Brinkley Chapter 10: American Economic Revolution

Basic Requirements for an Industrial Revolution

Large enough population to grow its own food & provide a surplus workforce for the industrial economy.

Transportation & communications systems for sustaining commerce over a large area.

Technology to manufacture on a large scale.

System of business organization that could manage large industrial enterprises.

Trends of the American Population - 1820 to 1840

Rapidly increasing, urbanizing, and migrating westward.

Reasons for Population Increase

Improvements in public health resulting in a decline in epidemics

High birth rate.

Immigration boom starting in the 1830’s.

What stimulated Immigration?

Reduced transportation costs and increased economic opportunities.

Deteriorating economic conditions in Europe.

What was the largest city in the US by 1810?

New York

Rapid Urbanization

Industrializing states saw a boom in the growth of cities. Southern states would see an increase in urban residents, but it was not as dramatic.

Benefit of the Mississippi River

Cities on the Mississippi River (or one of its major tributaries) became centers of trade that connected farmers from the Midwest with New Orleans, which in turn connected them to the cities of the Northeast.

Shipping from Mississippi River → the Great Lakes

Created major new urban centers that would supersede river ports.

Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and CHICAGO

Where did Immigrants come from?

Majority of the Immigrants were Irish or German.

The also came from England, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Poland, and Holland.

Irish and German Immigrants - Reasons for Immigration

Economic dislocations caused widespread poverty in Germany.

Ireland faced an unpopular and oppressive English rule, and faced a extreme famine from 1845-1849.

Irish Potato Famine

1845 - 1849 (according to the txtbk, differs depending on the source)

Irish and German Immigrants - Demographic

Most of the German immigrants had some money. Most of the Irish did not.

Most German immigrants came in family units or were single men. Most Irish immigrants were young single women.

Nativism

Hostility towards foreign born members of a country,

Often mixed with a desire to slow down or stop immigration.

Arguments behind Nativism

Immigrants were Socially Unfit to live alongside people of older “stock,” Stealing Jobs from the native labor force, Corrupting Politics by selling their votes.

The Native American Party

Secret societies were created by nativists to combat the “alien menace.”

The first of these being the Native American Association.

Another one was the Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Password of the Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner

“I know nothing”

This lead them to be called the “Know-Nothings.”

the American Party

Created by the Know-Nothings after the election of 1852.

Had some power in Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Declined in power after 1854.

The Economic Advantages of Immigrants

Cheap labor

expanded western population = more land and goods

larger population → more political power

Making naturalization easier

Wisconsin was the first state to allow immigrants the right to vote more easily, as long as they declare they wanted to be a citizen and were in that state for more than 1 year.

Steamboats: Cargo

Corn & wheat of northwestern farmers.

Cotton & tobacco of the southwestern planters

Steamboats: Roundabout Route

New Orleans

Once at New Orleans, the steamboats would ten take cargo to other eastern ports.

This route was unsatisfactory for merchants and farmers. It was abundantly clear that it would be more profitable to have a more direct route. (overland was not an option, too expensive)

Steamboats: Luxury

Steamboats would also develop passenger traffic, which called for companies to build luxury boats.

Economic Advantages of Canals

Canals provided a more direct path compared to the roundabout route.

Horses on “towpaths” could pull more cargo compared to horses hauling goods on turnpikes.

Canals: Funding & Construction

At the time it was way too expensive for private companies to dig canals, so it was left to the state to do it.

Under governor De Witt Clinton, New York would be the first state to take action. They began digging a canal from Lake Erie and the Hudson River.

New York was the only state to get canals right, other states never finished their water routes

The Erie Canal

Opened in October of 1825.

Was an engineering feat for the US, and was an immediate financial success.

The Erie Canal: Financial Success

Traffic would be so heavy that it would only take 7 years worth of tolls to repay the entire cost of construction.

The Erie Canal would allow New York to compete with (and eventually replace) New Orleans as the primary destination of goods.

Stockton and Darlington Railroad in England

First railroad line to carry general traffic.

Created by John Stevens

Baltimore and Ohio & Mohawk and Hudson (New York)

Early American railroad lines.

Limits of Early Railroads

Lines like these were still too short to be considered a true railroad system.

Tracks often didn’t connect, and when they did the gauges were different.

Schedules were not consistent, and wrecks were frequent.

Competition between Railroads and Canals

Essentially, railroads were taking money out of the canal industry, and prominent canal companies would attempt to halt the advancing railroad industry.

Examples of the Competition between Railroads and Canals.

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company blocked the advance of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

New York prohibited railroads from competing with the Erie Canal and its branches.

Consolidation

The shorter railroad lines were connected to make longer lines (known as “trunk lines”)

Railroads: Funding & Construction

Private American investors received funding from and borrowed from abroad.

They also obtained assistance from the federal government in the form of public land grants.

The Telegraph

Allowed stations to connect with one another, and aided the scheduling and routing of trains.

Instant communication between distant cities.

Samuel F. B. Morse

Invented the Telegraph.

His telegraph from Baltimore to Washington D.C. showed the potential of the telegraph.

Western Union Telegraph Company

Many smaller independent telegraph systems built based on the Morse telegraph system combined into this organization.

The Associated Press

Newspaper publishers from around the nation formed this, in order to promote cooperative gathering by wire.

