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NATION BUILDING
Expansion and Migration
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American perspective shifts from Europe
to West after 1815
Land perceived as rich, unsettled
Continent held in part by the English,
Spanish, and Indians
North America, 1819
Settlement to the Mississippi:
Settlers Move In
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By 1840 over 1/3 of U.S. population lives
west of the Appalachians
Speculators sell land parcels to settlers on
credit
Settlers (squatters) immediately enter
commercial farming to pay off debt
Access to markets gained by network of
market towns, regional centers
The People and Culture of the
Frontier
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West settled to escape overpopulation,
rising land prices, worn-out soil
Settlers bring culture with them
Cooperation, strong community necessary
for survival
Land values rise rapidly in a few years
Price rise encourages rootlessness as
many sell out and move on
A Revolution in
Transportation
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Primitive land transportation in the East
was offset by shipping via the coastal
waterways
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After the War of 1812 political leaders
recognized the need the need to improve
the country’s transportation network
Roads and Turnpikes
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Cumberland Road (Cumberland to Maryland to
Wheeling, Virginia). Other roads include:
1.
National Road (Baltimore to St. Louis)
2.
Coastal Post Road (Portland to St. Augustine)
3.
Wilderness Road (Richmond to Louisville)
4.
Nashville Road (Richmond to Nashville)
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Often, the responsibility for building a road was passed
from the state and federal government to private turnpike
companies.
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Roads were useful but unprofitable.
Steamboats
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Network of rivers encourage economic
development
Steamboats assumed a vital role along the
Mississippi-Ohio River System
Steamboats transport upriver after 1811
Upriver capabilities reduce costs
Steamboat traffic stimulates Congress to
establish safety regulations
The Canal Boom
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Erie Canal first transportation link between East and
West, 1825, connects the Hudson River with Lake
Erie. Other canals include:
1.
Wabash & Erie (Toledo to Evansville)
2.
Miami & Erie (Toledo to Cincinnati)
3.
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia to Pittsburgh)
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Canal cuts East-West transportation costs
dramatically
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Erie canal stimulates commercial growth of New
York City
Emergence of a Market Economy
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The construction of roads and canals connecting
distant communities helped expand the market
economy.
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Canals cut shipping expenses for western
farmers and eastern manufacturers.
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Steamboats on the rivers also reduced shipping
costs and stimulated commercial agriculture.
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Distant and lucrative markets were now
accessible.
The Beginning of Commercial
Agriculture
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Lower transportation costs mean greater
income for the farmer
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Sale to distant markets involves farmers in
a complex system of credit (borrowing
from banks both state and BUS)
Early Industrialism
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Rise in manufacturing after 1812
Americans search for of production to cut costs.
Eli Whitney- Cotton Gin and Interchangeable
parts
Francis Cabot Lowell- textile machinery
Textile industry leads development of factory
system
Manufacturing was biggest in New England
because the regions rivers were ideal for water
power mills
Textile Mills in New England
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Samuel Slater Mills- carding (creating thread
and spinning it into yarn)
Lowell Mills- turned out finished fabric and
employed 80% women (Lowell Girls)
Textile industry leads development of factory
system
Manufacturing was biggest in New England
because the regions rivers were ideal for water
power mills
The Lowell Mills
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The Lowell Mills attracted women from farms who
wanted to make money.
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The worker’s (operatives) lives were regulated, living
in boarding houses and observed a curfew.
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The Lowell girls worked under very harsh conditions.
Windows were closed and air quality was bad.
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In 1834, women quit work to protest wage
reductions.
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They continued to protest years later.
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Strikes were becoming more prevalent.