Ch. 10 - America’s Economic Revolution

Urbanization

\-The process of heavily populating a particular region or geographic site that becomes a city or large town

\-Starting in the 1820s, industrialization & interregional trade promoted urbanization in the north and northwest

\-1820 to 1840 the national urban population quadrupled, industrial towns growing the fastest

\-Western cities like Cincinnati and Louisville, KY were among the growing urban centers

\-NYC grew the fastest, outstripping Philly in 1810

Immigrants

\-Immigration from western Europe to the US grew dramatically throughout the mid-1800s

\-Result of industrialization in Europe, the Irish potato famine, and the perceived opportunity in the US

\-The poorest & largest group of immigrants were the Irish who with the Germans & British made up a large segment of the unskilled factory labor in the US

\-Employers liked immigrant labor because they would work harder for longer hours for less money

\-Immigrant living conditions & the national opinion of immigrants led to a second class citizenship

\-The Irish immigrants typically would stay in the cities they landed in due to them not having any skill sets

Nativism

\-The desire of people within a culture to preserve the “native identity“ of the society they created

\-Breeds a sense of prejudice and superiority over immigrants

\-Hated immigrants because they worked longer hours for lower wages and more intensely

\-Political leaders exploited the immigrant population, buying their votes by finding them jobs, homes, etc.

\-Began to organize against immigration

Native American Clubs

\-Anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic organizations developed by workers who had lost jobs or felt their jobs were threatened by cheap immigrant labor and industrialization

\-Mechanics who were victims of technological unemployment found it easier to blame immigrants

\-Factory workers felt that an immigrants willingness to work longer hours for less was a threat to their livelihood or to the livelihood of their children

\-Anti-Catholic feelings were based on religious loyalty & the temperance movement; Irish-Catholics were known as drinkers

\-Tensions led to violence in the 1830s and 1840s

Know-Nothing Party

\-Political party created in 1852, in reaction to the increasing flood of immigrants to the US

\-Grew out of the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner formed by Charles B. Allen in 1850, to combat political influence of “foreigners“ & Catholics

\-The party’s real name was the American Party

\-Got the nickname when members answered the questions of outsiders with the response “I know nothing“

\-Supported Native-American clubs & literacy tests for voters

Dewitt Clinton

\-NY governor from 1817 to 1822, who was persuaded by merchants to sponsor construction of the Erie Canal

\-Clinton convinced the legislature to earmark the $7 million necessary for the construction

\-Prior to canal completion critics mockingly called it “Clinton’s ditch,“ and thought it was an unreasonable expense

Erie Canal (1825)

\-A 364-mile-long canal built through the Mohawk Valley from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany on the Hudson River

\-Allowed New York to compete for the western trade traditionally flowing through New Orleans

\-Approved for $7 million by the NYS legislature in 1817 and opened in 1825

\-Toll charges paid off the canal just 9 years later

\-Cities along the Great Lakes boomed and NYC became the nation’s commercial metropolis

\-Prompted a canal building boom

Railroads

\-Became a prominent feature of U.S. travel & trade throughout the late 1850s through the 1860s

\-Moved goods between manufacturers & mid-western farmers

\-Expansion of railways led to the growth of mid-western cities

\-Crossroads between rail lines and waterways developed storehouses, mill, plants, and factories for farm machinery

Samuel F. B. Morse

\-Developed the first commercially successful telegraph; first transmitting news of Polk’s inauguration from Baltimore to Washington

\-Low costs made it the ideal long-distance communication

\-By 1860, more than 50,00 miles of wire spanned the country

\-Quickly consolidated into western Union Telegraph Co.

Corporations

\-A partnership of individual investor, officially recognized by the gov’t as a body separate from the individuals who run it

\-Chartered to promote prosperity and/or sponsor industry invested in the public’s interests

Home-Based System (preindustrial)

\-a.k.a. cottage system, outwork system, putting-out system, a preindustrial system of manufacturing



\-Process continues until the merchant has finished product to sell

Factory System (Industrial Revolution)

\-Manufacturing process started in Britain with the use of power-driven machines to produce goods under one roof

Machine Tools

\-Machine built to make the parts to other machines

\-Allowed for the production of goods with uniform, interchangeable parts

\-Lowered prices and made production more efficient

\-Machines that had made uniform parts for firearms were converted to make sewing machinery, clock parts, licks, etc.

\-Gave rise to names like Colt, Remington, Singer, Waltham, etc.

