Studied by 12 people
Name, machines & their inventors, geographical points, and locations.
Basic Requirements for an Industrial Revolution
Large enough population to grow its own food & provide a surplus workforce for the industrial economy.
Transportation & communications systems for sustaining commerce over a large area.
Technology to manufacture on a large scale.
System of business organization that could manage large industrial enterprises.
Trends of the American Population - 1820 to 1840
Rapidly increasing, urbanizing, and migrating westward.
Reasons for Population Increase
Improvements in public health resulting in a decline in epidemics
High birth rate.
Immigration boom starting in the 1830’s.
What stimulated Immigration?
Reduced transportation costs and increased economic opportunities.
Deteriorating economic conditions in Europe.
What was the largest city in the US by 1810?
New York
Rapid Urbanization
Industrializing states saw a boom in the growth of cities. Southern states would see an increase in urban residents, but it was not as dramatic.
Benefit of the Mississippi River
Cities on the Mississippi River (or one of its major tributaries) became centers of trade that connected farmers from the Midwest with New Orleans, which in turn connected them to the cities of the Northeast.
Shipping from Mississippi River → the Great Lakes
Created major new urban centers that would supersede river ports.
Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and CHICAGO
Where did Immigrants come from?
Majority of the Immigrants were Irish or German.
The also came from England, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Poland, and Holland.
Irish and German Immigrants - Reasons for Immigration
Economic dislocations caused widespread poverty in Germany.
Ireland faced an unpopular and oppressive English rule, and faced a extreme famine from 1845-1849.
Irish Potato Famine
1845 - 1849 (according to the txtbk, differs depending on the source)
Irish and German Immigrants - Demographic
Most of the German immigrants had some money. Most of the Irish did not.
Most German immigrants came in family units or were single men. Most Irish immigrants were young single women.
Nativism
Hostility towards foreign born members of a country,
Often mixed with a desire to slow down or stop immigration.
Arguments behind Nativism
Immigrants were Socially Unfit to live alongside people of older “stock,” Stealing Jobs from the native labor force, Corrupting Politics by selling their votes.
The Native American Party
Secret societies were created by nativists to combat the “alien menace.”
The first of these being the Native American Association.
Another one was the Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner.
Password of the Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner
“I know nothing”
This lead them to be called the “Know-Nothings.”
the American Party
Created by the Know-Nothings after the election of 1852.
Had some power in Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Declined in power after 1854.
The Economic Advantages of Immigrants
Cheap labor
expanded western population = more land and goods
larger population → more political power
Making naturalization easier
Wisconsin was the first state to allow immigrants the right to vote more easily, as long as they declare they wanted to be a citizen and were in that state for more than 1 year.
Steamboats: Cargo
Corn & wheat of northwestern farmers.
Cotton & tobacco of the southwestern planters
Steamboats: Roundabout Route
New Orleans
Once at New Orleans, the steamboats would ten take cargo to other eastern ports.
This route was unsatisfactory for merchants and farmers. It was abundantly clear that it would be more profitable to have a more direct route. (overland was not an option, too expensive)
Steamboats: Luxury
Steamboats would also develop passenger traffic, which called for companies to build luxury boats.
Economic Advantages of Canals
Canals provided a more direct path compared to the roundabout route.
Horses on “towpaths” could pull more cargo compared to horses hauling goods on turnpikes.
Canals: Funding & Construction
At the time it was way too expensive for private companies to dig canals, so it was left to the state to do it.
Under governor De Witt Clinton, New York would be the first state to take action. They began digging a canal from Lake Erie and the Hudson River.
New York was the only state to get canals right, other states never finished their water routes
The Erie Canal
Opened in October of 1825.
Was an engineering feat for the US, and was an immediate financial success.
The Erie Canal: Financial Success
Traffic would be so heavy that it would only take 7 years worth of tolls to repay the entire cost of construction.
The Erie Canal would allow New York to compete with (and eventually replace) New Orleans as the primary destination of goods.
Stockton and Darlington Railroad in England
First railroad line to carry general traffic.
Created by John Stevens
Baltimore and Ohio & Mohawk and Hudson (New York)
Early American railroad lines.
Limits of Early Railroads
Lines like these were still too short to be considered a true railroad system.
Tracks often didn’t connect, and when they did the gauges were different.
Schedules were not consistent, and wrecks were frequent.
Competition between Railroads and Canals
Essentially, railroads were taking money out of the canal industry, and prominent canal companies would attempt to halt the advancing railroad industry.
Examples of the Competition between Railroads and Canals.
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company blocked the advance of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
New York prohibited railroads from competing with the Erie Canal and its branches.
Consolidation
The shorter railroad lines were connected to make longer lines (known as “trunk lines”)
Railroads: Funding & Construction
Private American investors received funding from and borrowed from abroad.
They also obtained assistance from the federal government in the form of public land grants.
The Telegraph
Allowed stations to connect with one another, and aided the scheduling and routing of trains.
Instant communication between distant cities.
Samuel F. B. Morse
Invented the Telegraph.
His telegraph from Baltimore to Washington D.C. showed the potential of the telegraph.
Western Union Telegraph Company
Many smaller independent telegraph systems built based on the Morse telegraph system combined into this organization.
The Associated Press
Newspaper publishers from around the nation formed this, in order to promote cooperative gathering by wire.
Richard Hoe
Invented the steam cylinder rotary press.
Made the printing of newspapers faster and cheaper.
Major Metropolitan Newspapers
New York had Horace Greeley’s Tribune, James Gordon Bennett’s Herald, Henry J. Raymond’s Times
Fueling Sectional Discord
Many of the Industrial and Transportation advances of the 19th century saw a growing divide between the North and South.
