chapter 12 changing american life. the key to american expansion in all areas of life was...

CHAPTER 12CHANGING AMERICAN LIFE

The key to American expansion in all areas of life was technology.

Chapter 12 – Changing American Life pp. 212-219

• The Great Wagon Road• ran north to south along the

Appalachians


Chapter 12 – Changing American Life p. 212

• The Wilderness Road• cut through the Appalachians via the

Cumberland Gap• blazed by Daniel Boone


• The National Road (Cumberland Road)• stretched from Baltimore, Maryland, to

Vandalia, Illinois• first federally funded highway


• Turnpikes• built by private companies who

charged a toll to make a profit• Philadelphia-Lancaster Pike: nation’s

longest pike


• Early Waterways• difficult getting back upstream• boats often dismantled when they

reached destination


• Invention of the Steamboat• became a vital part of America’s

transportation system• resulted in the growth of major cities

along its routes (New Orleans, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh)


• Advantages of the steamboat• Made western settlement easer• Enabled the transport of letters, newspapers,

books, and manufactured goods• Trade between the East and West became more

profitable.• Disadvantage- affected by weather• Greatest problem for canals- competition from

the new railroads

• Robert Fulton: built the first commercially successful steamboat (the Clermont)

• John Fitch: one of the earliest pioneers of the steamship


• The Appearance of Canals• canal: shallow, manmade waterway

connecting two bodies of water• locks: water compartments that can

be opened and shut


• Erie Canal: the most famous canal• made New York the nation’s busiest port

and most prosperous city• Connected Albany, New York, with Lake

Erie• Made travel between the Atlantic Ocean

and the Great Lakes possible


• Early Railroads• John Stevens: built the first American

locomotive• Peter Cooper: built the Tom Thumb

• Raced a stagecoach and lost


• Benefits of railroads• unaffected by terrain

• Not dependent on water• Can go where canals can’t

• faster and cheaper than canals• unaffected by weather


• Results of railroads• became faster and cheaper to ship

goods (when compared to canals)• Extremely popular in the Northeast

• contributed to the Industrial Revolution• Funded by state governments• made America a “smaller” place


• The Postal Service• 1639: first postal system in the

colonies (established by Massachusetts Bay)

• 1692: colonial postal system (established by the king)


• Benjamin Franklin: became the first postmaster general of the United States

• Samuel Osgood: became the first postmaster general under the Constitution


• Pony Express: postal service running between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California• Lasted only a year and a half• Replaced by the telegraph


• The Telegraph• need: train stations needed to

communicate with each other• Samuel Morse: invented the telegraph


Industrial Revolution: advancements made in farming, manufacturing, and

trade


• Life in 1800• Most Americans were subsistence

farmers.• Tradesmen often specialized in one

item that they would trade for food.


Why was the growth of factories generally welcomed in America despite the seemingly poor living and working

conditions they fostered?

• The Factory System• collected many workers in one place

to produce a given product• began in England

• Britain prohibited the export of machinery or the emigration of skilled workers


• Samuel Slater’s Factory• had been an apprentice to the partner

of the father of the English factory system

• brought the secret of the English factory system to the United States (Pawtucket)


• New England Industry• power supply (water power and steam

power)• banking system (helped finance new

industry)


• Francis Cabot Lowell: organized a mill town for girls• Associated with industrialism


• The Sewing Machine• Walter Hunt: invented the first sewing

machine• Elias Howe: first to patent the sewing

machine


• Isaac Singer: patented a sewing machine with a foot pedal

• Howe and Singer partnered and made sewing machines available to common people.

• During the Civil War, the sewing machine would permit women to enter the work force in large numbers.


• Eli Whitney’s Influence• The development of interchangeable

parts• began producing gun parts in large

quantities• led to mass production


• Results of the Rise of Industry (primarily in New England)• Positive• Negative

• long hours, low wages• Including children

• dangerous work conditions• growth of urban environments


The rise of industrialism allowed for the growth of the middle class.


• Rise of Labor Unions• Mechanics’ Union of Trade

Associations: first union• Concentrated on labor reform


• The Mechanics’ Free Press: newspaper designed to promote labor goals• free public education• debt reform• 10-hour workday• end of child labor


• results of labor unions: mixed success• economy and immigration affected the

union’s success


The technology that developed during this time period helped improve the farmer’s methods, lower his costs, and increase

his profits.


• Farming Before 1800• used hand tools• crops were limited by the ability to

plant and harvest


The technological advancements in agriculture greatly increased crop yields,

allowing fewer farmers to raise more crops.


• John Deere’s Plow• made of high-grade steel• produced commercially• became important in conquering the

prairies


• Cyrus McCormick’s Reaper• reaper: a machine that harvested

grain• Manufactured in Chicago


• Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin• cleaned short-staple cotton quickly

and efficiently• caused cotton production to explode• created a greater need for slaves


International trade expanded due to the increased production brought about by

the advances in agriculture and industry.


• New Asian Markets• China, Sumatra, and Japan NOT

India• Samuel Shaw and John Green

• sailed the Empress of China with 30 tons of ginseng

• Shaw opened America’s first trading company in Canton


• Robert Gray• sailed around South America to China• first American to circumnavigate the earth• Established an American claim to the

Pacific Coast through trade


• Commodore Matthew Perry: opened up trade with Japan (by force) in 1854


The fishing industry (Grand Banks) and the whaling industry (Bering Sea)

continued to grow during the 19th century.


• Immigration• The largest two groups of immigrants

were the Germans and Irish.• Most Irish remained in the large,

industrial cities in order to find factory work, but the living conditions were often poor.


Immigrants made a lasting impact on the character of America.


• Unitarianism• denied the doctrine of the Trinity• William Ellery Channing: most famous

Unitarian• Unitarians did NOT build many new

schools and churches.


• Romanticism- movement that placed an emphasis on emotion and intuition

• Transcendentalism• combined romantic ideals with rationalism• Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David

Thoreau: most famous transcendentalists


The Second Great Awakening transformed the life of the church, and

brought many to Christ.

Partially a result of negative changes in colleges


• The Second Great Awakening• Timothy Dwight: president of Yale• Asahel Nettleton: evangelist who

insisted on calm, orderly services• Charles Finney: incorporated several

“new measures” into his revivals


• camp meetings• Large meetings in Kentucky and

Tennessee• Cane Ridge, KY: site of the most famous

camp meeting


• Reform Movements• Education

• Horace Mann: developed the first public high school


• Abolition: fought to abolish slavery• the question of whether slavery was

morally right or wrong became the central issue

• Revivalists for abolition• Quakers NOT the first abolititionists


• Women’s Rights• Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady

Stanton: two famous female abolitionists, organized the Seneca Falls Convention to discuss women’s rights

• sought the right to vote


chapter 12 changing american life. the key to american expansion in all areas of life was...

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