Richard Hoe

Invented the steam cylinder rotary press.

Made the printing of newspapers faster and cheaper.

Major Metropolitan Newspapers

New York had Horace Greeley’s Tribune, James Gordon Bennett’s Herald, Henry J. Raymond’s Times

Fueling Sectional Discord

Many of the Industrial and Transportation advances of the 19th century saw a growing divide between the North and South.

Newspapers only made it worse, with the southern publishers unable to report on larger scale events due to their low budgets. (made them feel inferior?)

Corporations

a group of people, often stockholders, that act as a single entity/company

Inadequate Credit

Investment was not enough, which made business rely on credit.

Banks began to issue to many bank notes, which in turn made bank failure frequent and bank deposits to be insecure.

The Industrial Northeast

Northwest plants were so large that they produced 2/3rds of all of the nation’s manufactured goods.

Important tools developed in Massachusetts

Turret Lathe for cutting metal parts

Universal Milling Machine which replaced hand chiseling

Precision grinding machine

Interchangeable Parts

Eli Whitney & Simeon North tried to implement it into the gun industry, but it proved to be useful to factories.

New Sources of Energy

Coal began to replace wood and water power as fuel for factories.

Factories could not be located away from running streams, which expanded the industry.

Charles Goodyear

New England merchant.

Vulcanizing rubber (treating rubber to make it stronger and more elastic)

Elias Howe

Made a sewing machine

Isaac Singer

Improved Howe’s sewing machine.

Howe-Singer Machine

A sewing machine invented by Elias Howe, and improved on by Isaac Singer.

It would be the staple of early manufacturing of ready-to-wear clothing.

Disadvantages of Water as a Fuel Source

Waterfalls freeze in cold climates.

Alternate sources like steam, coal, wood, and petroleum(later on), could be used all year round.

Lowell (Waltham) System

Women worked in mills. These women would save up money for a few years, then go back home to raise children.

Lowell System - Working Conditions

Working conditions for women was paradise compared to that in England.

Women lived in boarding houses/dorms.

Wages were fairly high.

Free time allowed them to even write and publish a monthly magazine.

the Lowell Offering

A monthly magazine written and published by the women working the Lowell system.

Decline of the Lowell System

It became difficult to maintain the high living standards and attractive working conditions.

Wages would decline, hours became longer, and the dorms began to fall apart.

Factory Girls Association

Mill workers from Lowell organized a union.

They had two strikes to protest wage cuts and an increase in rent. They both failed.

Female Labor Reform Association

Led by militant Sarah Bagley.

Demanded a 10 hour day and other improvements of conditions in the mills.

Economic Advantages of Immigrant Labor

Extremely large and inexpensive source of labor.

Had less leverage than women, as a result they would see worse working conditions.

This also saw the introduction of piece rates.

Piece Rates

Wage based on how much a worker has produced.

De-Skilling

Artisans could strive in a small-scale industry.

Artisans could not compete with the prices of factory-made goods.

National Trades’ Unions

Created in 1834 by delegates from 6 different cities.

Trade Unions

Skilled workers from cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and New York began to form unions for mutual aid.

express contract

Let workers more than 10 hours a day, if they agreed to.

Most employers began to require employee to sign the contract to be hired.

Commonwealth v. Hunt -1842

In Massachusetts they declare unions a lawful organizations, which permitted them to strike.

Female Protective Unions

Women began to make their own trade unions

America’s Divided Working Class

The source of labor was so large, manufactures had the freedom to have terrible working conditions because they could easily replace laborers.

Ethnic divisions and tensions began to rise.

Sovereign Individual

The idea that people could make choices and change their lives for the better.

Henry David Thoreau

One of the many great philosophers of the 19th century.

Advocated for the idea of the “independency of the individual”

What did Henry David Thoreau say that the “independency of the individual” require?

Escape from the market economy and find freedom and solitude in nature.

Increasing Inequality in Wealth

Rich merchants and industrialists started to do rich people things. They lived the high society.

There were a ton of rich people in New York.

Central Park

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

It was to make New York as important as London or Paris.

Wealthy people spent their time here.

Paupers

Immigrants that failed to find work or adjust to America

Frederick Jackson Turner

Historian who referred to the availability of the western lands as a “safety valve” for the discontent in the United States.

New Household inventions

Cast-iron stove & iceboxes.

Distinctions of the Middle Class

Houses now had carpeting, wallpaper, and curtains.

More elaborate and baroque household styles.

Female Colleges/Colleges that accepted female students

Oberlin College in Ohio

Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts

Godey’s Lady’s Book

Popular magazine for women in the 1800’s. It focused on fashion, shopping, homemaking advice, and other domestic concerns.

domestic virtues

roles in the household, more often than not delegated to women

Leisure Activities

Minstrel shows, boxing, horse racing, cockfighting, and baseball.

Minstrel Shows

Shows where white actors mock and mimic African American culture.

P.T. Barnum

Opened the American Museum in New York City.

It was not really a museum, in reality it was a freak show.

Ohio River Valley

Center of agricultural machinery and meatpacking industries because of Chicago, Lake Erie, and Cleveland.

Agricultural Specialization

Western farmers began on concentrating on a single crop/animal for market.

John Deere

In Moline Illinois, he manufacture steel plows that were more durable than the cast iron ones.