptcy
Laws of "free incorporation“ - passed in NY in  enabled businessmen to create corporations without applying for individual charters from Congress

10. Workers and workers rights
Impersonal relationships between workers (manager  worker)
Factory workers forbidden by law to form labor unions to raise wages
In 1820s, many children  used as laborers in factories
Jacksonian democracy brought about voting rights of laboring man
President Van Buren established ten-hour work day in 1840 
Federal employees on public projects
Commonwealth vs. Hunt: Supreme Court ruled that labor unions were not illegal conspiracies, provided that their methods were honorable and peaceful

11. Women and the Economy
Farm women - spun yarn, weaved cloth, and made candles, soap, butter, and cheese
Women forbidden to form unions and had few opportunities to share dissatisfactions over harsh working conditions
Catharine Beecher - urged women to enter teaching profession
Vast majority of working women were single
Cult of Domesticity: widespread cultural belief that glorified the functions of homemaker
Even during Industrial Revolution families remained central focus for women

12. Improvements in Western farming
Indiana and Illinois, became the nation's breadbasket
Liquor and hogs became early western farmer's staple market items because both were supported by corn
John Deere: produced steel plow in 1837 
Broke through thick soil of the West
McCormick Reaper
Horse-drawn mechanical reaper that could cut and gather crops much faster than with hand-picking
Enabled larger-scale farming

13. Highways and Steamboats
Lancaster Turnpike: hard-surfaced highway that ran from Philadelphia to Lancaster
Drivers had to pay toll to use it
1811- federal government began construction on National Road, or Cumberland Road
Went from Cumberland, Maryland, to Illinois
Construction halted during War of 1812, but road completed in 1852
Robert Fulton: created first steamboat
Vital role in economic expansion of West and South

14. Other methods of transport
Erie Canal, 1825
Governor DeWitt Clinton - governor of New York
Erie Canal  connected Great Lakes with Hudson River
Lowered shipping prices and decreased passenger transit time
Railroad, 1828
Most significant contribution to expansion of the American economy
Initially opposed because of safety flaws and they took away money from the Erie Canal investors

15. Cables, Clippers, and Pony Riders
1840s and 1850s, American navel yards began to produce new ships called clipper ships
Sacrificed cargo room for speed and were able to transport small amounts of goods in short amounts of time
Eventually superseded by steamboats - once they were improved
Pony Express - 1860 
Carried mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California
Collapsed after 18 months due to lack of profit
Telegraph, 1837
Samuel B. Morse
Originally used for factories and communication between businesses

16. The Transport Web Binds the Union
Transportation revolution created because people in east wanted to move west
South raised cotton for export  New England and Britain
The West grew grain and livestock  feed factory workers in East and Europe.
East made machines and textiles  South and West 
All of these products transported using the railroad
The Market Revolution
Transformed American economy from one in which people subsisted on things they grew/created to one in which people purchased goods that were produced all over the country