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Forging the National Economy 1790-1860 The American Pageant Chapter 15

Westward Movement  America young (1850: 1/2 under 30) and moving westward. By 1840, pop. center crossed Alleghenies.

 Life grim for most pioneer families: disease, depression, loneliness, poverty.

Westward Movement (2)  Theme of rugged individualism reflected in literature: “Self-Reliance” by Emerson, Melville’s Ahab.

 Yet pioneers needed help: neighbors for logrolling/ barnraising, etc.

Shaping West. Landscape

 Exhausted tobacco fields & “KY bluegrass” attracted people to west.  Trade in beaver, bison in West nearly wiped out both species.  California coast sea otter nearly wiped out as well (pelts). Shaping West. Landscape (2)

 Yet many reverenced nature, appreciated unequaled pristine, natural beauty of America, inspired literature, painting, later conservation movement.

 George Catlin, painter of Indian life, proposed national park.

March of the Millions

 Midcentury: pop. still doubling every 25 years, 33 states in 1860, 4th most populous country in world (Russia, France, Austria).

 1860: 43 cities over 20,000, com-pared with 2 in 1790, notable NY, Chicago, New Orleans.

March of the Millions (2)

 Urbanization brought slums, bad water, sewage problems, rats, improper garbage disposal – cities dev. piped in water, etc.

 1840s: immigration tripled, then quadrupled in 1850s, mostly Irish & German.

March of the Millions (3)  Why Europeans came? Social mobility, freedom from state church,

land.

 Introduction of steamships allowed crossing Atlantic in 10 or 12 days.

Emerald Isle Moves West

 1840s: 2 million Irish died in potato famine, many came to America.  Irish too poor to move west, settled in Boston & NY, crammed into slums, shunned b/c they were Catholics.

Emerald Isle Moves West (2)

 Irish took menial jobs (kitchen maids, RR workers), hated b/c were willing to work for less, led to “No Irish Need Apply.”

 Irish resented blacks b/c com-petition, resulted in race riots with Irish/black dockworkers.

Emerald Isle Moves West (3)

 Ancient Order of Hibernians: benevolent society to help Irish, spawned “Molly Maguires” (miners union).

 Gradually improved lot, became active politically – NY’s Tam-many Hall, Irish pol. machine.

German 48ers

 Most Germans came due to crop failures, but some political refugees from collapse of democratic revolutions in 1848.

 Germans better off than Irish, came west, many to Wisconsin.

German 48ers (2)  German contributions: Kentucky rifle, Xmas tree, Kindergarten; abolitionists.

 Some Americans suspicious b/c they tried to preserve language/ culture, lived in separate communities, drank beer.

Antiforeign Flare-Ups  American “nativists” feared 1840s & 50s invasion of immigrants: took jobs, grew Roman Catholicism.

 Catholics built their own schools, were #1 denomination by 1850.

Antiforeign Flare-Ups (2)  1849: Nativists form Order of the Star-Spangled Banner, developed into “Know-Nothing” party. Wanted immigration restrictions.

 Nativists occasionally violent, burned Boston convent (1834).

Antiforeign Flare-Ups (3)

 1844: Phil. Irish fought back, 13 killed in several days of fighting.  Why not more clashes in such diverse society? Robust American

economy could take them in.

March of Mechanization

 1750: Factory system invent. in Britain, led to Industrial Rev.  America slow to embrace, why? Cheap land, scarce labor, little capital, few consumers, superiority of British factories, secrecy of machine designs.

Whitney ends Fiber Famine  Samuel Slater – “Father of Factory System”: memorized machine plans, escaped to US.

 1791: 1st US machinery in place for spinning cotton thread, but where’s cotton? Whitney ends Fiber Famine (2)

 1793: Eli Whitney invents cotton gin, 50x more effective than handpicking.

 Suddenly, raising of cotton highly profitable, South tied to King Cotton, kept demand for slaves. Whitney ends Fiber Famine (3)

 New England factories flourish-ed with southern cotton.  Why NE favored for manufac-turing? Soil discouraged farm-ing, dense pop. gave labor & markets, shipping brought cap-ital, rivers powered machines.

Manufacturing Marvels

 Eli Whitney also invents principle of interchangeable parts, used in muskets for army.

 1850: principle widely adopted, led to mass production, & gave North large industrial plants, military superiority over South.

Manufacturing Marvels (2)  1846: Sewing machine inv. by Howe, perfected by Singer, gave boost to northern industry.

 Became foundation for ready-made clothing industry, led many women into factories.

