The National Economy Correlates to Chapter 14: Pageant

The Era of Good Feelings & National Economy Era of Good Feelings Nationalism Population Growth Transportation Industrial Growth Commercial Agriculture Effects of Market Revolution

Era of Good Feelings Monroe Years: optimism, nationalism, goodwill, one-party unity  Assumptions a bit oversimplified: 

– Era consisted of debates over economy, anger over national bank, disunity over sectional tensions, frustrations over public land – Factions enough that Republican Party split into two parties

Cultural Nationalism  

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Popular votes for Monroe cast by younger generation Younger generation excited about westward expansion w/ little interest in European affairs Young, fervent and of the idea that America was moving into time of great prosperity Heroes of Revolution and early America enshrined in paintings and patriotic musings in textbooks – Artists: John Trumball, Charles Willson Peale & Gilbert Stuart

Population Growth   

Industrial development requires laborers & consumers 1800-1825: Population doubled 1825-1850: Population doubled again – 5.5 million in 1800 to 33 million in 1861

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High CBR and influx of immigrants (Germany and G. Britain) African American population grew also- although slave importation banned in 1808 Non-white population did decline overall from 1790 (20%) to 15% in 1850

Westward Movement: Growth of Cities by 1850

Economic Nationalism 

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Tariff of 1816: – Congress raised tariff rates to protect U.S. manufactured products – First protective tariff in U.S. history Henry Clay’s American System: – Three Parts: 1. Protective Tariffs: Promote U.S. manufacturing & raise revenue 2. National Bank: provide national currency, keep economy from growing stagnant 3. Internal Improvements: promote growth & transportation Panic of 1819: – Bank tightened credit in order to control inflation – Problems: many state banks closed; value of money deflated; unemployment & bankruptcies – Speculation was rampant in the West, bank foreclosed many small western farmlands – In response, many westerners called for land reform & opposition to national bank

Slave Debate & Settlement 

New Issues Leading to Compromise: – New states had small populations relative to North and South – Politicians bargained w/ other sections for their objectives – Westerners wanted:  Cheap money (easy credit) from state banks  Land made available by low prices (gov’t provide cheap land)  Improved transportation – Slavery Issue:  Those settling in South wanted slavery for economic needs  Settlers in North had no need for slavery  Slavery became focus of argument and debate when Missouri applied for statehood

The Compromise   

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1791-1792: Vermont entered Union as Free state, Kentucky entered as slave state Politicians desired to keep sectional balance in Congress Northern pop. grew faster THUS- 1818: North had 105 Representatives to South’s 81 Senate states were divided equally So long as balance remained, South could block legislation that threatened them Slavery existed in Missouri and this concerned Northern politicians Also: Missouri first state in Louisiana Territory to apply for statehood- what would the issue of slavery lead to in the other states soon to follow?

Transportation 

Vital to national and industrial economy – Efficient network of interconnecting roads and canals for moving people, raw materials and manufactured goods

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Roads: – Lancaster Turnpike: 1790 connected Philly w/ rich farmlands in the west – Roads privately built and toll roads constructed that connected major cities in NE – State ‘righters’ blocked Federal spending of interstate roads  Exception: Cumberland Road (National) stretched from Maryland to Illinois  Begun in 1811, completed in 1850  Federal and state money used, states received ownership of diff. segments

Cumberland Road

Canals & Steamboats 

Canals: – Erie Canal in New York (1825) important: linked western farms w/ eastern cities – Canal frenzy was sparked ‘cause of success – Canals joined together lakes, rivers east of Mississippi – Improved transportation meant lower food prices in the east, more immigrants settling in west & stronger economic ties

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Steamboats: – Clermont (1807): first successful of steam-powered travel up Hudson River – Commercial steamboats made round-trip transportation faster and cheaper

Erie Canal System

•Help unite the country as well as improve the economy and the infant industry. •Because of the British blockade during the War of 1812, it was essential for internal transportation improvements

Railroads  

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First U.S. rail lines in 1820s Rails competed directly w/ canals for faster and cheaper transportation routes People and goods traveled on rail Railroad transformed Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit & Chicago into economic commercial centers

Growth of Industry Early 19thc century: U.S. industry just began  Mid-19thc: industry surpassed agriculture as most valuable asset  End of 19thc: world’s leader  Rapid growth due to combination of factors: 

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Mechanical inventions Capital Factory System Labor Unions

Industrial Factors 

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Mechanical Inventions:

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– Patent laws protected new ideas; spurred creativity – Interchangeable parts:  Basis for mass production methods in northern factories Factory System: – Embargo and War of 1812 spurred U.S. industry – Tariffs allowed new factories to prosper – New England: leading manufacturing region- abundant water for power & shipping; ready labor supply – Factory system expanded- growth of financial banking and insurance followed

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Labor: – Factories had to compete w/ cheap land in west – Lowell, Mass: young workers recruited and stayed in dorm-like housing – Child labor used extensively (children as young as 7 working in factories) – Mid-century when immigrants employed in large numbers

Capital:

– 1811: New York passed law that business could incorporate & raise money (capital) – Companies could sell stock, buy stock – Only money risked was $ invested in venture – Corporations could raise revenue enough to build factories, canals & railroads

•1830s: Industrialization grew throughout the North •Southern cotton shipped to Northern textile mills was a good working relationship

Early Textile Loom

Commercial Agriculture   

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Early 1800s: agriculture became means of business; less of sustenance Cheap Land in the West: farmers provided w/ loans at low interest rates Markets: Ohio R. and Mississippi R. were only means of transport for western farmers UNTIL canals and railroads were opened New transportation opened new markets in growing factory cities

Cotton & the South Principle cash crop in South (18thc): Cotton  Eli Whitney’s cotton gin transformed the regional agriculture (1793) – Cotton more profitable than tobacco of Colonial period  Cotton fiber could be separated from seeds more easily  Capital invested in new lands in Alabama, Mississippi and slaves  Cotton was shipped overseas for sale to British textile factories 

Market Revolution Farm specialization, growth of cities, industry & capitalism meant end of self-sufficient households  Farmers fed workers in city, workers in city provided farmers w/ finished goods  Standard of living improved  Society changed as well: – Women – Social mobility – Slavery 

Social Changes 

Women: – No longer working farms next to husbands – Women could find domestic service and teaching jobs; few factory jobs though – Majority of working women single & if married, worked in the home – Arranged marriages less common and some women chose to have fewer children – Still: legal restrictions remained

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Slavery: – Slavery becoming economically unfeasible in Virginia & Carolinas  Soil was exhausted due to two centuries of tobacco farming

– Constitutional ban on importation of slaves in 1808 – Growth of cotton industry sprung new tides of slavery – Issues of slavery were not going away on their own  Missouri Compromise illustrates this