Market Revolutions American History
Feb 23, 2016
Market RevolutionsAmerican History
Transportation Revolution
• Settlers moving west increases interest in
building roads
• It also encouraged investments in building
bridges.
Road, Canal, and Water Development in the U.S. by 1830
Impact of the Steamboat
Steamboats make it possible to easily travel both directions on a river.
Northern markets are now more easily connected to southern markets.
The steamboat also helped to spread the cotton’s use in the Deep South.
The Erie Canal
• Began - 1817, Completed - 1823, Opened - 1825
• Run 363 miles• Connects Albany, NY on the Hudson River to Buffalo, NY on Lake Erie
• Helped to lower transportation costs in the Great Lakes region.
The Lowell Textile Mills• The U.S.’s first fully mechanized textile mill in Waltham, Mass. in 1814
• In 1817, the corporation establishes a second group of
mills in East Chelmsford, Mass.
• By 1826, East Chelmsford grew by 1,400 and incorporated as
the city of Lowell– America’s first industrial town.
Francis Cabot Lowell
Was Life at the Lowell Mills Positive?• 12 hour days, short breaks– Poor health– Not enough time for activities
• Loud factory• Busy with chores at the dormitories– BUT
• Opportunities for more pay• Months off per year• Pleasant life, social opportunities• Place for women to work and make more money.
Drawing of Lowell Mills, ca. 1830
What were Americans like before the Civil War?
Between 1800 and 1850, the population of U.S. cities swells, with over 8 cities containing 100,000 or more.
Immigration to the U.S., 1830-1860
• 1830s – 600,000
• 1840s – 1.7 million
• 1850s -2.3 million
Irish Potato Famine
• 1845-1852
• Cause: Potato blight; British neglect
• Deaths – 1 million
• Forced Immigration – 1 million
Irish Immigrant Laborers in the Antebellum Era
• Urban and primarily located in Eastern Cities
• Men – Construction Workers, Day Laborers, Factory Hands, Porters, Handymen, and
Teamsters
• Women – Laundresses, Garment Workers, Maids, Cooks, Charwomen
German Revolution of 1848• Failed attempt to unify
German-speaking states against the aristocratic
leadership of the German confederation
in 1848
• Resulted in the substantial immigration
out of the country
Germania, by Philipp Veit, 1848
German Immigrant Laborers in the Antebellum Era
• Were generally more economically and geographically diverse than the Irish.
• A large number were middle class—formerly landowners, lawyers, doctors, musicians, soldiers,
college professors, and businesspeople.
• Many with means migrated western and purchased cheap lands in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Anti-German Riot in Bayonne, NJ in 1851
In the South
The Domestic Slave Trade
Slave Coffle, VA, 1839
Between 1790 and 1860, Americans transported approx. 1 million African-American slaves from the Upper South to the Lower South, with 2/3 a result of sale.
Two million slaves were sold locally throughout the south.
Slave Pen in Alexandria, VA in 1860
Inside Slave Pen in Alexandria, VA, 1860
Slave Pen in Atlanta
Slave Advertisement
Slave Advertisement