Ch.

10: Americas Economic Revolution

I. The Changing American Population
A. The American Population, 1820-1840
By 1790, US population stood at 4 million, by 1820 it had reached 10 million, and 17 million by 1840
Population growth was due to improvements in public health, and high birth rates
Population of the 1820s & 30s distinguished my movement to towns and cities
Women gave birth to an average of 6.14 children
For the first three decades, immigration had little to do with the American population
Reduced transportation costs & increasing economic opportunity stimulated immigration boom
B. Immigration and Urban Growth, 1840-1860
By 1860, 26% of population of the Free states was living in towns or cities
o Up from 14 % in 1840
St. Louis, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and Louisville became centers of trade that connected farmers of
Midwest with New Orleans and, through it, the cities of NE
The number of foreigners arriving in US in 1840 was 84,000-highest for any one year in 19th century
US in 1840-1850 saw development in growth of cities in NE, ag boom in NW, ag decline in NE
o Close economic ties between NE & NW
Immigrants came from many countries: England, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Poland, and Holland
o Majority came from Ireland, and Germany.
Germans immigrated because of economic dislocations of the industrial revolution
o Germans came over as family units
Irish migrated over to US because of oppressive English rule & disastrous failure of the potatoes crop
o Nearly 1 million people Irish died of starvation and disease
Irish settled in eastern cities where they swelled the ranks of unskilled labor
Germans moved to the NW to become farmers or started business in the western towns
o Big reason for the difference was wealth: Germans arrived with money; the Irish had nearly none
C. The Rise Of Nativism
Industrialists, land speculators and political leaders saw immigration as a source of great opportunity
Americans viewed growing foreign-born population with alarm fears led to rise of nativism
Nativism took many forms; racism, inherently inferior or same prejudice towards African Americans
Nativists argued that newcomers were socially unfit alongside people of older stock, that they did not
bring with them sufficient standards of civilization
Others complained because foreigners worked for low wages (stealing jobs) & were politically corrupt
Native American Association began agitating against immigration in 1837; in 1845 nativists held a
convention in Philadelphia and formed the Native American Party
Know-Nothings demands; banned Irish from holding public office, stricter naturalization laws and
literacy tests for voting
- Laws passed discriminated against Irish Catholics
Know-Nothings cast a large vote in PA & NY and won control of the state govt. of MA
KNP most lasting impact was the collapse of the existing two-party system & creation of new national
political alignments
II. Transportation, Communications, and Technology
A. The Canal Age
From 1790-1820s, the turnpike era, Americans relied largely on roads for internal transportation
Rivers became more important by the 1820s, as steam boats grew in number and improved in design
By the 1830s, canals led to increased settlement in the Northwest

