AMERICA S ECONOMIC REVOLUTION HIST 103 Chapter 10
The Changing American Population Population increased rapidly between 1820-1840 - improvements in public health - high birth rate - decreasing child mortality rate Immigration increased rapidly between 1830-1860 - reduced transportation costs - worsening European economy Urban Growth mostly due to the immigration movements city: over 8,000 residents New York City = fastest growing Mississippi River & Great Lakes
Population Density of the United States
President William Henry Harrison Zachary Taylor Abraham Lincoln James A. Garfield William McKinley Warren G. Harding Franklin D. Roosevelt John F. Kennedy Ronald Reagan George W. Bush Cause of Death Pneumonia Stomach illness Shot by Booth Shot by Guiteau Shot by Czolgosz Stroke Cerebral Hemorrhage Shot by Oswald Shot by Hinckley Live grenade (survived) that didn t explode
Immigration 1840 s : 1.5 million 1850 s : 2.5 million most ended up in northern cities New York: 50% of residents outnumbered natives St. Louis Chicago Milwaukee
Immigration Where did the immigrants come from? England, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Poland, Holland, Ireland, Germany Irish Immigrants oppressive English rule potato famine (1845-1849) 45% of the U.S. foreign born 1.5 million by 1860 eastern cities unskilled laborers no money - young, single women German Immigrants unevenness of industrial revolution revolution in 1848 20% of the U.S. foreign born Northwest farmers or business some money family groups or single men
Views of the Immigrants Welcoming Alarming cheap labor keeps wages low settle the west as markets increase political influence (both west and east) nativism defense of the native-born people and hostility to foreign-born stop or slow immigration Secret Societies northeast Native American Party Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner American Party Know-Nothings Forms - simple racism - inherent inferiority - contempt/prejudice Protestants - Catholic foothold Whigs - Democrats
Rise of American Transportation - Canals transportation necessary for proper growth during the Industrial Revolution Age of the Canal decrease cost of shipping goods to markets create a waterway to the west How do we dig the canals? Who pays for the canals? Hudson River to Lake Erie Erie Canal 40 feet wide - 4 feet deep horse drawn barges lock system connected Chicago to New York City financial success within seven years Other Attempts: 1. Ohio & Erie Canal 2. Hinterland
Rise of American Transportation - Railroads primary transportation system from 1840s - 1950s Creating the Railroad seek increased communication needed: tracks, engines, cars to carry people both in England and in the United States Early Railroad Companies Baltimore and Ohio Mohawk and Hudson (New York) trunk lines - short lines from point A to B originally to connect water routes
Triumph of the Rails 1836:1,000 miles 1840: 2,818 miles 1850: 9,021 miles 1860: 21,000 miles mostly in the northeast NE 2x s NW NE 4x s S Consolidating the Rails companies were mainly short line cross the Appalachians and connect to Mississippi River growth of Chicago as western rail hub Who is paying for the railroads? private American investors local governments (state, county, city) Federal land grants (1860)
Rise of American Communication greatly impacted by the development and growth of the railroads magnetic telegraph - 1844 - Samuel Morse allows for better communication between train stations more present in North Western Union Telegraph Company growth of the newspaper 1846 - Richard Hoe - cheaply printed newspapers Associated Press (1846) New York Tribune Horace Greeley New York Herald James Gordon Bennett New York Times Henry J. Raymond
Growth of American Business businesses grew rapidly in the 1820s and 1830s Changes in Retail Distribution of Goods specialization stores in big cities Growth of the Corporation 1830s - begin a corporation by simply paying a fee limited liability: stockholders not at risk personally Emergence of the Factory began in the New England textile industry (and shoe industry) mostly in the Northeast most machinery built out of wood rise of interchangeable parts
Inventions and Innovations Charles Goodyear 1839 - vulcanizing rubber Elias Howe & Isaac Singer 1846 - sewing machine Cyrus McCormick 1834 - mechanical reaper John Deere 1847 - steel plow Jerome i. Case 1840 - threshing machine
Labor and the Factory System conditions were better than conditions in Great Britain Lowell System young, unmarried women clean boardinghouses owned by the factories started to decline in popularity with immigrant arrival Harsh Work Conditions factories: large, noisy, unsanitary, dangerous 12-14 hour workday $4 to $10 per week (skilled) Fighting for Control emergence of trade unions and the use of the strike
Women in the mid-19th century in general, men had more rights than women Education encouraged to attend school through the elementary years coeducation did not exist until after the Civil War Roles for Women guardians of domestic virtues separate spheres for men and women cult of domesticity
Leisure Activities only for the wealthy during the mid-19th century six day work week long hours on daily basis Work Standards Holidays vacations were rare Sunday - rest and religion working class and middle class elaborate Fourth of July celebrations Other forms of Leisure *theaters (wealthy or minstrel shows)* *public sporting events* *city parks*
Arrival of the Spectacle P.T. Barnum American Museum New York City 1842 circus began in the 1870s
Unofficial Top 5: Largest Construction Projects 5. Hoover Dam 4. The Wilderness Road 3. Trans-Continental Railroad 2. Interstate Highway System 1. Panama Canal