Forging the National Economy 1790 -1860 Ch 14

Forging the National Economy 1790 -1860 Ch 14

Industrialization • All of the following gave rise to a more dynamic, market-oriented, national economy in early nineteenth-century America: – push west in search of cheap land – a vast number of European immigrants settling in the cities – newly invented machinery – better roads, faster steamboats, further-reaching canals, and tentacle-stretching railroads.

The Frontier • Life on the frontier was downright grim for most pioneer families. • Unbearable loneliness haunted them, especially women who were often cut off from human contact. • Pioneers as they were called felt isolated and called upon the government for help in building internal improvements.

• Although life on the frontier was difficult, many like George Catlin, believed in preserving nature as a national policy. • His idea created the national park system like Yellowstone Park (1872).

Rapid Urbanization • In early-nineteenth-century America, the urban population was growing at an unprecedented rate. • The population was doubling every 25 years. • In 1790, only New York and Philadelphia had a population over 20, 000. By 1860, there were 43 cities. • Such rapid urbanization resulted in unsanitary conditions in many communities.

The Irish • Potato famine (1840’s)- the Irish population depended on the potato as their main source of food. • When a potato rot hit the crops about ¼ of the population (2 million) died of starvation and disease. • The “Black Forties” as it was called to mass exodus. • Ireland’s great export was its population. • The large influx of Catholic Irish, who continued to hate the British, led many of them to be mistreated by native workers. • “NINA” No Irish Need Apply was a common sign posted at factory gates.

• When the Irish flocked to the United States in the 1840 s, they stayed in the larger seaboard cities because they were too poor to move west and buy land. • When the “famine Irish” came to America, they mostly remained in the port cities of the Northeast. • Boston and New York became the largest Irish cities.

The German • German immigrants in the early nineteenth century tended to preserve their own language and culture. • German immigrants to the United States came to escape economic hardships and autocratic government. • The Germans contributed the Conestoga wagon, the Christmas tree, bier, and Kindergarten to American culture.

Immigrant Backlash • Those who were frightened by the rapid influx of Irish immigrants organized the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner (OSSB). • The OSSB was an oath-bound secret society in New York. It was created in 1849 by Charles Allen to protest the rise of Irish, Catholic, and German immigration into the U. S. • The sentiment of fear and opposition to open immigration was called nativism. • Native-born Americans feared that Catholic immigrants to the United States would “establish” the Catholic church at the expense of Protestantism. • However, immigrants coming to the United States before 1860 helped to fuel economic expansion.

Slater and Whitney • The “Father of the Factory System” in the United States was Samuel Slater. • He memorized the plans for the machinery that spins cotton thread and escaped to the U. S. • Eli Whitney was instrumental in the invention of the cotton gin. • As a result of the development of the cotton gin, slavery revived and expanded

• Eli Whitney also introduced the method of mass production of muskets for the U. S. Army. • The principle of interchangeable parts was widely adopted in 1850 and began the basis of mass production. • Between 1790 -1800, only 306 patents were issued, yet between 1850 -1860 28, 000 were issued. • In 1844, Samuel F. B. Morse strung a 40 mile wire from Washington to Baltimore and tapped out the historic message “What hath God Wrought? ” • The telegraph improved the business world as well as communication with the frontier.

Wage Slaves • The early factory system distributed its benefits mostly to the owners. • While the owners grew rich, working people wasted away. • Children were also exploited. Some were brutally whipped in special “whipping rooms. ” • The American work force in the early nineteenth century was characterized by substantial employment of women and children in factories.

Labor Unions • The 1830’s and 1840’s brought many strikes asking for a ten hour work day. • Many workers realized that their strongest weapon was to lay down their tools and go on strike. • In the case of Commonwealth v. Hunt, the supreme court of Massachusetts ruled that labor unions were not illegal conspiracies.

Women and the Economy • The vast majority of working women were single. • Upon marriage women left their paying jobs and took up the job of wives and mothers. • The “cult of domesticity” glorified the traditional role of women as homemakers. • Women’s changing roles and the Industrial Revolution changed the life in the 19 th century home. • Early 19 th century families were getting smaller. • One of the goals of the child-centered family of the 1800 s was to raise independent individuals.

Go West! • What did the wittle wabbit do after wunning awound a day wong? • The effect of early-nineteenth-century industrialization on the trans-Allegheny West was to encourage specialized, cash-crop agriculture. • With the development of cash-crop agriculture in the trans-Allegheny West, farmers quickly faced mounting indebtedness. • Such inventions such as the steel plow (John Deere) and Mc. Cormick’s mechanical reaper gave way to large scale farming. • Before the annual harvest could move east or west, major transportation innovation had to be made.

Transportation • In the 1790's a major transportation project linking the East to the trans-Allegheny West was the Lancaster Turnpike. • Western road building faced all of the following problems: – – It was expensive States’ rights advocates opposed eastern states opposed Wartime interruptions (War of 1812) • The “canal era” of American history began with the construction of the Erie Canal in New York. • Construction of the Erie Canal forced some New England farmers to move or change occupations.