#4.5 The Rise of the Market Economy

Robert Fulton

American inventor who designed the first commercially successful steamboat and the first steam warship

steamboat

A boat that moves by the power of a steam engine, made it easier and quicker to travel goods

What was the most important canal of the 1820s and 1830s?

The Erie Canal

When was the Erie Canal completed?

1825

How long is the Erie Canal?

363 miles

What two locations does the Erie Canal connect?

Buffalo and Albany, NY

What significant geographical features does the Erie Canal connect?

The Great Lakes and the East Coast

What was the impact of the Erie Canal on New York's status as a port?

It made New York the nation's largest port.

What was notable about the engineering of the Erie Canal compared to other canals at the time?

It was a remarkable feat of engineering; the next largest canal was only 28 miles long.

What demographic change did the Erie Canal attract?

An influx of farmers migrating from New England.

Which cities were born along the path of the Erie Canal?

Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.

What was one economic effect of the Erie Canal on trade?

It enhanced New York's primacy over competing ports and access to trade with the old northwest.

the railroad

One of the major technological advances in the 19th century; they opened vast new areas of the American interior to settlement, while stimulating the mining of coal for fuel and the manufacture of iron for locomotives and rails.

When did the first railroad begin to be built?

IN 1828, work on the Baltimore and Ohio began. In 1860, the network grew to 30,000 miles surpassing that of all other nations combined

Samuel Morse

United States portrait painter who patented the telegraph and developed the Morse code (1791-1872)

telegraph

A device for rapid, long-distance transmission of information over an electric wire. It was introduced in England and North America in the 1830s and 1840s and within 16 years, some 50k mi of wire had been strung. It began as a service for businesses and newspapers, not individuals.

John Deere

American blacksmith that was responsible for inventing the steel plow. This new plow was much stronger than the old iron version; therefore, it made plowing farmland in the west easier, making expansion faster.

Cyrus McCormick

Irish-American inventor that developed the mechanical reaper. The reaper replaced scythes as the preferred method of cutting crops for harvest, and it was much more efficient and much quicker. The invention helped the agricultural growth of America.

Samuel Slater

"Father of the Factory System" in America; escaped Britain with the memorized plans for the textile machinery; put into operation the first spinning cotton thread in 1791.

spinning factories

Produced yarn which was then sent to traditional hand-loom weavers and farm families to be woven into cloth; this "outwork' system typified early industrialization

power looms

used to turn threads into fabric (wove cloth) and powered textile factories

textile factories

(1790) Samuel Slater established the first in America; used machines to produce cloth in large quantities;

New England textile mills relied largely of female and child labor.

"American system of manufacturers"

A system of production that relied on the mass production of interchangeable parts that could be rapidly assembled into standardized finished products. First perfected in Connecticut by clockmaker Eli Terry and by small arms producer Eli Whitney in the 1840s and 1850s.

interchangeable parts

uniform pieces that can be made in large quantities to replace other identical pieces; Eli Whitney

the industrial worker

Americans became more aware of clock time and pay becomes a "wage"; Working for an hourly or daily wage seemed to violate the independence

Americans considered an essential element of freedom.

wage labor

a system of payment whereby workers are compensated on the bases of a wage (pay per a certain about of time, usually hour) not tied to the quality of the raw materials, accidents, or other exigencies in the production process

clock time

the move to regulated time in the factories; In cities, clocks became an essential part of life (distinction of work time vs. leisure time)

Lowell's Mill Girls

Young, unmarried women working in water-powered textile mill in Lowell, MA that wanted to earn money instead of working on family farms; worked 1-4 years and were usually between the ages of 16 and 35

Lowell Mills

Textile mills located in a the factory town of Lowell, MA (named after Francis Cabot Lowell; employed Mill Girls

Lowell Mill: Impact

Workers actively participated in early labor reform by circulating legislative petitions, forming labor organizations, contributing essays and articles to a pro-labor newspaper, and participating in "turn-outs" or strikes.

the new middle class

Produced by the market revolution and the quickening of commercial life that enriched numerous bankers, merchants, industrialists, planters, and other office employees. It created new opportunities for farmers and talented men who could now work as lawyers, doctors, and teachers

What impact did the market revolution have on free Blacks in the North?

The market revolution severely limited options for free Blacks.

What types of discrimination did free Blacks face in Northern cities?

Free Blacks were often discriminated against and lived in the poorest and unhealthiest sections of cities.

Which Northern cities had significant populations of free Blacks facing discrimination?

New York City, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati.

What forms of violence did free Blacks in Northern cities experience?

They were subject to assaults from white mobs.

What barriers did free Blacks face in accessing education and public facilities?

They were barred from schools and public facilities.

How did free Blacks respond to the lack of access to public institutions?

They constructed their own institutional life centered on mutual aid and educational societies.

What was the employment situation for free Blacks in the North?

Large numbers experienced downward mobility and white employers often refused to hire them.

How did federal law affected free Blacks' movement to the West?

Federal law barred free Blacks from access to public lands and some states (Illinois, Iowa, Oregon, and Indiana) prohibited them from entering all together

the decline of household production

As the household declined as the center of economic production from many women saw their traditional roles undermined by the availability of mass-produced goods previously made at home. Some woman followed workers and moved from the household to the factory.

What was expected of middle class white women during the cult of domesticity?

Wives were expected to stay home while husbands conducted business.

What type of neighborhoods began to develop in larger cities for the middle class?

Fashionable middle-class neighborhoods populated by merchants, factory owners, and professionals.

What was the largest employment category for women in the 19th century?

Domestic servants.

What did the freedom of middle class women rest on during the cult of domesticity?

The employment of other women within a household.

What types of jobs did poor women have access to?

Low-paying jobs such as servants, factory workers, and seamstresses.

Who controlled the wages of married women?

Their husbands.

Who depended on all family members' contributions for income?

Poor city dwellers and farmers.

What was considered a badge of respectability for middle-class wives?

Staying at home and not working.

family wage

Idea that male workers should earn a wage sufficient enough to enable them to support their entire family without their wives having to work outside the home. It became a popular definition of social justice.

rising inequality

In period between the war of 1812 and 1840, the gap between wealthy merchants/ industrialists and impoverished factory workers, unskilled dockworkers, seamstresses, etc. widened significantly in large cities especially. Bankruptcy was a common fact of life, and men unable to pay their debts filled the prisons of major cities.

Workingmen's Parties

short-lived political organizations that sought to mobilize lower-calls support for candidates who would press for free public education, an end to imprisonment for debt, and legislation limiting work to ten hours per day

early labor movement

In the 1830s, time rapidly rising prices, union organization spread and strikes pertain commonplace. Along with demands for higher wages and shorter hours, the early labor movement called for free homesteads for settlers on public land in an end to the imprisonment of union leaders for conspiracy.

strikes

A unions' method for having their demands met. Workers stop working until the conditions are met.