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Chapter 14: Forging the National Economy, 1790-1860. In the first half of the 19 th century the United States was growing at a rapid rate. The population was moving west and the national economy was thriving. . Westward Movement. Conestoga Wagon.
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Chapter 14: Forging the National Economy, 1790-1860 In the first half of the 19th century the United States was growing at a rapid rate. The population was moving west and the national economy was thriving.
Westward Movement Conestoga Wagon • The West offered opportunities and new questions • REASONS: • 1.) Native Americans being driven off their land • 2.) New land to replace soil exhausted by years of farming • 3.) War and embargo caused people to move • 4.) Transportation improved: roads, canals, RRs, and steamboats • 5.) Immigration by Europeans
Population Growth • Between 1800 and 1825 the population doubled • Between 1825 and 1850 it doubled again • High birthrate and immigration • By 1830s almost 1/3 of the population lived west of the Alleghenies • Ecological Imperialism: exploiting the bounty of the West • Growth of cities = unsanitary conditions
Transportation • Roads: By the 1820s, roads connected most of the country’s major cities. National (Cumberland) Road stretched from MD to IL. • Interstate: Within more than one state • Intrastate: Within one state
Transportation • Canals: The Erie Canal was constructed from 1817-1825 and linked the frontier to NYC • Boomtowns: Rochester, Buffalo, Lockport, Syracuse and Utica • Stimulated economic growth and soon more states built canals • Improved transportation meant lower food prices and more immigration
Transportation • Robert Fulton’s Clermont. The World’s First Successful Steamboat • Steamboats: began in 1807, with the Clermont on the Hudson River • Makes transportation on the nation’s rivers faster and cheaper • Railroads: built in late 1820s, more rapid and reliable. Soon competing with canals. • Boomtowns: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit and Chicago
Immigration • From 1832 on that number of immigrants coming to the U.S. increased dramatically • 1830s-1850s nearly 4 million arrive in the U.S. • Most arrive in Boston, NYC, and Philadelphia • WHY? • 1.) Ocean transportation was improving – faster and cheaper • 2.) Reputation of U.S. for opportunity and freedom • 3.) Famines and revolutions in Europe
The Irish • Irish immigrants leaving for America, 1846 • During this period (1840s and 1850s), roughly half of the immigrants came from Ireland • Potato famine! • Faced discrimination upon arrival in U.S. (Catholic, competition for jobs) • Eventually entered local politics • Joined Democratic Party • Organized fellow immigrants to join
The Irish • “The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things” By Thomas Nast
The Germans • Economic hardship and failed revolution (1848) caused Germans to seek refuge in the U.S. • Skilled as farmers and artisans • At first their political influence was limited, but later they became more active in public life • Strong supporters of education and anti-slavery
Nativists • Native born Americans were alarmed by the influx of immigrants • Job competition • Catholic vs. Protestant • Weaken Anglo majority • This leads to sporadic rioting in big cities • The Order of the Star-Spangled Banner • American Party or Know Nothing Party
Growth of Industry • At the start of the 19th century, a manufacturing economy had barely begun. However, by midcentury, manufacturing had surpassed agriculture in value • By the end of the century, U.S. manufacturing was the world’s leader • A combination of factors led to this
Growth of Industry • Mechanical Inventions: inventors looked to patent new machines that made work faster and easier • In 1793 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin and during the War of 1812 he devised a system to make rifles out of interchangeable parts
Growth of Industry • Factory system: first U.S. factory est. in 1791 thanks to Samuel Slater. He smuggled secrets from Britain for cotton-spinning machines • The Embargo Act, War of 1812 and tariffs helped stimulate the economy • New England leads the way with its water power and seaports • Banking and insurance businesses grow
Growth of Industry Textile Mill in Lowell, MA • Labor: Competition with lure of cheap land out West • Textile mills in Lowell, MA recruited young women • Child labor • Toward middle of the 19th century, immigrants were being widely employed • Unions: Trade or craft unions formed, shoemakers and weavers • Wanted to reduce workday, but there was much opposition
Cotton and the South • Throughout the 19th century the main cash crop was cotton • Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin transformed the South • Slavery increased and land in AL and MS was used for growing cotton • Most of the cotton went overseas to Britain
Market Revolution • Urbanization, industrialization, specialization on the farms and the birth of modern capitalism brought many changes • Farmer fed urban workers and urban worker provided mass produced goods for the farmers • Producer culture to consumer culture • Standard of living increased • New challenges and problems
Women • As American society became more industrialized, work changed • Women were either in domestic service or teaching • Most working women were single, married stayed at home • Less arranged marriages, less children • Still lacked many rights (suffrage) • Cult of domesticity: women as household caretakers/moral leaders and educators
Economic and Social mobility • Gap between rich and poor grows • Social mobility did exist and opportunity was better than in Europe
Slavery • Many felt that as the 19th century began, slavery would gradually disappear • Importation of slaves banned in 1808 • Rapid growth of cotton industry increases the “need” for slaves • No clear answers • What do we do with western lands?
