Factory System, Immigration, and Nativism
Dec 17, 2015
Samuel Slater
Established first factory in U.S.
Pawtucket, R. I. in 1793
Textile mill supplied by greater supply of cotton
Boston Manufacturing Co. in 1812 by Robert Lowell in Waltham MA
Hired young, rural, and single women and provided boarding houses
Workers were paid anywhere from $2.40 to $3.20 a week: extra income
Machines were noisy and unsafe
Laborers worked 12 hours, six days per week
Lowell System
1850
Cheap labor
Women usually worked 2-5 years and then left to marry
By the 1830’s there was a drive to increase textile production
As Lowell girls leave Irish immigrants and children were hired to work.
Work is redefinedGoverned by the
clock (bells)Monotonous routineLabor subject to the
“iron law of wages”Work is steady; year
long
Lowell Mills
The gap between rich and poor was widening!
American Revolution:45% of all wealth in the top 10% of the population.
1845 Boston: top 4% owned over 65% of the wealth.
1860 Philadelphia: top 1% owned over 50% of the wealth.
Economic opportunity located in the West
Economic Opportunity and Distribution of Wealth
US In 1845
Early Irish Immigration
Single men and women
Dug the Erie Canal Laid the rails of the
new railroad network
Cleared swamps for new cotton and rice plantations
Were considered expendable
Later Irish Immigration
In 1845, a blight afflicted the potato crop of Ireland
As a result, millions of people starved, and were forced to eat the grass on their fields
“Famine” Irish flee from the Potato Famine: 1.8 million Irish came to North America from 1845-1855
Flock to East coast cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, making the cities overcrowded
Illiterate and unskilled
Immigrant Neighborhoods in New York
Lived in ghettoes or ethnic neighborhoods such as the notorious ‘Five Points’
It was overcrowded, often two hundred immigrants would crowd into a single poorly built building
The neighborhood had numerous bars where fighting was common; prostitution, gangs and gambling
Violence and poor sewage systems
Another political cartoon against the Irish
From 1846 to 1854, over 1 million Germans came to
Germans came to America for political reasons and economic reasons.◦ Escape the failed
Revolution of 1848◦ Economic Opportunity
German Immigrants
German Immigrants:◦ Lutheran◦ Catholic (Bavarians)◦ Jewish
Skilled workers◦ Farmers◦ Brewmasters◦ Artisans
Arrived in family units
German Immigrants
Adolphus Busch
Moved to the Midwest:◦ Cincinnati◦ Chicago◦ Milwaukee
Educated Established German
communities◦ Newspapers◦ Festivals◦ Schools◦ Businesses
German Immigrants
Kindergarten Foods:
◦ Cheeses◦ Frankfurter (and other
sausages)◦ Wines◦ New Biers
Music Celebrations
◦ Oktoberfest◦ Christmas ◦ Christmas Trees (“O
Tannenbaum!”)
German Immigration
Resistance to Immigration and immigrants◦ Roman Catholic◦ Alcoholism◦ Domestic abuse and
violence◦ Crime, prostitution, and
gambling◦ Political corruption
Stereotypes: Irish: “Bridgets” and “Paddies”
Discrimination◦ NINA (“No Irish Need
Apply”◦ Segregated
Nativism
Anti-Immigrant Violence
Burning churches and schools
Philadelphia Nativist riots in 1844
Burning a convent in Boston
Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk published in 1836: ◦ debauchery in a
convent◦ Bestseller
Baltimore riots of 1856 Rise of the “Know-
Nothing” Party
Know-Nothing Party:“The Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner”—secret society
Rise of the American Party
Strongest in the 1840s and 1850s
Platform:◦ Limit immigration from
Catholic countries◦ Ban Catholics from political
office◦ 21 year wait for citizenship◦ English only◦ Ban sale of alcohol◦ Ban Catholic migration to
the West Won electoral votes in the
election of 1856 Disappear in 1860
Know-Nothing Party