Newspapers only made it worse, with the southern publishers unable to report on larger scale events due to their low budgets. (made them feel inferior?)
Corporations
a group of people, often stockholders, that act as a single entity/company
Inadequate Credit
Investment was not enough, which made business rely on credit.
Banks began to issue to many bank notes, which in turn made bank failure frequent and bank deposits to be insecure.
The Industrial Northeast
Northwest plants were so large that they produced 2/3rds of all of the nation’s manufactured goods.
Important tools developed in Massachusetts
Turret Lathe for cutting metal parts
Universal Milling Machine which replaced hand chiseling
Precision grinding machine
Interchangeable Parts
Eli Whitney & Simeon North tried to implement it into the gun industry, but it proved to be useful to factories.
New Sources of Energy
Coal began to replace wood and water power as fuel for factories.
Factories could not be located away from running streams, which expanded the industry.
Charles Goodyear
New England merchant.
Vulcanizing rubber (treating rubber to make it stronger and more elastic)
Elias Howe
Made a sewing machine
Isaac Singer
Improved Howe’s sewing machine.
Howe-Singer Machine
A sewing machine invented by Elias Howe, and improved on by Isaac Singer.
It would be the staple of early manufacturing of ready-to-wear clothing.
Disadvantages of Water as a Fuel Source
Waterfalls freeze in cold climates.
Alternate sources like steam, coal, wood, and petroleum(later on), could be used all year round.
Lowell (Waltham) System
Women worked in mills. These women would save up money for a few years, then go back home to raise children.
Lowell System - Working Conditions
Working conditions for women was paradise compared to that in England.
Women lived in boarding houses/dorms.
Wages were fairly high.
Free time allowed them to even write and publish a monthly magazine.
the Lowell Offering
A monthly magazine written and published by the women working the Lowell system.
Decline of the Lowell System
It became difficult to maintain the high living standards and attractive working conditions.
Wages would decline, hours became longer, and the dorms began to fall apart.
Factory Girls Association
Mill workers from Lowell organized a union.
They had two strikes to protest wage cuts and an increase in rent. They both failed.
Female Labor Reform Association
Led by militant Sarah Bagley.
Demanded a 10 hour day and other improvements of conditions in the mills.
Economic Advantages of Immigrant Labor
Extremely large and inexpensive source of labor.
Had less leverage than women, as a result they would see worse working conditions.
This also saw the introduction of piece rates.
Piece Rates
Wage based on how much a worker has produced.
De-Skilling
Artisans could strive in a small-scale industry.
Artisans could not compete with the prices of factory-made goods.
National Trades’ Unions
Created in 1834 by delegates from 6 different cities.
Trade Unions
Skilled workers from cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and New York began to form unions for mutual aid.
express contract
Let workers more than 10 hours a day, if they agreed to.
Most employers began to require employee to sign the contract to be hired.
Commonwealth v. Hunt -1842
In Massachusetts they declare unions a lawful organizations, which permitted them to strike.
Female Protective Unions
Women began to make their own trade unions
America’s Divided Working Class
The source of labor was so large, manufactures had the freedom to have terrible working conditions because they could easily replace laborers.
Ethnic divisions and tensions began to rise.
Sovereign Individual
The idea that people could make choices and change their lives for the better.
Henry David Thoreau
One of the many great philosophers of the 19th century.
Advocated for the idea of the “independency of the individual”
What did Henry David Thoreau say that the “independency of the individual” require?
Escape from the market economy and find freedom and solitude in nature.
Increasing Inequality in Wealth
Rich merchants and industrialists started to do rich people things. They lived the high society.
There were a ton of rich people in New York.
Central Park
Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
It was to make New York as important as London or Paris.
Wealthy people spent their time here.
Paupers
Immigrants that failed to find work or adjust to America
Frederick Jackson Turner
Historian who referred to the availability of the western lands as a “safety valve” for the discontent in the United States.
New Household inventions
Cast-iron stove & iceboxes.
Distinctions of the Middle Class
Houses now had carpeting, wallpaper, and curtains.
More elaborate and baroque household styles.
Female Colleges/Colleges that accepted female students
Oberlin College in Ohio
Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts
Godey’s Lady’s Book
Popular magazine for women in the 1800’s. It focused on fashion, shopping, homemaking advice, and other domestic concerns.
domestic virtues
roles in the household, more often than not delegated to women
Leisure Activities
Minstrel shows, boxing, horse racing, cockfighting, and baseball.
Minstrel Shows
Shows where white actors mock and mimic African American culture.
P.T. Barnum
Opened the American Museum in New York City.
It was not really a museum, in reality it was a freak show.
Ohio River Valley
Center of agricultural machinery and meatpacking industries because of Chicago, Lake Erie, and Cleveland.
Agricultural Specialization
Western farmers began on concentrating on a single crop/animal for market.
John Deere
In Moline Illinois, he manufacture steel plows that were more durable than the cast iron ones.
McCormick Reaper
Invented by Cyrus H. McCormick of Virgina.
It allowed one worker to harvest wheat or other grains five times faster than older methods.
Thresher
A machine that separated grain from wheat stalks.
One manufacturer of these was Jerome I. Case factory in Wisconsin.
Conspicuous Consumption
lifestyle that super rich entrepreneurs lived
limited liability
investors in corporations only lost as much as they invested themselves
Shanty Irish
native prejudice towards irish immigrants who were poor and lived in shanties.
Skilled Workers Unions of the 1850’s
National Typographic Union, Stone Cutters, Hat Finishers, Molders, Machinists
Central Park Quote
Great Importance as the first real park in this country
Mount Holyoke
College founded by Mary Lyon
Note
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