The New West and Free North

1840-1860Chapter 12

THE NEW WEST AND FREE NORTH

Land•The westward movement allowed people to arrive on the prairie, and did not have to clear forests to farm•Federal land policy made land available to millions of ordinary people, increasing agricultural productivity•Government land policy also enriched speculators who bought up large tracts and resold at a markup• Invention of implements

John Deere’s steel plow

Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper

Mechanization•Manufacturers could produce more with less labor•“American System” of manufacturing and assembling interchangeable parts spread from gun-making to other enterprises•Standardized parts allowed manufacturers to employ unskilled labor who were cheaper and more plentiful that other skilled craftsmen

Manufacturing + Agriculture• Manufacturing and Agriculture

meshed into a dynamic national economy,

• New England focused on manufacturing mostly for domestic markets

• Southern and Western states growing and producing wheat, port, whiskey, tobacco, and cotton

Railroads•By 1850, 9,000 miles of track, mostly in New England and mid-Atlantic states

Railroads a boost to economy• Railroads demanded and grew coal and iron industries• Stimulated the telegraph industry: by 1861, 50,000 miles of wire along the tracks• Almost all railroads were owned and built by private corporations, although aided by large federal land grants

American Economy• The railroad boom of the

1850s and growing industrial might of the American economy linking farms and cities, the expanding populations moved westward.

Labor•Free labor ideal emphasizes hard work, self-reliance, and independence•Many people left out•Millions of immigrants entered the US in the 1840s and 1850s (Germany and Ireland)

Manifest Destiny

Expansion justified•Manifest Destiny: term coined in 1845 by New York journalist John L. O’Sullivan•Most Americans believed the superiority of their institutions and white culture bestowed on them a God-given right to spread their civilization across the continent•A combination of national pride, racial arrogance, and economic gain

The Way West

Oregon and Overland Trail•Both Britain and the US claimed the Oregon territory but beginning in 1818, the two agreed to leave the territory open to settlers from both in ‘joint occupation’•Emigrants encountered both agricultural Indians, and nomadic warrior tribes, these contributed to the image of ‘savage Indian’

Fort Laramie Conference•Emigrants on the trails west insisted on federal government protection •In 1851, the government adopted a new policy of Indian concentration and persuaded chiefs to sign agreements to clear a wide corridor for the wagon trains•Difficulties for women on the trail and upon arrival

Mormon Exodus

•New York to Ohio to Nauvoo, Illinois•1844 mob kills founder Joseph Smith and his brother•Brigham Young leads the Mormons from Illinois to the Great Salt Lake

Mormon War•In 1850 the Mormon Kingdom is annexed by the US as the Utah territory•Federal troops invade Salt Lake City to eradicate polygamy

Mexico and Texas

Austin•The Mexican government wanted to populate and develop its northern territory and granted the American Stephen F. Austin a huge tract of land in Texas

Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna •Thousands of Americans poured into Texas bringing cotton and slaves with them•1830, Mexican government sought to halt further immigration by outlawing slavery

•Anglo settlers felt Santa Anna tyrannized them

The Alamo•Texas settlers, including David Crockett and James Bowie took refuge in an old Franciscan mission, the Alamo. All 187 rebels were killed by Santa Anna’s troops numbering about 2,000.

Independent Republic of Texas•1836, Sam Houston’s army crushed Santa Anna’s troops and declared an independent republic • the following year, the US recognized Texas’ independence from Mexico

Election of 1844 and annexation•1845, Texas admitted, after fierce debate as the fifteenth slave state

Beginning of 19th century

By 1860

General Winfield Scott•Hero of the Mexican War, nominated for President over incumbent Millard Fillmore in 1852. He lost to Franklin Pierce.

1848•Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo•Discovery of Gold in California•Oneida Community organized•Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention•Fox Sisters•US Presidential Election (Zachary Taylor)

TranscendentalistsRalph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau

Transcendentalists•believed that individuals should conform neither to the materialistic world nor to the dogma of formal religion; •people should look within themselves for truth and guidance

Utopian Communities•Onieda Community (New York) believed in economic and sexual communalism, and were ostracized by mainstream but lasted until long after the Civil War

Seneca Falls•1848, 100 reformers led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott gathered at Seneca Falls, New York for the first national women’s rights convention in the US

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott

Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments

•Bill of women’s rights as written at the first women’s rights convention in US history.

Fox Sisters

Abolitionists: Black and WhiteFrederick Douglas

Harriet Tubman