Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Notes Mrs. Marshall

Demographics in America by the 1840s and 1850s ½

of all people were under the age of 30  By 1850 population was still doubling almost every 25 years  1860 there were 33 states  U.S. was the 4th most populous nation in the western world  By 1860 43 cities had populations over 20,000

“squatter sovereignty” or “squatters rights” People settled on land they did not own.’ “ecological imperialism” The aggressive exploitation of the West’s bounty

George Catlin- painter/student of Native American life. Advocated the preservation of nature as a national policy-proposed the creation of a national park.

Why immigrants came to the US  To

escape overcrowded conditions in Europe  Industrialists encouraged immigration because they needed unskilled workers  Western states encouraged it to increase their population

Irish potato famine 1840’s more than ½ million migrated to the US. They settled in large east coast cities (too poor to move west/buy land), most were Roman Catholics. They faced a great deal of discrimination

German immigrants came for political, economic and social reasons. They tended to move to farms or frontier towns, became more numerous than Irish after 1854.

Nativism-favoring the interest of native-born people over foreignborn. Much prejudice against immigrants in the US.

Order of the Star Spangled Banner an organization founded in 1849 by people who were frightened by the rapid influx of Irish immirgrants. It was an anti-Catholic political organization. Developed into the “Know-Nothing’ party. Party platform:  Exclusion of Catholics and foreigners from public office  Increase naturalization from 5 to 21 years Achieved national prominence because the 2 major parties were braking apart over slavery issue.

Industrial Revolution Began in Great Britain A change in social and economic organization that resulted from the replacement of hand tools with machines and from the development of large-scale industrial production. American industrial revolution began with textile mills

 Samuel

Slater- father of the factory system in the U.S.

 Eli

Whitney-invented the cotton gin and the principle of interchangeable parts

Reasons it took so long for Industrial Revolution to spread to the US  People

were able to afford the cheap land/favored outdoor work v indoor  Labor was scarce (until immigrants came)  Money for capital investment was scarce  Raw materials were undeveloped  Consumers were scarce

Why New England states were favored as an industrial center:  Poor

soil  Dense population  Shipping brought in capital  Seaports made it easier to import raw materials and export finished products  Abundant water power to run machinery

 Cyrus

McCormick-mechanical reaper-1834-enabled farmers to use horse drawn machine to cut wheat

 John

Deere-steel plow-1837enabled farmers to double his productivity in the labor of plowing the field

 Samuel

F.B. Morse-1844telegraph- improved communication.

Characteristics of American work force in early 19th century Wages were low-most of profits went to owners  Hours were long  Forbidden by law to form labor unions  Worked in unsanitary buildings that were poorly ventilated, lighted, heated  Child labor-1820 ½ of laborers were children 

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Strikebreakers (scabs/rats) brought in by employers to replace striking workers.

Commonwealth v Hunt 1842-the supreme court of Massachusetts ruled that labor unions were legal.

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Cult of domesticity-glorified the traditional role of women as homemakers.

Lancaster Turnpike-first major transportation project linking the East to the trans-Allegheny west. Turnpikes/toll roads aided commerce and westward expansion

Obstacles of western road building:  Expensive  Opposition

from states rights

advocates  Opposition from eastern states  War interruptions

 National

Road/Cumberland Road Went from Cumberland, Maryland to Illinois-provided important infrastructure for economic development  Steamboats- Robert FultonClermont-mainly on western and southern rivers

 Erie

Canal-marked the beginning of the “canal era”. Funded by the state of New York. Linked Buffalo to Albany. Drastically reduced transportation cost.

 Railroads-

most of early railroads were in the north and could be built almost anywhere

 Pony

Express- the short-lived method of carrying mail to the west.

 Market

Revolution- a term used to describe the dramatic change in the economy that took place in the first half of the 19th century.

A major economic consequence of the transportation and marketing revolution was a steady improvement in average wages and standard of living.