North and South 1820-1860

Chapter 13: North and South American Journey

Industrial Revolution in the North

• Beginning

  • The Industrial Revolution starts in New England.

  • Machines perform tasks previously done by hand.

  • Factories emerge as manufactories are shortened to factories.

Key Figures

• Samuel Slater

  • In 1789, brings the Industrial Revolution to America with ideas.

  • Builds a textile mill in New England.

Why New England?

• Factors for Development

  • Water Power: Availability of rivers for energy.

  • Labor Force: A large population available for work.

  • Established Shipping Industry: Facilitates raw material and finished goods transport.

• Francis Cabot Lowell

  • Constructs a large textile mill in Massachusetts.

  • Creates a city around the mill with company-owned dormitories and kitchens.

  • Many young girls are employed in the factories.

Innovations in Manufacturing

• Eli Whitney

  • Develops interchangeable parts system.

  • Sells guns to the government; this system becomes essential to the factory system.

• Isaac Singer

  • Invents the sewing machine in 1851, improving textile production.

Challenges and Issues in Factories

• Child Labor

  • The use of children as workers in factories is widespread.

• Unsafe Working Conditions

  • Documented by Lewis Hine through photographs.

• Low Wages

  • Weekly earnings: Men - $5, Women - $2, Children - $1.

  • These conditions lead to the formation of labor unions advocating for shorter hours and better pay, but their efforts are largely unsuccessful.

Urbanization

• Growth of Cities

  • Factories contribute to urban growth.

  • Immigrants flock to cities seeking jobs.

  • American resentment grows towards immigrants due to job competition.

Advancements in Travel

• Transportation Improvements

  • National (Cumberland) Road: Built in 1811, enhances travel.

  • Canal Era (1825-1850)

    • Best Example: Erie Canal, 40 ft wide, 4 ft deep, 363 miles long.

    • Reduces shipping costs significantly from $100 to $10.

  • Clipper Ships: Ocean-going vessels designed for speed.

  • Steamboats: John Fitch's initial attempt fails; Robert Fulton's 1807 ship "Clermont" is successful.

• Railroads

  • Key development for travel, enhancing connections between distant locations.

  • Peter Cooper's "Tom Thumb" demonstrates locomotive potential.

  • Railways begin to facilitate faster movement of goods and people, aiding development in the west.

Communication Developments

• Samuel Morse

  • Invents the telegraph; drastically speeds up news dissemination, allowing information to travel at the speed of light.

The South's Transformation

• Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin (1793)

  • Revolutionizes cotton processing, increasing efficiency.

  • A single worker with a cotton gin can clean up to 40 pounds of cotton in a day.

• King Cotton

  • Cotton becomes the dominant crop in the South post-1793.

  • Southern cotton is vital for textile mills in Britain and North America.

  • Cotton production in the U.S. increases by 50,000% between 1790 and 1850.

• Demand for Slavery

  • Profitable cotton production increases demand for slave labor.

  • Southerners fiercely defend the institution of slavery, termed the "peculiar institution."

  • Statistics show that one in four Southern families owned slaves, with 3% owning multiple slaves; most farmers (yeomen) worked without enslaved help.

Life and Culture of Slaves

• Living Conditions

  • Slaves have no legal or political rights and are treated as property.

  • Slave codes prohibit educational opportunities such as reading.

  • Experience back-breaking labor and harsh treatment.

• Cultural Aspects

  • Maintain distinct cultural and religious practices; family units are crucial, with a significant fear of family separation.

• Slave Revolts

  • Example: Nat Turner's revolt in 1831 results in the deaths of 57 whites and over 100 slaves in retaliation, heightening fears among Southern whites.

Growing Divide Between North and South

• Economic Divergence

  • The North becomes increasingly industrialized while the South relies on agriculture and slavery.

  • Increasing abolitionist sentiment in the North contrasts with Southern view of Northern hypocrisy regarding slavery.