\-Gave rise to the assembly line production;

“Agricultural Revolution“

\-New farming technology & methods that increased efficiency

\-Spread from Europe to the United States

\-Efficiency was needed because the eastern workforce was spreading to the West

\-Crops w/ bigger yields, cast-iron plows, crop rotation, butter & cheese production

\-Also freed up some of the workforce for growing factory system

The Lowell/Waltham System

\-System of manufacturing that reduced labor costs for New England factory owners, helping them compete with Britain

\-Women and farm girls took jobs at the Waltham plant because it paid better than the cottage system, provided boarding houses, church services, factory stores, schools, and activities

\-Advent of factory towns, some even using factory money binding workers even further to the company

\-Women felt a newfound independence and often worked until they were married

Working Conditions

\-Working conditions became more & more noisy, unsanitary, & dangerous as immigrants became the bulk of the unskilled work force

\-Open moving parts on machinery led to injuries, workdays lasted 12 to 14 hours, and wages were low especially among immigrants, women, & children

Technological Unemployment

\-Ongoing industrial process of unskilled, semi-skilled, & skilled workers being replaced by machinery

\-Many human jobs have been replaced by intricate machines that can produce more efficiently and cheaper

\-Results in lower incomes, unemployment, & loss of status

Labor Unions

\-Organizations of workers who collectively bargain for better working conditions (i.e. - shorter hours, more pay, safer conditions, etc.)

\-Founded in the democratic movement of the Jackson Era

\-Earliest unions were craft unions that would organize strikes

\-Building trade unions were most successful because the industrialization resulted in growing demand for their work

\-Unions organizing across city and state boundaries had the most success

\-Unskilled laborers were least successful in unionizing because they were easily replaced and courts worked against them

Closed Shop

\-Agreement negotiated between unions and employers binding employers to hire only workers that join the union

\-Made some employers happy because they kept their workforce, and employees happy because they gained collective bargaining

\-Many employers felt that this arrangement held them hostage to the demands of workers

\-Courts saw union methods as breaking “conspiracy“ laws

<

\-”Fair Share” (Agency Fee) Not part of the union but needs to pay a fee for the benefits

\-”Freerider” (Right to Work) Not part of the union and gets the benefit for free

>

10-Hour Workday

\-Traditional hours in the building trades and other fields was “Sun to Sun” but employers were demanding for longer hours

\-Employers installed dim lighting in factories to extend the work day beyond 12 hours and increase production

\-Skilled labor unions used strikes & gained 10 hr. work day

Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842)

\-MA Supreme Court case heard by Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, debating the legality of union bargaining methods

\-1840- Whig DA of Boston brought the Boston Journeymen Bootmaker’s Society to court for trying to enforce closed shop

\-Shaw overturned previous decisions stating:

<


1. A union is only criminal when their objectives & actions are criminal
2. Union members had the right to try to enforce a closed shop, even by strike, if the methods were peaceful

>

\-Made it difficult for lower courts to rule that unions were by nature criminal

\-Northeastern industrialists found other was to restrict union activity

Strikebreakers (a.k.a. scabs)

\-Unemployed people, desperate for work that are hired to replace workers striking to correct poor working conditions

\-Employers saw labor as a commodity & quickly replaced workers; running without lapses in production output

\-This sent the message that laborers were disposable rather than a valuable asset

\-The growth of the workforce gave employers an advantage who also used lockouts, blacklists, yellow-dog contracts, militias, & the courts to fight labor protests

\-Hurt union efforts to improve condition.

Unequal distribution of Wealth

\-Merchants, industrialists, and financiers rapidly accumulated fortunes &, developed a distinctive culture of wealth

\-Slaves, Native Americans, immigrants, landless farmers, and unskilled workers shared little in the economic growth of the period

\-By 1860 just 5% of the families possessed more than 50% of the national wealth

\-While wages & the standard of living rose for other classes, they were increasingly under the influence of the rich

Urban Poor

\-Citizens who did not benefit from the Industrial Revolution, often ending up worse off then they had been

\-Unskilled workers, with little education & property typically worked for low wages in factories

\-Unable to accumulate savings, rarely owned property, & were unable to help their children become socially mobile

\-Poor working conditions (Cinderella Man: dock work)

Standard of Living

\-Measurement of a society’s success, based on monetary wealth, real wages per person, availability of goods, services, etc.

\-Changes in trade, travel, and employment brought on by the Industrial Revolution increased the standard of living

\-Factory produced goods led to increased consumption of cheap, high-quality goods

Social Mobility

\-Ability of an individual or family to change social status due to wealth, occupation, education, and/or achievement

\-A major difference between American and European life

\-Americans valued the idea that hard work was rewarded

\-Europeans thought less of those who acquired wealth than those that inherited it

Middle Class

\-Fastest growing group during the U.S. Industrial Revolution

\-Mechanics benefited from higher wages, while contractors, grocers, shopkeepers, etc. profited from the urban market

\-Stay at home mothers, servants, parlors, & dining rooms

\-Urban populations increased the demands placed on farmers

“Separate Sphere“

\-Identification of women with roles & characteristics, different than men in social, economic, political, and familial life

\-Woman = caring for the home & children, subordinate to men

\-Industrialization & religious revivals further emphasized these roles; women were to provide religious & moral instruction

Interregional Trade

\-Growth of trade exchange between/among differing regions allowing for a reduction in dependence on foreign trade

\-Nationalized trade triggered increased production & profits

\-The North and Northwest became less dependent on Europe, while the South remained entwined

\-Growth of cities and a transportation revolution