Chapter 11

Life, Leisure, and Culture 1840-1860

In England, the Royal Astronomer said that a transatlantic cable would be

impossible

• But Cyrus West Field made it happen• So what if the line snapped? It worked.• Here was the advent of Technology ( a

word popularized after 1829) meant that science would improve life, making it more convenient and prosperous

But the questions of this chapter….

• In what ways did technology transform the daily life of ordinary Americans?

• How did it divide them?

• How did it affect intellectual and artistic life?

Agricultural Advancement

• Steel tipped plow made by John Deere allowed people to move out into the prairies

• Wheat became the crop of Midwest• Cyrus McCormick made the mechanical

reaper in 1834, which made wheat harvesting 6X faster

• Used strategies such as deferred payments, money-back guarantees

Did McCormick’s reaper helped the North win the Civil War?

• It was key in helping the North win• It kept Northern agricultural

production high at a time when labor shortages caused by troop mobilization could have slashed production

• The South didn’t use the reaper and kept slave labor instead

• Eli Whitney used interchangeable parts by 1798

• Used widely in America which meant that inventor could fix just one part of his item, and not have to throw whole item away

• Colt’s revolving pistol made in 1836 would be mass produced by Smith and Wesson

What did America make?• Telegraph• Railroads that could

travel 3 times faster than a European RR

• RR track went from 3000 to 30,000 miles

• different gauge track made changes of train necessary

By 1860 few rail lines were west of the Mississippi

Technological advances made items cheaper

• Clocks used to cost $50 if made by hand

• By 1850: 50 cents• Annual wages

improving• Towns and cities

growing• Most people made

$300 per year

Was life better?

• According to poet Walt Whitman…yes

• Standard of living improved: new stoves, fresh vegetables, chairs, machines