1. NATIONALISM, ECONOMIC EXPANSION, AND WESTWARD EXPANSION

2. Major Debates as the New Nation grows
1. How do we pay for internal improvements? Should the federal government build roads and canals?
2. Do we need a national banking system?
3. Should tariffs be raised or lowered to promote economic development?
4. How do we regulate and control westward settlement?
5. How do we settle disputes and regulate interstate commerce?
6. Who has the authority to deal with the Native Americans?

3. Expansion and Migration
After the War of 1812 there was a surge of American nationalism, pride, and nation building.
American perspective shifted from Europe to the American West after 1815

4. Reasons for Westward Expansion, 1812-1840
Population of U.S. almost doubled in 20 years and Americans were “pushed” westward to find new land
American economy was growing
New transportation systems emerged
Industrialization increased
Crops had depleted the soil along east coast, Americans were seeking new land
War of 1812 weakened the power and size of Native American tribes and Indian removal led to relocation

5. Federal government acquired land through treaties with tribes
Forts helped secure the region
Settlers flooded into the West and the population grew faster than any other region of the nation
Westward movement brought groups into contact and conflict with each other
*** This rapid movement impacted the nation’s expanding economy, growing regional tensions, and political divisions that eventually led to Civil War

6. North: Early Industrialism
Rise in manufacturing after 1812
Traditional methods but innovative financing through “putting out” system
“putting-out”--merchants deliver raw materials for farm families, artisans to complete the product
Textile industry led development of factory system in Lowell, Massachusetts and Americans began producing their own cloth
Northern states wanted high tariffs (taxes on imports) to protect American manufacturers. The Southern states wanted lower tariffs to promote international trade and cheap imports.

7. A Revolution in Transportation
After the War of 1812 political leaders recognized the need the need to improve the country’s transportation network to achieve their goals:
national security
economic progress
political unity
Political Debate: Should the federal government help finance roads and other “internal improvements”?

8. Roads and Turnpikes
Federal money used to build a National Road from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, Virginia improved trade and travel
Private turnpikes built by entrepreneurs
Roads useful but unprofitable

10. Steamboats Network of rivers encouraged economic development
Flatboats transported down river early
Steamboats transported upriver after 1811
Upriver capabilities reduced costs
Steamboats soon carried more cargo on the MS River than all earlier forms of river transportation combined (flatboats, barges, etc)
With steamboat traffic Congress to establishes safety regulations
The first steamships crossed the Atlantic leading to an increase in international exchange of goods and people=global economy expands

11. River Systems

13. Robert Fulton, inventor, demonstrated the full potential of the steamboat (1811)

14. The Clermont

15. Steam Stats
In 1820 there were 31 steamboats operating on the MS River, 15 years later there were 361.
Before steam it cost $5 to move 100 pounds of freight by river from New Orleans to Louisville. In twenty years the price dropped to 25 cents.

16. Land Speculation and Westward Settlement
West settled to escape overpopulation, rising land prices, worn-out soil
Cooperation, strong community was necessary for survival
Land values rose rapidly in a few years
Rising prices encouraged settlers to sell out and move on, land speculation drove westward settlement

17. Settlement in the Mississippi River Valley: Indian Removal
Indian Removal policy begins after 1815
Contain them
Civilize them
Remove them
Exterminate them
Some Indians retained tribal homelands
Former Indian land sold to LAND speculators

18. Settlement to the Mississippi: Settlers Move In
By 1840 over 1/3 of U.S. population lived west of the Appalachians
Speculators sold land parcels to settlers on credit=cycle of debt
Settlers immediately engaged in commercial farming to pay off debt
Access to markets gained by network of market towns, regional centers

19. The Beginning of Commercial Agriculture
Lower transportation costs mean greater income for the farmer
Sale to distant markets involves farmers in a complex system of credit
Market stimulates specialization in commercial farming
Ohio Valley produces wheat
Lower South produces cotton

20. Reasons the South became the World’s Leading Producer of Cotton
1. Textile manufacturing in England drove demand for more cotton
2. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin =cut labor costs, cheaper product
3. Fertile land was available in the Southwest
4. Slavery provided the needed labor force
5. River systems provided easy transportation

21. Commerce and Banking
Commercial farming stimulated a new system of marketing
Farmers borrowed against future crops
Use of credit stimulated banking
State banks increased after 1812
1816--Second Bank of the United States created to check state banks
Bank’s easy credit sparked the Panic of 1819=(Sound like today?)

26. Port of New Orleans: Exports
1816=37,000 bales
1830=428,000 bales
1840=923,000 bales
In the South production tripled from 1817 to 1840 ( 461,000 bales to 1,350,000 bales)

27. The Canal Boom
Erie Canal was first transportation link between East and West, 1825
Canal cut East-West transportation costs dramatically
Canal stimulated commercial growth of New York City and transformed the economy of the northeastern U.S.

28. Emergence of a Market Economy
Canals cut shipping expenses for western farmers and eastern manufacturers
Steamboats on the rivers also reduced shipping costs and stimulated commercial agriculture
The nation was rapidly developing an integrated national economic system

29. Erie Canal: 364 miles long, 40 feet wide, 84 locks, opened in 1825

31. Erie Canal: The Nation’s First Super Highway

32. Story of Us: Erie Canal