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I. The Capitalist Commonwealth. A. Banks, Manufacturing, and Markets
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I. The Capitalist Commonwealth A. Banks, Manufacturing, and Markets 1. Banking and Credit – Many Americans believed republicanism should advance capitalism; to finance economic ventures, people needed banks; Boston and New York founded institutions similar to the Bank of the U.S., which issued notes and commercial loans; in 1816, Congress chartered Second Bank of the U.S., joining 246 banks in the nation; not all banking institutions were trustworthy. The Panic of 1819 caused by “dubious” banking policies and a 30 percent drop in agricultural prices; Americans were learning the dangers of the up and down capitalist “business cycle.”
I. The Capitalist Commonwealth A. Banks, Manufacturing, and Markets 2. Rural Manufacturing – By 1820, many small artisans were selling their products nationwide; rural manufacturing networks aided in this process; innovations were made in production and marketing; water-powered mills in New England and the Middle Atlantic states (1780s) increased output; some farmers began to change their focus; in New England, switched from growing crops for subsistence to raising livestock to sell; had environmental repercussions: foul production-induced smells, cutting down of trees, mills inhibited the existence of fish; wage labor became increasingly important.
I. The Capitalist Commonwealth A. Banks, Manufacturing, and Markets 3. New Transportation Systems – States issued charters for “turnpike companies” with special rights to transportation routes; improved transportation aided in the distribution of products; creation of roads boosted economy; water was the quickest and cheapest way to transport goods; land near waterways became increasingly expensive; speculators bought up land in cities with waterways: Cincinnati, Louisville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis.
I. The Capitalist Commonwealth B. Public Enterprise: The Commonwealth System • 1. “Public utility” – Increased production and transportation methods would add to the “common wealth” or “public utility”; transportation charters included the power of “eminent domain” (allowing the forced sale of land along routes). • 2. Critics – Some argued that statutes like eminent domain gave privileges to corporations and violated the rights of individuals; Supreme Court upheld these statutes as good for all.
II. Toward a Democratic Republican Culture A. Opportunity and Equality —for White Men 1. Social Divisions – An emerging middle class after the new nation was formed publicly celebrated political equality and social mobility; European visitors viewed the U.S. as different culturally and socially from Europe; the U.S. had no aristocracy in their view; social division did exist, as some used their talents to achieve personal advancement; some criticized the nouveau riche who seemed to grow their own wealth and rose from nothing; reality was that great majority of those who achieved success were white and male.
II. Toward a Democratic Republican Culture A. Opportunity and Equality —for White Men 2. Discrimination – Laws in the new nation and cultural rules long existent in Europe kept women and African American men from advancing as white men did; race and gender restrictions were written into law, keeping women and black men/women from being able to vote (suffrage) and own property; politicians used both biology and custom to make their discriminatory arguments.
II. Toward a Democratic Republican Culture B. Toward Republican Families 1. Republican Marriages – Debate over authority within American households mirrored the controversy over women’s political rights; postwar Americans did not arrange marriages for children as colonial parents had when land was abundant; chose their own partners, influenced by “sentimentalism”: the importance of feeling or appreciation of God, nature, and fellow humans; led to consent-based companionate marriage; relationships were based on intimacy and celebrated “falling in love”; marriages based on love; in theory, they were supposed to be more republican, but reality was that husbands remained authoritarian; after 1800, divorce petitions cited emotional turmoil in marriages; several states expanded the legal grounds for divorce to include drunkenness and personal cruelty.
II. Toward a Democratic Republican Culture B. Toward Republican Families 2. Republican Motherhood – Later marriages, deliberate limiting of family size, and new ideology of individual led to a sharp decline in the birthrate after 1800; women accepted greater responsibility for family welfare, as republican mothers were charged with educating children and preparing sons to be virtuous republican citizens.
II. Toward a Democratic Republican Culture C. Raising Republican Children 1. Two Modes of Parenting – Unlike Europeans, who generally left property to eldest son, Americans were now encouraged to divide their property equally; parenting among the middle class appeared to observers more permissive than traditional European practices; yeoman and tenant farmers tended toward a stricter approach with authoritarian practices.
II. Toward a Democratic Republican Culture C. Raising Republican Children 2. Debates over Education – Post-Revolution emphasis on public schooling increased significantly; among the elite, the importance of primary, secondary, and potentially college training were emphasized; most American families needed the income their children could provide; farmers, artisans, and laborers wanted their children to know how to read, write, and do basic math; until the 1820s, few children attended school for extended periods of time; post-1820s legislatures included provisions for public schools in local areas.
II. Toward a Democratic Republican Culture C. Raising Republican Children 3. Promoting Cultural Independence – Noah Webster argued that education should raise the “nation’s intellectual reputation”; literary culture was slow to catch on; only Washington Irving was popular outside of the U.S. (“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”); 1830s/1840s was an “American Renaissance” (Emerson).
III. Aristocratic Republicanism and Slavery A. The Revolution and Slavery, 1776–1800 1. Manumission and Gradual Emancipation – One-third of population of South were slaves; some believed that the Revolution would end slavery; many black Loyalists fled to Canada at war’s end; others stayed in the States supporting the Patriots; free blacks in New England volunteered for service; some slaves in Maryland and Virginia bargained service in local militias for postwar freedom; in 1782, Virginia passed a manumission act that allowed for the release of slaves by their owners; condemnation of slavery by Quakers and Enlightenment thinkers increased after war; in 1784, Massachusetts abolished slavery; all states north of Delaware followed by 1804; some states promised freedom after a period of service; even where slavery was abolished, discrimination continued.
III. Aristocratic Republicanism and Slavery A. The Revolution and Slavery, 1776–1800 2. Slavery Defended – Financial investment in slaves made linking republicanism to their condition difficult for most slaveholders; some did release slaves or allow them to buy freedom; slavery was a “necessary evil” in the South, most contended; maintenance of white supremacy and planter lifestyle was critical; in 1800, a planned uprising by Gabriel Prosser (VA) resulted in him and 30 others being hanged; increased argument among southerners that republicanism was meant for whites only.
III. Aristocratic Republicanism and Slavery B. The North and South Grow Apart 1. Slavery and National Politics – Foreign visitors noticed distinct cultural differences between North and South; during Constitution debate, it was accepted that Congress not interfere in slavery; became a growing national issue of debate; slave trade was outlawed by Congress in 1808, but the institution remained.
III. Aristocratic Republicanism and Slavery B. The North and South Grow Apart 2. African Americans Speak Out – Black abolitionists became more vocal after trade ended; used the Haitian Revolution as evidence of the ability of a people to overthrow the institution; for collective support, they joined secret antislavery societies; demand for slaves continued to increase with cotton boom; in 1817, the American Colonization Society was founded by white men with the goal of freeing the slaves and sending them back to Africa; about 6,000 African Americans resettled in Liberia; most free blacks opposed such colonization schemes, as they saw themselves as Americans.
