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Brittany Cantu

Dr. Christopher R. Davis

U.S. History I

08 May 2024

Final Exam

(The Industrial Revolution)

The Industrial Revolution in the United States between the 1790s and 1860 was a period

of transformation that was ultimately driven by various factors that would go on and result in

significant changes all across society as a whole (Arehart et al., 2018). With the inventions made

back then, such as the cotton gin and mechanized textile production really changed and

revolutionized manufacturing processes (Arehart et al., 2018), in this case, technological

advancement came to play a crucial role in this transformation. Furthermore, urbanization and

industry growth were also supported by the development of the factory system and

improvements in transportation infrastructure, such as the building of railroads and canals

(Arehart et al., 2018).

When it comes to population and rural-to-urban migration, there was a deeper change that

reshaped much of the United States during this period. This was all due to individuals moving to

urban centers due to much more opportunities and in search of employment in factories and other

industrial enterprises that offered work (Arehart et al., 2018).

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There were also advances in communication, such as the development of the telegraph.

Which contributed greatly to the acceleration of industrialization. This was done due to the

facilitation of rapid exchange of information and the coordination of economic activities.

(Arehart et al., 2018).

It was the urban life transformation and the world of work during the Industrial

Revolution that brought significant changes in labor conditions and social dynamics (Arehart et

al., 2018). Due to the working conditions many workers endured, much labor activism was

created and so were labor unions. These labor unions reflected the growing life-threatening and

discontent conditions among workers in factories and other industrial workplaces (Arehart et al.,

2018).

Industrialization as a whole had profound implications for the lives of consumers and

your typical American family (Arehart et al., 2018). It was due to the changes in consumption

and the patterns that were formed and the rise of consumer culture that came to reshape the way

Americans interacted with goods and services. All this was done, all while shifts in gender roles

within families were challenging traditional norms and expectations (Arehart et al., 2018).

All in all, the Industrial Revolution in the United States between the 1790s and 1860

period was full of transformative change, and not only driven by technological innovation, but

also with population growth, and urbanization (Arehart et al., 2018). The impact that it made not

only spread across society as whole,but it influenced the structured economically and also social

relationships and cultural practices.

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Works Cited

Kelly Arehart et al., “Market Revolution,” Jane Fiegen Green, ed., in The American

Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018).
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(Causes of the Civil War)

The years 1860 to 1865 marked a war that is said to be one of the worst wars in American

history, due to the intensifying tension throughout. As it broke out people battled for control of

the future of their country. The history and origins of this great conflict goes back to the early

19th century where various events took place, such as legislative actions, legal decisions,

regional divisions, and the distinctive and different mindsets that would build together and lead

to the first shots at Fort Sumter in 1861. An event that significantly contributed to the increasing

sectional crisis, was the Westward expansion and the war in Mexico, intensifying tensions

between the North and the South.

An event that was greatly significant, that contributed to the sectional crisis, was the

Missouri Compromise of 1820, which aimed to keep the Union between slave and free states at a

point where equality was present. Balcerski et al. (2018) states that the Missouri Compromise

prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ parallel, with the single

exception of Missouri, and mentioned how Maine became a free state due to it being added to the

Union. But when tensions arose due to the spread of slavery in the new lands, accumulation

through westward migration and the Mexican-American War became bigger. This agreement

would later on prove to be something good temporarily, but would later on cause a big deal.

Tension increased as the Wilmot Proviso was introduced in 1846, further escalating the

problem of slavery's spread. The Wilmot proviso, as suggested by Representative David Wilmot,

would forbid slavery in any land taken from Mexico during the conflict. Balcerski et al. (2018)

mentioned in the article how although Wilmot Proviso was never really passed into law, it did
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create tension and it intensified the sectional divide and foreshadowed the debates that were a bit

fierce, that would later on follow over the status of slavery in the Western territories.

Another event that was significant and was part of a legislative action that deepened the

sectional crisis was the Compromise of 1850. There were several things that were called to

action as an effort to please both the North and Souths interests. With this also came the

acquiring of popular sovereignty in the territories of Utah and New Mexico and California being

admitted as a free state. However, tensions would once again increase when the compromise's

approval of the Fugitive Slave Act forced everyone to cooperate in the capture and return of

escaped slaves, regardless of what they thought, or their opinion on slavery overall. Regional

divisions between the North and the South were influenced by the different opinions many

individuals had on slavery, states' rights, and the federal government's role. The South, however,

did go on to maintain slavery as something essential to its economic and social structure. This

would then lead to the North adopting abolitionist attitudes and saw it as a moral that was wrong.

These core ideological and economic divisions prepared the ground for the decisive conflict that

would lead to the American Civil War.

The seminal Supreme Court ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) represented the apex

of these developments and legislative initiatives. Whether they were enslaved or not, the Court

ruled and decided that African Americans were not considered citizens and could not go on to

file any sort of lawsuits in federal courts. Chief Justice Roger Taney further created division in

the nation by claiming that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because Congress

lacked the authority to forbid slavery in the territories.

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It is evident that slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War when considering the

part it played in its inception. Due to the expansion of slavery into new territories and the

inability of diplomatic agreements to strike a balance between the divergent interests of the

North and the South, sectional tensions escalated to a breaking point.Regional divisions between

the North and the South were influenced by differing opinions on slavery, states' rights, and the

federal government's role. According to Balcerski et al. (2018), the nation was more than likely

headed for a war due to conflict because of the abolitionist movement in the North and the

defense of slavery in the South. As such, the Civil struggle was essentially a struggle over the

future of slavery in America.

All in all, the very complex relationships between the things that go on to happen

historically, legislative decisions, regional divisions, and decades-long ideological disagreements

were the main causes of the Civil War. Each event that contributed to the escalating sectional

conflict that finally resulted in the start of the war in 1861 was discussed before, from the

arguments over the spread of slavery to the contentious decisions made by the Supreme Court

and the outburst of violence in the Kansas territory.

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Works Cited

Kelly Arehart et al., “Market Revolution,” Jane Fiegen Green, ed., in The American Yawp, eds.

Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018).