The Erie Canal was the greatest construction project the US had ever undertaken, it was a ditch 40 feet
wide and 4 feet deep, with tow paths along the banks
- NY prospered due to the Erie Canal
In the end canals did not provide a satisfactory route to the west for New Yorks rivals
B. The Early Railroads
Railroads became the primary transportation system for the US until the construction of the interstate
highway system in the mid-twentieth century
Technological breakthroughs included tracks, steam-powered locomotives and railroad cars
Competition between canals & RR in 1820s & 30s, but RR still in infancy
Cities on Atlantic Coast not able to capitalize on canals, did w/ RR industry
C. The Triumph of Rails
After 1840, railroads supplanted canals and all other modes of transportation
Burst of railroad construction followed in the 1850s, tripling the amount of tracks in just ten years
- Most comprehensive and efficient system was in the NE
Important change was the trend towards consolidation
Capital to finance the RR boom came from many sources private investors and local govts.
By 1860, Congress had allotted over 30 million acres to 11 states to assist railroad construction
D. Innovations in Communications and Journalism
Railroads were an important innovation in communications, mainly the magnetic telegraph
Telegraph lines extended along the tracks, connecting one station w/ another
- Aided the scheduling and routing of trains
Telegraph permitted instant communication between distant cities, tying the nation together
Telegraph burst into American life in 1844, thanks to Samuel F. B. Morse
Morse telegraph system seemed the ideal answer to the problems of long-distance communications
By 1860, more than 50,000 miles of wire connected parts of the country
In the long run journalism would become a unifying factor in American life
- However, in the 1840s and 50s it helped feed sectional discord
- South was inferior to North in regards to telegraph lines, newspapers & RR lines
- Contributed to growing awareness w/in each section of deep differences between North and South
III. Commerce and Industry
A. The Expansion of Business, 1820-1840
Important change in retail distribution of goods, which was increasingly systematic and efficient
Individuals or limited partnership continued to operate most businesses
Corporations developed rapidly in the 1830s (thanks to Marshalls ruling in Dartmouth v. Woodward)
- Permitted system of limited liability which made possible much greater amounts of capital
Ambitious businesses relied heavily on credit and their borrowing created dangerous instability
Banks issued large quantities of bank notes-unofficial currency that was of much less stable value
Some banks issued so many notes that their own reserves could not even cover them
- As a result, bank failures were frequent, and bank deposits were often insecure
B. The Emergence of the Factory
Most profound economic development in mid 19th century America was the rise of the factory
Biggest problem for early factories (1820s) was labor shortage
Labor systems: immigrant, family & child labor
o Working conditions deteriorated from 1800-50 due to immigrant labor
First change came in NE textile industry bringing operations together under a single roof
For the first time, the value of manufactured goods was nearly equal to that of agricultural products
By 1860, the NE produced more than 2/3 of the nations manufactured goods
C. Advances in Technology

Interchangeable parts, which Eli Whitney introduced into gun factories, revolutionized industry
Watch & clock making, locomotives & steam engines and farm tools
- Made possible new devices - bicycles, typewriters, cash registers, and eventually the automobile
Alternative forms of energy wood, coal and (later) petroleum replaced water
US industry passed up Europe during the 1840s and 1850s due to technology
D. Innovations in Corporate Organization
NY, Philadelphia, and Boston, influential mercantile groups operated shipping lines to southern ports
- Carried cotton, rice, and sugar to the ports of Europe and Asia
In middle of 19th century, British competitors were stealing Americans export trade
- Merchants discovered that were greater opportunities for profit in manufacturing than in trade
By 1840s, corporate organizations were spreading rapidly, particularly in the textile industry
Industrial capitalists soon became the new ruling class of the NE
IV. Men and Women at Work
A. Recruiting a Native Work force
90% of the American people in the 1820s still lived and worked on farms
Many urban residents were skilled artisans and they were not likely to flock to factory jobs
The opening of farmlands in the Midwest, improvement of transportation systems, development of new
farm land machinery- all combined to increase food production dramatically
In the NE, rural people left their land to work in the factories
One recruitment system brought whole families from the farm to the mill
Lowell System relied heavily on young unmarried women
- In Europe, womens conditions in the work place were horrifyingly bad
Lowell workers lived in clean boarding houses and dormitories, which the factory owners maintained
- They were well fed and carefully supervised
Many women suffered from severe loneliness or disorientation
Lowell System did not survive for long due to the competitive textile market in the 1830s and 1840s
Textile manufacturers turned to a less contentious labor supply: immigrants
B. The Immigrant Work Force
Most workers had no marketable skills & faced native prejudice against them; they received low wages
- They generally did not earn enough to support their families in even minimal comfort
Irish workers accelerated deterioration of working conditions; miserable neighborhoods emerged in NE
Factories were becoming large, noisy, unsanitary, and often dangerous to work
Average work day went from 12 to 14 hours a day and wages were declining
- Even skilled male workers could hope to earn only $4 to $10 a day
C. The Factory System and the Artisan Tradition
Mill workers suffered from the transition to modern factory system
Also, the skilled artisan whose trades the factories were displacing
With the widening of markets, economies of cities were interconnected, so workers soon realized the
advantages in joining forces and established national unions or federations of local ones
During the 1820s-1830s, craft societies began to set up central organizations known as trade unions
The early craft union movement fared poorly
D. Fighting for Control
NH and PA passed ten-hour laws, limiting the work day unless workers agreed to an express contract
Commonwealth v. Hunt declared unions lawful organizations and the strike was a lawful weapon
Women established their own protective unions (1850s); females had little power w/ employers
Ethnic divisions & tensions and the strength of industrial capitalists divided Americas working class
V. Patterns of Industrial Society
A. The Rich and the Poor

