Transformation Transformation of theof the Economy Economy &&

SocietySocietyin Antebellum Americain Antebellum America

1820-1860

Guiding QuestionGuiding Question

Analyze the causes of the transformation of the American economy in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Include: developments in transportation, population, manufacturing and agriculture.

THE TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION & THE TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION & CREATION OF A NATIONAL MARKET ECONOMYCREATION OF A NATIONAL MARKET ECONOMY

agrarian economy Market Revolution Key catalysts:

(1) transportation improvements – canals, RRs

(2) development of textile mills and factories

(3) innovations in banking and legal practices

(4) Capital – from Europe (esp. Britain)

(5) Population growth – 9M in 1820 → 30+M in 1860

Not Yet the Industrial Revolution

TRANSPORTATIONTRANSPORTATIONREVOLUTIONREVOLUTION

& THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL MARKET ECONOMY

Eras of TransportationEras of Transportation

TurnpikeTurnpike & River& River EraEra 1790s-1820s1790s-1820sCanal EraCanal Era 1825-1840s1825-1840sRailroad EraRailroad Era 1850s-1940s1850s-1940sAutomobile EraAutomobile Era 1920s-present1920s-present

TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTIONTRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION

turnpikes National Road

TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTIONTRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION

Steamboats – Robert Fulton – Clermont (1807)

Impact on transportation and trade

Robert Fulton’s Robert Fulton’s ClermontClermont plies the plies the Hudson RiverHudson River

TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTIONTRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION

Erie Canal (1825)

Significance– Cost of trade– Direction of trade– Settlement of NW– New York City– Upstate NY– Canal boom

TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTIONTRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION

Principal Canals in 1840Principal Canals in 1840

Roads and Canals, 1820-1850Roads and Canals, 1820-1850

• Canal boomCanal boom• Effect on transportation and Effect on transportation and trade patternstrade patterns

Paths of Northern Migration after 1800Paths of Northern Migration after 1800

TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTIONTRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION

Railroads Baltimore &

Ohio RR (1830)

short lines trunk lines

Mohawk And Hudson Railroad’s Mohawk And Hudson Railroad’s Dewitt ClintonDewitt Clinton

National National Market Market Economy: Economy:

Inland Inland Freight Rates, Freight Rates, 1790-18651790-1865

National Market National Market Economy: Economy:

The Speed of The Speed of News in 1817 News in 1817

and 1841and 1841

TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTIONTRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION

Impact of Railroadsa) Promoted national trade and economic growth b) Linked Northeast and old Northwest for trade

• Consolidation of early short lines leads to E-W orientation• Chicago

c) Promoted the growth of other industries• Iron • Coal• Telegraph

d) Encouraged farmers to specialize e) First great corporations in US – model for later

large businesses

BEGINNINGS OFBEGINNINGS OFINDUSTRIALIZATION INDUSTRIALIZATION

&&CHANGES IN SOCIAL CHANGES IN SOCIAL

AND CLASS AND CLASS STRUCTURESSTRUCTURES

BEGINNINGS OF BEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATIONINDUSTRIALIZATION Factory System Rise of Corporations Technological Innovations Labor Old Northwest

BEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATIONBEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION

textilesSamuel Slater factory system

Samuel SlaterSamuel Slater(“Father of the (“Father of the Factory System”)Factory System”)

BEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATIONBEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION Lowell (or Waltham) Factory System

– Francis Cabot Lowell

– First dual-purpose textile plants

– employees

Lowell towns

Lowell, Mass. in 1850

New England Textile New England Textile Centers: 1830sCenters: 1830s

Middlesex Company Woolen Mills, Lowell, Massachusetts, c. 1848, artist unknown

Middlesex Company Woolen Mills, Lowell, Massachusetts, c. 1848, artist unknownMiddlesex Company Woolen Mills, Lowell, Massachusetts, c. 1848, artist unknown

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

• Lowell Girls - typical “profile”

• Factory Girls Association

• Lowell Girls - typical “profile”

• Factory Girls Association

Lowell GirlsLowell Girls

Early Early Textile Textile LoomLoom

Lowell GirlsLowell Girls

Lowell Boarding HousesLowell Boarding Houses

The Growth of Cotton Textile Manufacturing, 1810–1840The Growth of Cotton Textile Manufacturing, 1810–1840

BEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION: BEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION: Legal and Financial DevelopmentsLegal and Financial Developments

Corporations – In 1800, c. 20 corps US; by 1817, over 1800– General incorporation laws

• New York, 1848

– stock– limited liability

Banking – paper banknotes

2. INVENTIONS & 2. INVENTIONS & INNOVATIONSINNOVATIONS

2. INVENTIONS & 2. INVENTIONS & INNOVATIONSINNOVATIONS

Americans were willing to try Americans were willing to try anything.anything.

They were first copiers, then They were first copiers, then innovators.innovators.

Americans were willing to try Americans were willing to try anything.anything.

