The March of Millions Around 1850 the population was doubling every 25 years. By 186 there were 33 states. America was the fourth most populous nation in the world. Cities were rapidly developing as were problems of sanitation and sewage removal. Irish and German immigrants poured into America in the late 1840s. They fled famine and persecution and sought jobs, land, food, freedom of religion and no aristocracy. New transatlantic steamers brought people here in 12 days.
The German 48ers and Irish Immigrants German immigration Millions come to America from 1830-1860s because of crop failures and political revolutions Often settled in the mid west Abolitionist Supporters of public education (Kindergarten) Bier Did not assimilate quickly Irish Immigration Came as a result of Black Forties and Irish Potato Famine Moved to eastern cities (Boston / New York) Got quickly involved in politics Often illiterate / Catholics Built the railroads Set up ancient Order of Hibernians
Catholics became a major religion in United States Catholics schools were built to educate Irish Catholics and other Catholic immigrants
Flare-ups of Anti-foreignism Nativists were against the new Americans The Irish were discriminated against in the work place and were forced into the worst jobs Catholic churches and schools burned in Philadelphia in 1844
American Party The American or Know-Nothing Party fought for immigration restriction Ran Millard Fillmore (13 th President of United States) for President in 1856
Slowly, because of abundant natural resources, money for investment, plentiful raw materials and American ingenuity America would become an industrial giant The War of 1812 and various tariffs encouraged the development of factories and manufacturing England would attempt to dump cheap goods on America and tried to maintain a monopoly on manufacturing technology Industrialization
Marvels of Manufacturing Samuel Slater, The Father of the American Factory System built first mill (1791) in Pawtucket RI with support of Moses Brown Cradle to Grave philosophy, mill life, child labor
Eli Whitney s Cotton Gin Whitney s cotton gin increased need for slaves in South. Cotton became King. Industry in North used southern cotton to manufacture their mills near the New England rivers. Remember real gold mines of New England were fish, lumber, now factories near rivers
Manufacturing models The concept of limited liability and corporations begins to develop change from guild system Interchangeable parts concept first used by Eli Whitney will lead to assembly line work By 1860 28,000 government patents in one year
Marvelous Inventions Sewing machine was basis for clothing industry. Invented by Elias Howe and Issac Singer. Samuel Morse connect business world with his telegraph
Early Working conditions in Factory system led to impersonal relations Wages were low, hours were high Immigrants work cheaply Unsanitary conditions Child labor Unions were not strong (lots of scabs used) 1842 Commonwealth v. Hunt Supreme Court case legalized unions but scab labor meant unions would develop slowly factories
Women and the New Economy Women worked in mills before marriage Other opportunities were in nursing, domestic service, teaching Lowell Mill Girls
With the invention of the power loom running off the river, a series of mills or factories were built along the Merrimack River by the Boston Manufacturing Company an organization founded years prior by the man for whom the resulting city was named, Francis Cabot Lowell. Construction began to in 1821, and the mills were at their peak roughly twenty years later. For the first time in the US, these mills combined the textile processes of spinning and weaving under one roof, essentially eliminating the putting-out system in favor of mass production of high-quality cloth. The workforce at these factories was three-quarters women. A workforce of thousands, composed primarily of women, came from struggling farms willing to put their daughters to work to bring in extra income. The typical Lowell girl was young, between 15 and 30; unmarried; white; of neither aristocracy nor the homeless; and from a farm that would benefit from extra income. Most Lowell girls sent the majority of their income home for the benefit of their men folk. Many believe that the women working at this mill were deprived of many rights. The long work days for little pay showed wage differentials between men and women. The Lowell System, as it was called, was impacted by economic instability and by immigration. A minor depression in 1834 led to a sharp reduction in wages, which in turn produced organization by the female workers and two of the earliest examples of a successful strike. A feature of such organization was the magazines and newsletters put out by the girls, the most famous of which was the Lowell Offering. Then later, when the Panic of 1837 necessitated a true drop in wages, many Lowell girls were replaced by the cheaper Irish biddies, or Bridgets. By 1850 the majority of workers at Lowell factories were poor immigrants. One result of this large scale laying-off was that now there were many adult, single women in society, who were used to earning their own money. It was only sensible that they seek other positions (teaching, etc) in which to make money; and by doing so they further contributed to the birth of the working woman.
Western Farmers and the Breadbasket of the World The mid west was becoming America s breadbasket. Cincinnati was the porkopolis of the West John Deere invented the steel plow and Cyrus McCormick the mechanical mower reaper to harvest grain these machines drastically increased farm production
Changing Transportation to move goods West to East and South Lancaster Turnpike (hard surfaced road) brought goods from Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pa. Federal government built Cumberland or National Road from Maryland to Illinois
Fulton s Folly Robert Fulton invented the steamboat (Clermont) in 1807. Causes an increase in trade because no longer issues of water currents
Governor Dewitt Clinton s Big Ditch The Erie Canal connected Lake Erie to Hudson River. This canal reduced food prices and led to cities to be developed in New York area.
Locomotives The first railroad was introduced in 1828. It was the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. By 1860 30,000 miles of track laid, mostly in North Time zones, standardized track, labor organizations and strikes and Pullman Palace cars