AP US HISTORY UNIT 4: 1824-1860 Heading West and Creating the National Economy.

AP US HISTORYUNIT 4 : 1824-1860

Heading West and Creating the National Economy

Analyze this Photograph

Manifest Destiny

The belief that God had given us the right to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Used as a rationale for removing Natives and expansion throughout the 19th century.

Heading West

Tobacco farmers exhaust the land

Fur trading/trapping: Rocky Mountains Extinction of Bison and

Sea OttersGeorge Catlin

First attempt at preservation

National Parks Yellowstone: 1872

Immigration to United States

Europe running out of roomRefugees from caste system, freedom of

religion, land availability (in west)Letters to families in Europe describing

Low taxes, no compulsory military service, food in abundance

United States receives a wider array of immigrants than any other country

The Irish

Mid 1840’s: Potato famine

Boston and NYCrammed into slumsHated by “natives”

Competed for jobs Roman Catholic

The Germans: 1848

Crop failuresPolitical refugees seeking

democracyMostly settled in

WisconsinCultural influences:

Conestoga wagons Kentucky rifle Christmas Trees Bier (beer)

Supported public schools Art and music

Enemies of slavery

“Natives” Against Immigrants

1840’s-1850’sHigh prejudice against

immigrantsKnow-Nothing Party 1849

Restrictions on immigration Deportation of immigrant

homeless (paupers) Secret societies in major

cities “I know nothing”.

Mass violence on Catholic Cathedrals and homes of immigrants

Industrial Revolution: The Beginning

1750’s: Great Britain Developed textile machines Mass production of

manufactured goods Why was America so slow to

catch on? Land in the U.S. was available

and cheap: More farmers Labor was scarce for factory

work Extra money for capital

investment was scarce Lack of infrastructure

Raw materials unused, undiscovered (Coal in W.V.)

Competition with cheap goods from G.B.

Jumpstarting American Industry

Samuel Slater: “Father of the Factory System” Skilled British mechanic Memorized plans for his

machines in G.B. Immigrated to United

States From memory, built the

first cotton spinning machine in 1791

Where were they going to get the cotton to use in this first American textile factory?

Innovations in Agriculture

Eli Whitney invents the Cotton Gin: 1793

50x more efficient than hand picking seeds from cotton

Cotton agriculture booms in the South Causes increase in demand

for slave labor North and South prospered

Factories in New England Rocky soil (no ag.), dense

population (labor), natural harbors for shipping exports and receiving imports of raw materials.

Rapid rivers for water power

Innovations in Agriculture continued…

John Deere: Illinois: 1837: Steel Plow Enabled farmers in the

west to break ground easily

Cyrus McCormick: 1830’s: Mechanical Reaper Increases large wheat

plantations. Could do the work of 6 men using one machine. Harvests increased, dropped prices.

Cash-crop agriculture boom.

Innovations in Manufacturing

Early 1800’s Embargo, non-intercourse act, and

war of 1812 influenced rise of American industrial growth

Nationalism: “Buy American”, “Wear American”

Eli Whitney: Interchangeable Parts (1798) Mass production of rifles for US Army Benefited North, brought down prices

of goods Influenced eventual assembly line

work Samuel Colt: Revolver fire arm Elias Howe and Isaac Singer:

Sewing Machine Revolutionized the textile industry in

the North Charles Goodyear: Rubber Goods

(Akron, Oh.)

Innovations in Communication and Business

Samuel F. B. Morse Telegraph: 1844 40 Mile test: From Baltimore to

Washington D.C. Wired out: “What hath God

Wrought?” Connected the nation from one end

to the other Most lines in the North

Cyrus Field Stretch a cable from Newfoundland

to Ireland linking North America to Europe

Limited Liability Influenced capital investment into

companies Investors could not lose more

money or be held liable if the company went Bankrupt or was sued.

Factories in the North: Wage Slaves

Long hours (12-14); low wages (pennies/day); small meals and short breaks

Unsanitary/dangerous working conditions, poorly ventilated

Poor heat in the winter, poor lighting (dangerous)

Child labor (most ages 7-12) “Whipping rooms”

Labor Unions outlawed until 1842 1830’s-1840’s: Labor Strikes

The Lady’s Place….

“Factory Girls” : “Lowell Girls”

Lowell, Ma. : Textile factories 6 days a week, 12-13 hour

daysMost girls were single:

ages 9-14 or until marriedOther female jobs: nursing,

domestic work, teachers“Cult of Domesticity”:

cultural creed of women of the time as the homemaker, moral examples for families.

Industrial Revolution influences the Home

Women now working out of the home

More independence in various aspects Making decisions for the

home Choosing who they would

marry out of love rather than arranged by parents

Families become smaller, closer knit

“Domestic Feminism”: women attain more influence on making decisions for the home.

Transportation Innovations

Turnpike: 1790’s Lancaster Turnpike: 62 miles

from Philly to Lancaster 1811: National Road

(Cumberland Road) Md. to Ill. : 591 miles in 1839

Steamboat Robert Fulton: steam engine

River navigation upstream possible

Canals Erie Canal: New York: Gov.

DeWitt Clinton: 1817-1825: 363 Miles: Connects Great

Lakes to Hudson River (Atlantic) New Cities: Rochester,

Syracuse, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago

Transportation continued….

Most significant: The Train Faster, more reliable,

cheaper than canals First RR in America: 1828 By 1860: 30,000 miles of

track ¾ of the tracks were in the

North Clipper Ships:1840’s-1850’s

Long, narrow, faster. Huge profits in shipping exports/imports

Pony Express: 1860: Mail system 2,000 mile journey could be

done in 10 days on horseback

Revolutions in Society

Transportation Revolution Continental economy had emerged

Raw materials from south and west transported to east and northern industries to be manufactured into finished products

South: cotton, West: grain/livestock, East/North: factories

Market Revolution: Antebellum Era (pre-Civil War) From Subsistence agriculture and

small workshops to plantation cash-crop agriculture and factories

Monopolies developed Gap between the rich and the poor

becomes wider Social mobility did exist but rags-to-

riches stories were far and few