They were first copiers, then They were first copiers, then innovators.innovators.•Patents Approved:Patents Approved:

•1800: 41 1800: 41

•1860: 4,357 1860: 4,357

•Patents Approved:Patents Approved:

•1800: 41 1800: 41

•1860: 4,357 1860: 4,357

(Actually (Actually invented by a invented by a

slave)slave)

(Actually (Actually invented by a invented by a

slave)slave)

Eli Whitney: The Cotton Gin, 1791

Eli Whitney’s Gun FactoryEli Whitney’s Gun Factory

Interchangeable Parts RifleInterchangeable Parts Rifle

John Deere & the Steel PlowJohn Deere & the Steel PlowJohn Deere & the Steel PlowJohn Deere & the Steel Plow

Cyrus McCormickCyrus McCormick& the Mechanical Reaper& the Mechanical Reaper

Cyrus McCormickCyrus McCormick& the Mechanical Reaper& the Mechanical Reaper

Samuel F. B. MorseSamuel F. B. Morse

1840 – Telegraph1840 – Telegraph

Cyrus Field & the Transatlantic Cable, 1858

Cyrus Field & the Transatlantic Cable, 1858

Elias Howe & Isaac SingerElias Howe & Isaac Singer

1840sSewing Machine

1840sSewing Machine

Distribution of WealthDistribution of WealthDistribution of WealthDistribution of Wealth

During the American During the American Revolution,Revolution, 45% of all wealth in the top 45% of all wealth in the top 10% of10% of the population. the population.

During the American During the American Revolution,Revolution, 45% of all wealth in the top 45% of all wealth in the top 10% of10% of the population. the population. 1845 Boston 1845 Boston top 4% owned top 4% owned overover 65%65% of the wealth. of the wealth.

1845 Boston 1845 Boston top 4% owned top 4% owned overover 65%65% of the wealth. of the wealth. 1860 Philadelphia 1860 Philadelphia top 1% top 1% ownedowned over 50%over 50% of the wealth. of the wealth.

1860 Philadelphia 1860 Philadelphia top 1% top 1% ownedowned over 50%over 50% of the wealth. of the wealth. The gap between rich and poor The gap between rich and poor waswas widening widening..

The gap between rich and poor The gap between rich and poor waswas widening widening..

3. WORKFORCE & LABOR3. WORKFORCE & LABOR

Skilled artisans vs. unskilled workers

working classworking classImmigrant work

force

The Factory Girl’s GarlandFebruary 20, 1845 issue.

3. LABOR & THE EARLY UNION MOVEMENT

craft societies National Trades’ Union Early issues:

– Child Labor Laws– 10 Hour Workday  – Right to Strike

Commonwealth v. Hunt (Massachusetts,1842)

Early unions were usually local, social, and weak – and were largely ineffective before the Civil War

4.4. RISE OF AN AGRICULTURAL RISE OF AN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN (OLD) NORTHWESTECONOMY IN (OLD) NORTHWEST

Northeastern Agriculture vs. The Old Northwest

• Decline in Northeast• Rise of the Midwest• Ties between Northeast and old Northwest

CHANGES IN CHANGES IN SOCIAL AND SOCIAL AND

CLASS CLASS STRUCTURESSTRUCTURES

Guiding QuestionGuiding Question

How did the transformation of the American economy in the first half of the nineteenth century bring about changes to society, including the role of women?

CHANGES TO SOCIETYCHANGES TO SOCIETY

The market economy changed: class structure The nature and location of work Gender roles (Middle class) the standard of living

Social Class structure Working class Rise of the middle class Social mobility? Geographic mobility

LOWERLOWER

WORKINGWORKING

MIDDLEMIDDLE

UPPERUPPER

Where do Farmers fit?Where do Farmers fit?

CHANGES TO CHANGES TO SOCIETYSOCIETY

Work & Home Lower birthrates “Separate Spheres”

– end of cottage industry– new gender roles

“cult of domesticity” employment opportunities Education of women

– Oberlin CollegeOccupations of Women Wage Occupations of Women Wage Earners in Massachusetts, 1837Earners in Massachusetts, 1837

POPULATION GROWTHPOPULATION GROWTH, ,

IMMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION AND NATIVIST REACTIONNATIVIST REACTION

Guiding QuestionGuiding Question

“Throughout its history, the United States has been a land of refuge and opportunity for immigrants.”

Assess the validity of this statement in view of the experiences of the English, Germans, & the Irish in the 19th-century urban Northeast.

POPULATION GROWTHPOPULATION GROWTH 1775 1775 2.5 Million2.5 Million 1790 1790 4 Million4 Million 1820 1820 10 Million10 Million 1840 1840 17 Million17 Million 1860 1860 32 Million32 Million

POPULATION GROWTHPOPULATION GROWTH

Causes Natural increase Immigration

Immigration to the Immigration to the United States, 1820-1860United States, 1820-1860

ImmigrationImmigration

Major immigrant groups Irish Germans English

When did they come?

Where did they settle?

National Origin National Origin of Immigrants:of Immigrants:

1820 - 18601820 - 1860

Immigration Immigration to the United to the United States, 1820-States, 1820-18601860

Participation of Irish and German Immigrants in the New Participation of Irish and German Immigrants in the New York City Workforce for Selected Occupations, 1859York City Workforce for Selected Occupations, 1859

The distribution of foreign-born residents of the The distribution of foreign-born residents of the United States in 1860.United States in 1860.

Immigration & NativismImmigration & Nativism

nativismNative American AssociationSupreme Order of the Star

Spangled BannerAmerican (“Know-Nothing”)

Party

Recent immigrants, from Recent immigrants, from Harper’s WeeklyHarper’s Weekly, 1858, 1858

ECONOMIC?ECONOMIC?

SOCIAL?SOCIAL?

POLITICAL?POLITICAL?

FUTUREPROBLEMS?

FUTUREPROBLEMS?