Chapter

14: Forging The National Economy (1790-1860)

I.The Westward Movement
A.Andrew Jackson sets an example to westward expansion
B.Original families of west were sick and lonely, and poor, were violent
C.Map 14.1 Westward Movement of Center of Popoulation
II.Shaping the Western Landscape
A.Western land shaped the physical environment: cane plantations, with good
grasslands, good with raising livestock.
B.By 1820s west was invaded by fur trappers and traders of beavers and furs;
rendezvous: system which they used for fur trapping empire.
C.Ecological Imperialism: West territorys natural bounty
D.Nature paintings were inspired by Nationalistic ideals
E.in 1832, influenced by watching native americans George Caitlin proposed the idea of
national parks, begun the Yellowstone National Park.
III.The March of Millions
A.Population increased in every race: Figure 14.1 by 1860 total population 31,443,000
B.Nation consisted of 33 states most populated nation in the west
C.Living became rough because of the population, disease broke out
D.Europe was becoming crowded and many immigrants got to America
a.by the 1840s and 1850s European immigration increased
b.Came to America to run away from aristocrats and nobility
E.Table 14.1 Irish and german immigrations to the states which was increasing every
time
F.The journey to America was made by transoceanic steamboats
IV.The Emerald Isle Moves West
A.Potato crop failure in Ireland effect= famine and immigration to America in the black
forties
B.They were very unified and strongly Catholic, disliked by protestants in America
C.Ancient Order of hibernians secret society to help oppressed Irish people in America
D.Molly Maguires: a society for Irish miners who engaged in a violent confrontation
with pennsylvania mining companies
E.Tammany Hall: most notorious political machine; NY city; patronage
F.Because of this patronage Irish gained property rights and got better lives
V.The German Forty-Eighters
A.Germans migrated to America as much as Irish did about the same time; approx.1.5
million Germans
B.American political life uprooted by Carl Schurz; liberal about corruption and slavery
C.Less unified than Irish, but better because they had material goods and established
farms in Wisconsin
D.Germans changed American Life
a.Inventions: Christmas tree, Kentucky rifle, etc.
b.Isolation fleeing wars
c.Invented kindergarden, and ushed for education
d.enemies of slavery cheered for freedom
 E.Germans created compacted colonies to maintain their heritage and language
F.They brought the alcoholic drink beer around
VI.Flare Ups of Antiforeignism
A.Nativist threatened by so much different country influences; Know Nothing Party
B.Roman Catholicism was pretty strong, they would prevent protestants from
influencing them, and created their separate education systems
C.By 1850 the catholics dominated all religious groups
D.AwfulDisclosures: Maria Monks book with exposure to what being a catholic is
E. Immigrants creating two different effects:
a.A lot of fighting with natives
b.A better economy for the nation
VII.Creeping Mechanization
A.The Industrial Revolution starting in Britain eventually spreads to America
B.Reasons why it took long to arrive:
a.Cheap land
b.Scarce labor
c.Not so much money
d.difficulty producing goods
VIII.Whitney Ends the Fiber Famine
A.Samuel Slater: british with plans of the first machine to spin cotton brought to
America; Father of Factory System
B.1793,Eli Whiney creates the cotton gin which was more effective at separating cotton
seeds and fiber
C.New Englands bad soils made it popular in machinery because they did not need rich
soil for that, factories were mostly in NY NJ and that.
IX.Marvels in Manufacturing
A.After the war of 1812 Nationalism was seen through the reliance on American
products rather than on British importations
B.After the treaty of ghent in 1815 the American factories dropped again because the
british began selling imports at a very low price which was easier
C.Tariff of 1816 was then passed to protect the American Manufacturing
D.Eli Whitney later introduced the principle of interchangeable parts 1850s, made it
possible for a lot of production.
E.sewing machine invented by Elias Howe in 1846, created the clothing industry and
boosted the economy more in the north areas
F.Limited Liability: principle that protects investors, who, in cases of legal claims or
bankruptcy, cannot be held responsible for more than the value of their individual
shares.
G. Laws of free corporation:1848 corporations could be created w/out legislative
charters
H.Samuel Morse invented telegraph
X.Workers and Wage Slaves
A.NO available rights for workers
B.They were prohibited to create unions forhigher wages
 C.Most laborers were children, or most of them were loyalists to Andrew Jackson
D.Government felt like ignoring what workers pleaded for about their rights, so they
would go on strikes: not working in order to get what you want
E.Commonwealth v. Hunt: stated unions were not illegal
XI.Women and The Economy
A.Women also were laborers like men made common products, and also had bad
working conditions
B.Commonly women worked in domesticated areas, nursing, or even teaching
C.Catherine Beecher: told women to be teachers, many of them did and became a
feminized profession
D.Single relationship status was proud among most working women
E.Cult of Domesticity: cultural creed praising the common functions of a homemaker.
F.Child centered families during industrial revolution created the society more
dependable on women because they took care of children
XII.Western Farmers Reap a Revolution in the fields
A.Breadbasket of nation: Indiana and Illinois and trans-Allegheny region
B.Popular market items were pork an corn, in the western farms agenda
C.John Deere: invented the steel plow, 1837
D.Cyrus McCormick, mechanical mower reaper
E.McCormick reaper 1831, mechanical reaper that could gather and get crops at a faster
rates, which benefited farming and plantations
XIII.Highways and Steamboats
A.Poor transportation system
B.Highway from Philadelphia to Lancaster which you pay a toll, Lancaster Turnpike
C.Government began building national road since 1811 but war interrupted
D.Robert Foulton: inventor of the steamboat
XIV.Clintons Big Ditch in New York
A.Map 14.2, showing all major rivers, canals, and roads 1825-1860
B.Lake Erie and Hudson River are connected by Erie canal built by Clinton
C.Growing industries by the canal
XV.The Iron Horse
A.1828-most important new thing to the economy; first railroad
B.People combating railroad creation
C.Map 14.3 The Railroad Revolution, a lot of railroads in the North
XVI.Cables, Clippers, and Pony Riders
A.Cyrus fiel wanted to put a cable in America, American Canadians, and English
B.Clipper ships: These ships sacrificed cargo room for speed and were able to transport
small amounts of goods in short amounts of time. Passed by speed and amounts of
goods.
C.Map 14.4, showing main routes of the West before civil war
D.Pony Express: 1860, to carry mail up and down, didnt work for long because of
shortage of profit
XVII.The Transport Web Binds the Union
 A.Transportation revolution: shift to transportation improvement in America with
boats, canals, railroads, and roads
B.South big cotton growing plantations, West good livestock and grains, East factory
workers and textiles, Machinery for south and West areas
XVIII.The Market Revolution
A.Market Revolution: shift from subsistence economy of plantations and farms to
industry and commerce
B.Opportunal nation, inhibited class conflicts