 1800–306 patents: 1860–28,000 Manufacturing Marvels (3)  Principle of limited liability led to corporations, more capital.  1844: Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrates telegraph between Washington & Baltimore.

Workers & Wage Slaves

 Prior manufacturing done in home or small shop.

 With industrial revolution, large impersonal factories surrounded by slums full of “wage slaves” developed.

Workers & Wage Slaves (2)  Long hours, low wages, unsanitary conditions, lack of heat, etc.  Labor unions illegal.  1820: 1/2 of industrial workers were children under 10. Workers & Wage Slaves (3)  1820s & 30s: right to vote for laborers, loyalty to Dem. party led to improved conditions.

 Fought for 10-hour day, higher wages, better conditions.  30s & 40s: Dozens of strikes for higher wages or 10-hour day. Workers & Wage Slaves (4)  1830: 300,000 in trade unions, but 1837 depression hurt union membership.

 1842: Commonwealth v. Hunt – Sup. Ct. ruled unions not illegal conspiracies as long as peaceful.

Women & the Economy

 Some women in factories working 6 days, all day, but most working women in nurs-ing, domestic service, teaching.

 1850: 10% of white women working for pay outside home. Women & the Economy (2)  Vast majority of working women were single. Left paying jobs upon marriage.

 “Cult of domesticity” develops: cultural idea that glorifies homemaker, empowers married women.

Women & the Economy (3)  Increased power & independ-ence of women in home led to decline in family size, more child-centered parenting, more affectionate families.

 Parenting goal: people who could make own decisions.

Revolution in the Fields  Strong agricultural production in West, esp. corn (hog market).  Western produce floated down Ohio/Miss. rivers to South.  Wanted more land to farm, but tough soil broke wooden plows. Revolution in the Fields (2)  1837: John Deere produced steel plow in Illinois.  1830s: McCormick invents mower-reaper, subsistence farming became

cash-crop.

 Needed more markets for goods, but no way east.

Highways & Steamboats

 1790s: roads bad, transporta-tion highly unreliable.  1790s: 1st toll road: Lancaster turnpike, highly profitable.  Turnpikes brought canvas-covered Conestoga wagons west. Highways & Steamboats (2)  Western road building blocked by states’ righters, & and eastern states afraid of losing population.

 But fed gov’t did build Cumber-land Road, 1811-1852, MD to IL, 591 miles.

Highways & Steamboats (3)  1807: Robert Fulton launches Clermont on Hudson River, 1st steamboat.

 Upstream travel now possible, rivers 2-way, more trade.  1820: 60 steamboats on Miss., 1860: about 1,000.

Clinton’s Big Ditch in NY

 1817-1825: NY, under leadership of Gov. Clinton, builds Erie Canal, 363 miles, connects Hudson w/ Great Lakes.

 Shipping ton of grain from Buf-falo to NYC was $100, now $5. Clinton’s Big Ditch in NY (2)

 Farming in OH, MI, IN, IL now highly profitable, attracted Europeans.  NY food prices cut in half, New England farmers cannot com-pete, more go toward factories.

 National economy developing.

Pioneer RR Promoters

 RR proved most sig. develop-ment toward national economy.  Faster, cheaper, more reliable than canals, defied terrain & weather.  1st RR in 1828; by 1860, 33,000 miles of track, most in North. Pioneer RR Promoters (2)  Obstacles: opposition from canal backers, danger of fire, poor brakes, difference in track gauge meant changing trains.

 Obstacles eventually overcome: Pullman “sleeping palace” produced in 1859.

Trans. Web Binds Union

 Canals & RR bound West to East (more than South w/ Miss),

NYC

became dominant port.

 Eve of Civil War, continental economy in place. South - Cotton; West grain/livestock; East - machines/textiles.

Trans. Web Binds Union (2)

 South underestimated ties of Miss. Valley with East, thought Miss. river would force northwest to be loyal to South.

 Economy had social effects: many left home to work, bought fabrics, etc. made elsewhere.

Wealth & Poverty  Some becoming very wealthy, e.g. John Jacob Astor.  Mass of unskilled workers in cities showed inequality.  But their wages rose 1%/year from 1820-60 – increased standard of living.

Cables, Clippers, Riders

 1858: Cyrus Field stretched telegraph cable across Atlantic, went dead, replace in 1866.

 1840s - 50s: Clipper ships introduced.

Faster than steamers, but could

not hold as much.

Cables, Clippers, Riders (2)  But British steamers proved more profitable, clipper ships obsolete on eve of Civil War.

 1858: Stagecoaches to Calif.  1860: Pony Express established, lasted only 18 months, replaced by telegraph.