American Society and Economy First Half 19th Century
Themes
• Transformations: Agriculture, Transportation, Industry and Urbanization
• American Society: Religion and Reform Era
Population Patterns
• U.S. Population: - 1790: 4 million: most east of Appalachians - 1840: 17 million; 1/3 west of Appalachians • People are slowly but surely migrating west • Population grew in parts of “Old Northwest”
to establish farms - Included states of: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota
Farm Economy
• Most initially practiced subsistence agriculture• Men: Heavy work, like clearing land and
plowing• Women: Many different chores (often endless) • Women began to sell eggs, butter, cheese, and
other goods to supplement income
Commercial Farming and Old Northwest
• The Old Northwest became the center for American agriculture
• Western farms had more room to grow unlike the east
• Western farms also benefited from newer technologies:
- McCormick Reaper (1840s)- John Deere Steel Plow (1837)
Impact of Commercial Farming
• Debt increased among farmers - Financial Panic of 1819 and 1837 which hurt
many as credit tightened • Farmers were impacted by outside market
forces (politics)
Old Southwest Territory
• Commercial farming and technology also impacted “Old Southwest”
- Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas • Settlement increased tremendously in mid
1820s and 1830s when cotton became the leading U.S. export
• The South became the world’s largest supplier of cotton
Old Southwest
• It was the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 by Eli Whitney
• Led to the cotton boom in the south • Easy separation of seeds from cotton • Demand for high slave labor
Transportations Changes(Canals)
• People pre 1820s moved place to place by horseback or boats down the river
• Steamboats transformed transportation of goods and people via rivers
• Canals made transporting western goods more practical
• Increase in canal construction
New York’s Erie Canal (1825)
• Linked Hudson River to Lake Erie• 360 miles long• 8 years to build• Cost - $7 million
Transportation Changes(Railroads)
• Large boom in railroad construction in 1850s
Railroads (1850)
Rise of Industry
• Lowell, Massachusetts was important center for textile manufacturing (wool)
• Production in cloth increased from 4 million to 323 million yards between 1817 to 1843
• This began a movement to purchase ready-made clothing rather than making it themselves
Rise of Industry
• 80% of factory workers in Lowell and Waltham textile mills were female
• Long hours and hot, humid conditions were common
• Many women could not ask for breaks out of fear of being fired
• Owners – maximize profit
Rise of Industry
• In 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse demonstrated the potential of his telegraph by transmitting a series of dots and dashes that instantly conveyed an electronic message
• By 1861, more than 5,000 miles of wire stretched across the continent to the Pacific Ocean, often alongside railroad tracks
Urbanization
• With the rise of industry a large amount of the population began to migrate towards industrial boom towns
• Urbanization led to large towns that were not necessarily sea ports
• By 1860 eight cities had populations over 100,000• New York City’s population reached 800,000 by 1860• Large inequality between rich and poor living in
cities
Gap between Rich and Poor
• Boston - In 1833 the richest 4% owned 59% of city’s wealth
• New York - in 1828 the richest 4% owned half the city’s wealth
Immigrants and Persecution
• Immigrants, looking for work, often faced persecution
• Many of them being Irish Catholics who were persecuted daily by the pro-protestant majority
• Native-born workers were resentful and believed large immigrant populations led to lower wages
• Signs in front of factories read:- “NO IRISH NEED APPLY”
Immigration in America
• Many immigrants being Irish and Germans influenced the growth of the industrial North
• The majority of European immigrants arrived in the U.S. in the 1850s
Second Great Awakening
• Began in New England in 1790s, but spread across the country in 1820 & 1830s
• Camp meeting became common:- Large audiences listened to many
different preachers- Speakers called on worshipers to ask for
forgiveness and prepare for the Second Coming • The average attendance for services were in the
thousands
Second Great Awakening
• Charles Finney:- Former lawyer and gifted speaker who
received a sign from God - Advocated that anyone could achieve
salvation- Unlike Jonathon Edwards, human nature
wasn’t necessarily dominated by sin - Led Americans to reform and improve
their society as a whole
Religious and Utopian Communities ( 1800 – 1845)
• Religion: Shakers • Numbered about 6,000 and established
several communities • Goal: become self-sufficient • Well-known for their furniture and handicrafts • The movement peaked between 1820-1860
Era of Reform
• There were many other groups attempting to improve society:
- Temperance- Public Education - Opposition of Slavery- Women’s Rights
Alcohol and Temperance
• By the late 1820s, alcohol abuse was a major problem in the U.S.
• A male drank 1 ½ pint of liquor each day • Religious leaders saw it as immoral • Factory owners were concerned about
productivity and quality due to drunkenness
Alcohol and Temperance
• The American Society for the Promotion of Temperance began in 1826:
- founded by Lyman Beecher, a minister who had been influenced by 2nd Great Awakening
- Encouraged abstinence pledges- Lobbied states for prohibition of alcohol
• Compared to the 1820s, rates of alcohol consumption dropped in half by 1840s
• In 1836, leaders renamed the group the American Temperance Union
Public Education
• For many years public education was considered a family’s responsibility and not required
• Horace Mann became a leading reformer in Massachusetts and the United States
• Mann: 1st Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837
Public Education(Mann’s Reforms in Massachusetts)
• School attendance became mandatory • Curriculum was standardized and emphasized
practical education (not classics)• Many states adopted reforms and schools not
only educated children, but helped immigrants as well
Opposition to Slavery
• Quakers, after the American Revolution, advocated abolition of slavery
• American Colonization Society 1817- Gradual emancipation of slaves with
compensation for slave owners - Former slaves would be transported to
Africa (Liberia)- Slavery was wrong, yet blacks were still
inferior to whites. Both races cannot live side by side
American Colonization Society (1817)
• Joseph Jenkins Roberts, former slave, became first President of Liberia
• About 12,000-15,000 migrated to Liberia• Capital city: Monrovia was named after James
Monroe
American Colonization Society (1817)
• Paul Cuffe provided ships and money to former slaves hoping to travel to Liberia
• Not many slaves earned their freedom; it was too expensive to compensate slaver owners
• Many former slaves had no desire to live in Africa because many of them were born in the U.S.
Opposition to Slavery
• Black abolitionists were active as well:- David Walker and Fredrick Douglass
• Whites such as William Lloyd Garrison joined the abolition movement
• In 1831, Garrison wrote The Liberator, which called for the immediate abolition of slaves and the brutality of the South
• Women: Angelina Grimke was born to a slaveholding family • She and her sister spoke to anti-slavery audiences
encouraging them to join the movement
Opposition to Slavery(Nat Turner’s Rebellion)
• Nat Turner Rebellion 1831• Location: Southampton, VA• A slave named Nat Turner led a rebellion of slaves
and killed over 60 white men, women, and children
• Turner and 16 slaves are captured and executed • Whites went all around the countryside killing any
blacks they encountered and beheaded them
Women’s Rights
• Margaret Fuller received an education in the classics
• Wrote women should be allowed to develop their own intellectual abilities
• Other women’s rights advocates included Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Women’s Rights
• Seneca Falls Convention (1848)- led by Stanton in New York - Women lacked rights to own property and vote- Declaration of Sentiments: “All men and women are created equal”
Review
• Ideas to consider:- Which transformations had the most
impact on the nations development - Which reform movement was most
successful?
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