A Growing Nation A Growing Nation Ch.5 Sec.1 Ch.5 Sec.1
A Growing NationA Growing NationCh.5 Sec.1Ch.5 Sec.1
Revolution in Transportation
•National Road
1st major US highway
Paid for by Congress
Went from MD to IL
Private companies created roads off of it called turnpikes that could be used for a fee
Revolution in Transportation•Steamboats
Were quickest and easiest way to travel or transport goods
Invented by Robert Fulton
More than 700 in commission by 1850
•Railroads
Nicknamed "iron horse"
Invented by Peter Cooper
Had the largest impact on settling the west & improving trade
Industrialization in the North•Industrial Revolution
Revolution in business and industry
Began in Great Britain, spread to US soon after
Manufacturing shifted from:
•hand tools to machines,
•individual artisans to large workforces,
•home workshops to factories
Free enterprise allowed businesses to grow quickly, causing rapid industrialization
• Led to a rise in immigration due to demand for workers
Industrialization in the North•Interchangeable Parts
Became possible because of Industrial Revolution
Invented by Eli Whitney
Created standard, identical parts for machines & devices (guns, locks, engines, etc.)
Other Societal Changes
•Morse Code
Invented by Samuel F.B. Morse
Code that could be used to transmit messages through new telegraph wires
•Nativism
Preference for native-born people & desire to limit immigration
Reactionary movement from rise in immigration
Formed a popular political party called the " Know-Nothings"
Other Societal Changes•Labor Unions
Began to form due to poor conditions & treatment in factories
Workers would join together to make demands to their employers
•Strikes
Main tool used by employers to ignore labor union requests
Changes in Agriculture•Cotton Gin
Until 1800s, US farms grew grains, livestock, cash crops (little cotton)
Machine invented by Eli Whitney
Removed cotton seeds speedily
6,000 bales in 1792 to 100,000 bales in 1801 to 4 million in 1860
•Yeoman Farmers
Made up majority of farmers in South
Referred to farmers with small plots of land
Slavery in the US
•Task System
Early system of labor for slaves
Slaves tasks to complete each day, then had rest of day to themselves
•Gang System
Slaves organized into groups to work from sunup to sundown
Slavery in the US
•Coping with Enslavement
Music became popular way to cope, pass encouragement, & record their history
Slaves protested silently by breaking tools, slowing work, burning fields
Revolts became more common (Nat Turner Rebellion)
Slavery in the US
•Free African Americans
More than 225,000 African Americans lived free in the North
More freedoms available, but racism still prevalent
Many joined causes to speak out against slavery in the South