Evidence suggested the increasing wealth was being distributed unequally

- Among the American people in 1860, 5% possessed more than 50% of the wealth
Merchants & industrialists accumulated fortunes and a distinctive culture of wealth emerged
The urban poor were often homeless, dependent on charity or crime for survival
- Substantial numbers of people actually starved to death or died of exposure
The worst victims were free blacks; life was not much better in the North than it had been in slavery
B. Social Mobility
Opportunities for social mobility, working up the economic ladder, were relatively modest
Geographic mobility was considerable due to a huge expanse of uncultivated land in the West
Politics was another safety valve for white male workers; the ballot helped guide their society
C. Middle-Class Life
Expansion of the middle class was a result of the growth of the industrial economy and the increasing
commercial life that accompanied it
- Middle-class families lived in solid and substantial homes
New household inventions greatly improved the character of life in the middle-class homes
- Most important was the cast iron stove used for cooking and an important source of heat
Homes were decorated and furnished, w/ goods available through factory production of household goods
- Some has separate bedrooms; some had indoor plumbing and indoor toilets by the 1850s
D. The Changing Family
New industrializing society produced profound changes; movement of families from farms to urban
areas and the shift from income-earning work from the home into the shop, mill or factory
In the NW, agricultural work became more commercialized; farm owners relied less on families
Sharp distinctions emerged between the public world of workplace and private world of the family
The changing economic function of the family led to a decline in birth rates: 1800 7 kids / 1860 5
E. Women and the Cult of Domesticity
Women were encouraged to attend elementary school, but were discouraged to pursue higher education
- Oberlin College in Ohio was the first to accept female students
Occupying their own separate sphere women developed a distinctive female culture; they developed
friendships, formed their own social networks and distinctive feminine literature emerged
Cult of domesticity allowed women to live in material comfort, placed high value on female virtues
and on their roles as mothers and wives. Conversely, it left women detached w/ fewer outlets
F. Leisure Activities
Men gravitated to taverns for drinking, talking and game playing; women gathered in homes for
conversations, card games, or share work on household tasks as sewing
Educated people and women preferred reading: created a new genre, the sentimental novel
In cities, theaters and minstrel shows became increasingly popular; sporting events attracted crowds
P.T. Barnum opened the American Museum in New York in 1870s a great freak show
VI. The Agricultural North
A. Northeastern Agriculture
Agriculture in the region remained important part of economy, but it was becoming less important
- Due to agriculture of the NW and industrial growth of the NE; rural population of NE declined
B. The Old Northwest
Flourishing industrial and commercial area along shores of Lake Erie, w/ Cleveland at its center
Industrialization, in the US and Europe, provided the greatest boost to agricultural prosperity
Strong economic relationship emerged between the NE and NW; increased the isolation of the South
New agricultural techniques most important were improved tools and farm machines
Two new machines began the revolution in grain production, the automatic reaper & the thresher
- Both invented by Cyrus H. McCormick of Virginia
The thresher was used to separate the grain from the wheat, and the reaper was used to harvest it


C.

Lincoln eloquently stated, When one starts poor, as most do in the race of life, free society is such
that he knows he can better his conditionthere is no fixed condition of labor for his whole life
Rural Life
Religion drew farm communities together more than any other force
- Shared common ethnic and religious backgrounds
- Churches were popular for services and social events mostly dominated by women
Rural people treasured their links to the outside world letters, newspapers & magazines and catalogs
Many valued their separation from outside world and cherished relative autonomy of farm life