YAWP C10

Reasons for population growth from 1820-1840

1. Improvements in public health

2. High birth rate

3. Immigration- into NE cities and agricultural regions

Which types of immigrants come, where do they go, and why?

1. NY, Philly, and Boston grow substantially

2. Booming agricultural region on the mississippi

3. Germany- widespread poverty, fall of their liberal government

4. Ireland- potato famine

Rise of nativism

• Some welcome cheap labor, land speculation, and population growth

• Nativism begins to grow- hostility toward foreign born people

• New immigrants are considered inferior

• Argued they were less civilized bc they lived in urban slums

• Others don’t want jobs stolen

• Whigs are outraged immigrants vote Democratic

Native American Association

Group of nativists in Philadelphia in 1845

Supreme Order of the Star Spangled Banner

Combined nativist groups, become known as “know nothings”, created a political organization called the American party, strength declines post 1854

Erie Canal

• Steamboats grow in the 1820s

• Carry products to New Orleans much faster

• Want to ship faster, directly eastward to market, rather than long sea-river route

• NY starts by building the Erie canal in 1817

• Under governor De Witt Clinton to connect the Hudson river and lake Erie

• Connects NY with the Chicago markets in 1825, engineering marvel

• Ohio and Indiana are inspired and connect the Ohio River to lake Erie

• Increased white settlement in the Northwest, easier to ship goods back to eastern markets

Baltimore and Ohio Co

Open first US railroad track that brings passengers in 1830

Consolidation

Railroads are disjointed, they begin to connect short lines in longer ones known as trunk lines, leading to rails becoming the primary method of transport in the Northeast primarily. Railroads lessened western dependence on the Mississippi and weaken the connection of the Northwest and South.

4 major trunk lines

1. NY Central

2. Pennsylvania railroad

3. NY+ Erie

4. Baltimore and Ohio

The telegraph

1844, Samuel B Morse transmits from Baltimore to DC news of James K Polk’s presidential nomination. This is expanded under the Western Union Telegraph company.

The Associated Press

Steam cylinder rotary press invented in 1846 by Richard Hoe, newspaper publishers connect around the nation to form the associated press. Newspapers are primarily northern, fueling sectional divides.

Expansion of Business from 1820 to 1840

• New wealth grows, allows for more consumption of goods

• Stores specializing in specific goods begin to appear rather than just general stores

• Corporations begin to develop in the 1830s- general incorporation laws in certain states gave them a charter thru just paying a fee

• Allows for limited liability of individual stockholders if the business crashes

• Credit remained very crude, hard to back businesses, leading to dangerous instability

Emergence of the factory

• NE textile industry begins to grow, driven by water power, large scale factories begin

• Shoe factories also begin in eastern mass and spread

• value of US manufactured goods shoots up, Northeast is very industrial

Interchangable parts

Used by Eli Whitney for guns, begin to spread into other industries and into factory machines.

Coal

Coal replaces wood and water to fuel factories, they can expand without having to be near streams. Also this period sees the invention of rubber and the sewing machine

Changes in farming and labor

Most people live and work on farms, vast, new fertile Midwest lands open up, new transport and new farm machinery increase food production drastically. Regions could now export food from others, less people are needed to farm in the Midwest than harsh NE soil, so they begin to move west.

2 systems of recruiting to mills

1. Families move from farms straight to mills

2. Enlist young women

Lowell system

Relied heavily on young, unmarried women, mill owners made sure to maintain a proper environment with conditions much better than Europe. Transition from farms to factories was difficult, and this system began to decline bc owners can’t keep up good conditions for women.

Sarah Bagley

Started the Female Labor Reform Association in response to conditions at Lowell, demanded 10 hr workday and better conditions

Immigrant factory workforce

Irish immigrants perform heavy, unskilled labor, generally did not earn enough to support families and lived in poor conditions. NE working conditions deteriorate, start paying piece wages, based on production level. Lowell becomes a slum with dangerous conditions, low pay, and long working hours.

De-skilling

Need for skilled, artisan labor begins to decrease, they form labor unions to protect their roles. Form national trade unions, panic of 1837 weakens them.

Labor laws

NH and PA pass ten hour work day laws, NH, PA, NY, pass child labor laws. Employers generally ignore these laws.

Commonwealth v Hunt

Unions are lawful organizations, strikes are a lawful weapon.

Personal freedoms and labor

People were proud of their limited personal freedoms, and their ability to work to change their lives. Freedom meant an absence of slavery for many, material circumstances are often worse than southern enslaved, but they would rather be free.

Wealth in cities

Wealth increases, select upper class families, clubs, mansions, social rituals, lavish high society develops in cities, especially NY.

Central Park

Designed by Frederick Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, place for wealthy NY, want to rival London and Paris

Urban Poor

This class grows rapidly, homeless, crime, widows and orphans, Irish immigrants, African americans

Social Mobility

Available within the working class. Geographic mobility exists west and is very common, along with decent political access for white men, these keep social discontent down.

Middle Class Life

• Actual professions, solid, substantial homes

• Women care for children and household, some can hire servants

• Cast iron stove is invented, for cooking and keeps house warm

• Food expands to more meat, grains, and dairy products

• Ice boxes allowed for refrigeration, middle class is often chubby

• Middle class homes are decorated and furnished

The Changing family

• Sons and daugters in cities are more likely to leave home to work

• Income earning leaves home, becomes industrialized

• Family businesses decline, more hired labor on farms rather than family run

• Earners leave home rather than working in it

• Birth rates fall due to increased abstinence

Women’s place

• Hard to get a divorce, men can beat women, have almost no legal protections

• Hard to get higher education, Oberlin in Ohio is first to accept women

• Women are no longer income producers, role as mother, social standing, place in household increases to be more important

• Women start to form social networks

Godey’s Lady Book

Sarah Hale, magazine on shopping, homemaking advice. Reinforced that women are supposed to be moral and benevolent.

Cult of Domesticity

Women are supposed to run a good, religious, benevolent household, higher value on roles as a mother. Women become detached from the public world. Unmarried women could be nurses or governesses. Middle class looks down on working women.

Middle and Lower Class Leisure

• For middle and working class, holidays are important, one of their few days off

• Men go to taverns to drink and play games, while women come together in households to do household tasks

• Reading for fun increases

Minstrel Shows

Mocked African Americans, became popular entertainment.

PT Barnum

American museum in NY in 1842, freak show, 1870 creates famous circus. Lecture is an important form of entertainment to hear about the world.

Truck Farming

Northeast farming declines as people move west, switched to truck farming, farming vegetables or fruit and selling them to nearby towns. Profitable dairy farming and potatoes.

Old Northwest

Lake Erie, Cleveland, Ohio river valley have successful industrial, agricultural machinery, meat packing. All of these serve agriculture or rely on agriculture. There are still lots of natives here, not part of the economy. Large farms primarily, owned by poor, marginal farmers.

Agricultural Specialization

This increases in the Northwest, more farms begin to grow only one thing

John Deere

Builds steel plows in 1847, part of industrial movement to improve agriculture.

McCormick Reaper

Invented the automatic reaper, 5 times as fast.

Rural Life

Densley populated farm areas with big families exist. Religion draws farm families together through Bible readings, weddings, baptisms. Work tg to share task labor, women join for big domestic projects. Rural ppl are very disconnected from urban life.