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Forging the National Economy
1790 – 1860
“Europe stretches to the Alleghenies; America lies beyond.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Westward Movement
US marched quickly toward the WestVery hard – disease & loneliness
Frontier people were individualistic, superstitions, & ill-informed
Shaping the Western Landscape
Westward movement molded environmentTobacco exhausted landKentucky blue grass thrived
Ecological imperialism – exploitation of the land
Trapped beavers, sea otters, and bison to manufacture for East
Spirit of nationalism - appreciation of American wilderness
George Catlin pushed for national park Yellowstone in 1872
The March of the Millions
Population doubled every 25 years1860 - 4th largest in the world High birthrateGerman & Irish immigrants
Transoceanic steamship – reduced travel to 12 days
1860 – 33 statesUrban growth exploded
Bad sanitation resulted in:sewage system – Boston 1823pipe-in water supply – NY 1842
Irish Immigrants
Potato famine (1840s)
2 million died & many fled to US
Settled in large cities - Boston & NYMany were illiterateDiscriminated against(NINA)Low-paying jobs (railroad)
Religiously discriminated against - CatholicCompeted with blacks for jobsAncient Order of Hibernians - aided IrishAttracted to politics & police dept.
The German Forty-Eighters
1830-1860 – 1 million arrived
Crop failures & democratic revolution of 1848Had more money than Irish
Bought land in Wisconsin
Wooed by politicians
Contributed to US culture
IsolationismUrged public education & freedom of slavesSome resentment
settled in groups
Brought beers
Antiforeignism
Nativists – against immigrantsJobs, politics, & religion
1840s – Catholics started their own schoolsOrder of the Star-Spangled Banner
1849 – “Know-Nothing Party”
Antiforeignism
• “Know-Nothing” Party - Met in secrecy
Fought for restriction on immigration, naturalization, & deportation of aliensWrote books about corruption of churches
Violence eruptedPhiladelphia 1844 – burned churches, schools, people killed
Made America a pluralistic societyImmigrants became crucial to economic expansion
The March of Mechanization
Industrial Revolution spread to USUS became an industrial giant
Land was cheap, labor scarce, money for investment plentiful, raw materials Lacked consumer factory-scale manufacturingCompeted with British factoriesBritish kept textile to own monopoly
Forbade travel of craftsmen & export of machines
US remained rural
Samuel Slater
“Father of the Factory System”Learned machinery in Britain & escaped to US with knowledge
Built 1st cotton thread spinner in the United States - 1791
Aided by Moses Brown
Eli Whitney
Cotton gin Cotton economy now profitable, saved “King Cotton”South flourished & expanded cotton kingdom toward westNorth factories manufactured cotton
Interchangeable Parts – 1850
Marvels in Manufacturing
Embargo (War of 1812) encouraged home manufacturing
American factories closed after the warBritish poured in cheap goods
Tariff of 1816 – protect US economy
Principle of “limited liability” stimulate economy Laws of “free incorporation” – 1848
No longer need to apply for charter to start corporation
Improvements
Inventions: Elias Howe & Isaac Singer
Sewing machine – 1846
Samuel MorseTelegraph- connected business
28,000 patents applied forby Civil War.
Workers & Wage Slaves
Conditions:Impersonal relationsLong hours, low wagesNo unionsChild laborHarsh working conditions
Conditions improved in 1820s-1830s
10 hour day (Van Buren)
More moneyTolerable conditionsPublic educationBan on imprisonment for debt
Unions
Many workers tried to strike but lostImmigrants replaced workers
1830s – Unions formed but hit hard by the Panic of 1837Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) – Mass
Legalized unions on peaceful & honorable protest
Women & the Economy
Factory work / bad conditionsLowell Girls
Opportunities rareMainly domestic service, teaching, & nursing
Single women worked, married women were house-wives
Cult of domesticity
Family
More marriages for loveAverage family size decreased
Domestic feminism Child-centered families
Western Farmers
Trans-Allegheny region (Ohio-Indiana-Illinois) became nation’s breadbasket
Planted corn & raised hogs
InventionsJohn Deere – steel plowCyrus McCormick – mechanical mower-reaper
Led to large-scale productionProduced more than the southNeed for better transportation
Highways & Steamboats
Improvements in transportation:Lancaster Turnpike (Lancaster to Philadelphia)
Brought economic expansion to West
Cumberland Road (Maryland to Illinois) 1811-1852
Paid for with state & federal money
Robert Fulton - Steam Engine – 1807Increased US tradeContributed to development of South & West
“Clinton’s Big Ditch”
Erie Canal – NY (1817-1925)Between Lake Erie & Hudson River
Impact:Shorten expense & timeCities grew along the canalCost of food reducedFarms became specialized to be able to compete for prices
Pioneer Railroad Promoters
1828 – 1st railroad in US1860 – 30,000 miles of tracks (3/4 in north) – why is this going to be important?
Railroad was opposed because of fear that the Erie Canal would lose money & fire (very dangerous)Trains were badly constructed (brakes bad) & gauge of traveling varied – what does this mean?
The Transport Web
NY became the Queen portDivision of labor
Each region specialized in own economy activity
South-cotton to New EnglandWest-grain & livestock for East & EuropeEast-machines, textiles for South & West
Transformed homeOnce center of economy but now a refuge (cult of domesticity again!)
Wealth & Poverty
Wide gap between rich & poorGreatest extreme in the cities
Unskilled workers were driftersSome social mobility existed
Rags-to-riches were rare
Standard of living increasedWages increased
Exports
Foreign exportCotton –1/2 of all exportsAfter repeal of Corn Law of 1846, wheat became important role in trade with England Americans imported more than exported
Substantial debt to foreign creditors
Cables, Clippers, & Pony Riders
1858 – Cyrus Field laid telegraph cable between US & Europe
Better one in 1866
1840s-1850s – Donald McKay built clipper ships
Faster & longerSacrificed cargo space for speedCrushed by British’s iron tramp steamers
1860 – Pony ExpressSpeedy communication from Missouri to CA