Chapter 14 - Forging the National Economy

Pioneers, western pioneers to be specific, were commonly poor and had to face disease and loneliness \n

==Fur trapping== ==was a large industry in the Rocky Mountain area==
- Fur traders would trade with traders from the East with them exchanging beaver pelts for manufactured goods, with this being known as the “rendezvous system”
==George Caitlin== ==was one of the first Americans to advocate for the preservation of nature==
- Proposed the idea of a national park

The population was doubling every 25 years by the mid 1800s
The U.S. had 33 states by 1861 and was the fourth most populous country in the western world
- The large population led to larger cities which brought about disease and decreased the standard of living
More European immigrants came to the U.S. in the 1840s and 1850s
Immigrants wanted to escape the aristocratic caste and state church and wanted the opportunity to improve one’s life

In “Black Forties” (1840s), many Irish came to America because of famine caused by the potato rot in Ireland
- Most Irish were Roman-Catholic and were politically powerful as they bonded together as a large voting body
The Irish increased competition for jobs and were hated by native workers
- The Irish hated the blacks and the British

Many Germans came to U.S. between the 1830s and 1860s because of crop failures and other hardships such as the collapse of German democratic revolutions
Germans had a modest amount of material goods when they came to America
Germans moved west into the Middle West (Wisconsin) with them being more educated than the Americans
Germans were opposed to slavery

Massive immgration of Europeans to America inflamed prejudices of American nativists
Roman Catholics created an entirely separate Catholic educational system in order to avoid the American Protestant educational system
The ==Know-Nothing Party== ==was created by native Americans that were opposed to the immigrants==
Many people died in the riots and attacks between the natives and immigrants

==Steam== ==was used with machines to take the place of human labor in 1750==, enabling the Industrial Revolution in England
It took time for the Industrial Revolution to spread to America due to American soil being cheap
Peasants in America preferred to grow crops as opposed to working in factories which caused labor to be scarce until immigrants came to the U.S. in the 1840s
The large British factories had a monopoly on the textile industry with American companies being unable to compete

==Samuel Slater== ==was known as the “Father of the Factory System” in America==
- Slater put the first machine to spin cotton thread in operation (1791)
==Eli Whitney== ==built the first cotton gin in 1793== with it being more effective than slaves
- The cotton gin caused the South’s production of cotton to increase greatly with demand for cotton reviving the demand for slavery
==New England== ==became the industrial center of the Industrial Revolution in the U.S.==
- Became the industrial center due to poor soil for farming, dense population for labor, capital was brought in by shipping, and seaports allowed for the import of raw materials and the export of the finished products

==War of 1812== ==created boom of American factories and the use of American products versus the British imports==
Surplus in American manufacturing dropped, following Treaty of Ghent in 1815
British manufacturers sold their products to Americans at low prices
Congress passed the Tariff of 1816 to protect American manufacturers
==Eli Whitney== ==came up with the idea of using machines to make each part of the musket in 1798==
==Elias Howe== ==invented the sewing machine in 1846==
- Boosted northern industrialization and became the foundation of the ready-made clothing industry
==Samuel F. B. Morse====: invented the telegraph==

Between workers, impersonal relationships replaced personal relationships
Factory workers were forbidden by law to form labor unions to raise wages
Many children were used as laborers in factories in the 1820s
==Jacksonian democracy== ==brought forth voting rights of the laboring man==
In Commonwealth vs. Hunt, the Supreme Court ruled that labor unions weren’t legal conspiracies, provided that their methods were honorable and peaceful

Farm women and girls spun yarn, wove cloth, and made candles, soap, butter, and cheese in the pre-industrial economy
Women weren’t allowed to form unions with the majority of working women being single
The ==Cult of Domesticity== ==was a widespread cultural creed that glorified the customary functions of the homemaker==
Families were small, affectionate, and child-centered in the Industrial Revolution, with said families providing a special space for women

==Liquor and hogs== ==were the early western farmer’s staple market items== due to both items being supported by corn
==John Deere== ==produced a steel plow in 1837==
==McCormick Reaper== ==was a horse-drawn mechanical reaper that could cut and gather crops faster than possible with previous methods (hand-picking) with this enabling larger-scale farming==

The ==Lancaster Turnpike== ==was a highway that ran from Philadelphia to Lancaster, with drivers having a to pay a toll to use it==
The federal government started to construct the National Road (Cumberland Road) in 1811 with it going from Cumberland (Western Maryland) to Illinois
Construction of the Cumberland Road was stopped during War of 1812 with it being completed in 1852
==Robert Fulton== ==installed a steam engine on a boat and ended up creating the first steamboat==
- Steamboats allowed for extensive waterways and were therefore, vital to the economic expansion of the West and South

==Governor Clinton== ==was the governor of New York who led the building of the Erie Canal==
The ==Erie Canal== ==connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River in 1825==
- The Erie Canal lowered shipping prices and decreased te passengers’ transit time

The ==railroad== ==was the most significant in contributing to the expansion of the American economy==
The first railroad came to be in 1828
Initially, railroads were greatly opposed due to their safety flaws and due to them taking money away from the investors of the Erie Canal

American naval yards started to produce new ships called clipper ships in the 1840s and 1850s which sacrificed cargo room for speed
Clipper ships were able to transport small amounts of goods in short amounts of time and were eventually replaced by steamboats, after the steamboats were improved
The ==Pony Express== ==was established in 1860 to carry mail from Missouri to California==
The Pony Express collapsed after 18 months due to a lack of profit

The Market Revolution transformed American economy
The American economy went from an economy in which people lived off of what they grew or created to one were people purchased goods that were produced all over the nation