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Cultural Change during the Jacksonian Era
Chapter 10
Technology and Economic Growth
Hailed as democratic
Improvement of society due to improvement of technology
Major improvements Steam engine Cotton gin McCormick Reaper Sewing Machine Telegraph
Technology did not benefit everyone Made South more dependent on
cotton Undercut artisans
Mostly positive Improved transportation Increased productivity Lower commodity prices Raised standard of living
Four fundamental changes in American Society fueled economic growth Millions moved from farms to cities # of factory workers increases
increase in economic growth Shift from water power to steam
power raised productivity
Rise in agricultural production
Industrial Revolution better called Industrial “Evolution”
Agricultural Advancement Innovations
Cyrus McCormick’s reaper 1834 John Deere Plow 1837
Importance Technological advances
increased agricultural productivity
Deere plow made difficult soil easier to plow Indiana, Michigan, Illinois
ReaperHarvested grain 7x faster
with ½ the labor forceMechanized agricultureWheat became cash crop
Quote “Americans had a general
hatred of trees” – French Traveler
Technological and Industrial Progress
Industrial advances owed debt to development of effective tools and power-driven machines
“American System” of manufacturing Manufacture of interchangeable parts Allowed hiring of unskilled workers Advantages
Replacement parts easily obtained Inventions pushed into mass
productions
National Economy NE
Manufactured shipping goods Ex. Guns, clocks, axes
South and West Wheat, pork, whiskey, tobacco,
cotton Large domestic economy
Technological Innovations Telegraph
Samuel B. Morse 1844 By 1852: 15,000 miles of telegraph
lines Railroad Boom
Offered one class of travel Except African-Americans
Problems with early RR’s Open cars No brakes No standard time zones
Transformation 1840-1860 More track Covered coaches Powerful engine telegraph
1860 More track in US than entire
world Railroads= US as second
leading Industrial nation
Railroads Owned by private corps but
received lots of federal aid Land grants
2nd phase of transportation revolution Turned rail “hubs” into thriving
cities Atlanta Chattanooga Chicago
East-West rail stimulated settlement and agricultural development of Midwest Also propelled small towns along
routes Nation’s 1st big business
Financing shifted to NYC Helped wall street create
greatest capital market Turned NYC into financial capital
Rising Prosperity Technological advances
Improved lives of consumers by bringing down costs of commodities
Widening use of steam power contributed to raise in real income More year-round work
Economic advantage to living in cities
“Free Labor system” Wage earners Work your way up
Quality of Life Dwellings
More brick-style houses Divided among classes
Poor (Irish/ Black) tenements
Wealthy Iron gates, ornate furniture Parks, squares
Conveniences and Inconveniences Coal-burning stoves
Variety of diet Water
No sanitation departments Disease/health
Epidemics Cholera, yellow fever
Anesthetics discovered 1840s Popular health movements
Hydrotherapy, Graham’s healthy diet
Phrenology
Democratic Pastimes Newspaper
Limited appeal, small circulation, lacked “real” stories
1830 transformation Technological advancements
Increased supply of paper Flat-bed presses
Circulation increased due to slashing prices
Penny press revolutionized marketing and format of paper Newsboys New concept of “news” First to use telegraphs
Theater Large, attended by all classes 1849
Feud between actors Edwin Forrest and William McCready left 22 dead
Diverse plays Shakespeare most popular
Minstrel Shows Forged enduring stereotype of white
Americans sense of superiority over blacks
Started in north 1840 Included black song/ dance Reinforced prejudice
“Uncle Ned” Tattered, humble, docile
slave “Zip Coon”
Arrogant free black
P.T. Barnum Liar/ cheat 1st exhibition in NY 1834
Black 164 year-old slave 1841 American Museum
Collection of curiosities and fake exhibits
“freak show”
Quest for Nationality in Art and Literature
No real “American” writers pre-1820
American Renaissance Created by:
Economical Transportation revolution National market for
booksPhilosophical
Romanticism Fiction becomes increasingly
importantDidn’t have to have higher
educationWomen could write
Art Date 1820s-1830s
Hudson River School Thomas Cole, George Innes,
Asher Durand, Frederick Church
Evocative scenes of Hudson River Valley
Influenced “nature” paintings
“West” George Caleb Bingham Missouri, Mississippi Painted the frontier
George Catlin Preservation of
“disappearing America” Native Americans Romantic view of
savages
Landscape Architects 1st cemetery Central Park (1858)
Literature New England Authors
James Fennimore CooperCreated “Western” genreLast of the Mohicans 1826
Henry David ThoreauFocused on natureWalden or Life in the Woods
1854 Encouraged people to shun
civilization Nathaniel Hawthorne
Addressed crucial Jacksonian issues such as democracy, individual freedom, religion, etc.
Scarlett Letter 1850 Others:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harriett Beecher Stowe, Emily Dickinson
Literature focused on looking back longingly at a vanished and often imagined agraiain utopia
Literature in the Marketplace
Not a “career” Emily Dickinson refused to
publish
Some other wrote for $ or pride Alcoholic Poe Ego of Thoreau
Lyceum lectures of Emerson Educated lectures
Most lucrative occupation for women pre-civil war Sentimental novels Some challenged authority
Technological advances = cheaper novels
Literature Western
Samuel Clemens Started in newspaper Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
New Heroes Daniel Boone Davy Crockett
Architecture Greek Revival
Glorify democracy