Population 1790 Majority lives East of Appalachian mountains and within a few miles of ocean 1840 1/3 lives between Appalachian mountains and Mississippi River The Sweep West Series of bursts 1790s 1791-1803 4 new states 1816-1821 6 new states Characteristics Families Clustered near rivers Regional settlement Society and Customs Craved sociability Rural neighbors joined together Sports, hoedowns Clear division of labor Lack of refinement East-West tensions
Far West Adventure spirit Zebulon Pike 1806 John Jacob Astor 1811 Mountain Men Kit Carlson Jedediah Smith Jim Beckworth Federal Government Promised land to enlisted men War of 1812 6 million acres of military bounties Led to Congress authorizing extension of National Road in 1816
5 Civilized Tribes Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Chickasaws, and Seminoles Legislation 1820s Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi legislatures restrict natives rights Jackson 1830 passes Indian Removal Act Trades western public land for Indian land in East 100 million acres of Indian land for 32 million public acres Supreme Court Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 1831 Marshall denied Cherokee claim as a republic within GA Recognized claim to land Worchester v. Georgia 1832 legal position was a distinct political community entitled to Federal protection Trail of Tears Treaty of Echota 1835 All Cherokee lands sold for $6.5 million Congress ratified 1/3 die during/after Trail of Tears
Northwest Tribes Series of Treaties gave up land Two uprisings Red Bird 1827 crushed Blackhawk 1832 Resisted removal Attacked by Federal and Militia troops Led to older tribes ceded land to US
Agricultural Boom Rising prices in commodities drew settlers west Demand for wheat increases Shift to non-agricultural work in NE increases demand River transportation Technological advances 1793 Cotton Gin- Eli Whitney Risk of Market Economy No control of fluctuating distant markets Long interval between harvesting and selling crops Farmers borrow $ Short-term debt increases and worse than expected
Federal Land Policy Problems with Ordinance of 1785 Assumed farmers ban together to buy land Federalists Encourage wealthy land speculators to buy land Laws for min. price $2 Jefferson Changes laws. Land Law 1800 Speculator/Squatter Preemption Forces small farmers to buy land on credit with high interest Forced to grow cash crops and exhaust soil moving frontier Panic of 1819 Too many bank notes issued Farmers/investors borrowed tons of $ Recession in Britain, bumper crops in Europe= less demand National Bank tightens loan policies Land speculators lose most, land prices fall Significance: Economic damage Bitter taste about banks Farmers depend on distant markets Need better transportation
Weaknesses 1820 Rivers flowed North to South Roads expensive Horse-wagons limited Steamboat 1807 Fulton s Clermont Gibbons v. Ogden 1824 Broke up monopoly Increased Steamboat traffic Shipping faster and cheaper Vital role in Miss-Ohio river system 1 st air pollution Canals Erie Canal 1817-1825 Canal Frenzy Linked Western farms to Eastern cities Constructed by states Three consequences Lowers food prices in East More immigrants move West Stronger economic ties between West and East Boom ended in 1830s Railroads 1825-1 st commercial (UK) US investment 1830s Connected non-river cities Cheaper than canals to build Built by private corporations
Growth of Cities Caused by Transportation Revolution 1820-1860 Dramatic in West Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis River ports, commercial hubs Completion of canals shifted boom to Great Lakes Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago
Beginnings Century behind Britain Samuel Slater 1789 1 st Cotton Mill Regional Gradual process Causes Political Embargo Act of 1807 Tariff 1816 NY Law 1811 Tensions in Rural Economy NE, too much pop for land Technology Labor saving machines No guilds Textile Towns in NE 1 st industrial region Why? Recession 1808,1810 Rivers Surplus of young women Cotton Textile Mills Francis Cabot Lowell 1813 Lowell Mills Upset traditional order Protests 1834, 1836 Not just against employers, but women vs. men
Artisans and Workers in Mid-Atlantic Cities Manufacturing depended on outwork Industrial centers despite lack of rivers Trade Unions As early as 1790s Skilled vs. unskilled Shorter workdays Obstacles: Immigration State laws prohibiting Unions Frequent economic depression Equality and Inequality Rich and Poor Few examples of rags to riches John Jacob Astor Most people poor Young nation with little property Deserving poor vs. undeserving Immigrants Irish Catholic Free Blacks Deeply rooted prejudice Restrictions in North Response 1 st black run churches African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philly
Middling Class Most lived in middle Professionals, landowning farmers, small merchants, artisans High degree of transience and unpredictability Social Relationships Two generalizations Questioning authority New foundations of authority Attack of Professions Lawyers, Physicians, Ministers Challenge to Family Authority Staying home vs. leaving Free of parental supervision Changes in marriage decisions Wives and Husbands Separate spheres Children Raising Birth control Horizontal Allegiances New allegiances to social networks Religious, philosophical Vehicles to assert influence