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The American Nation
Chapter 14
North and South, 1820–
1860
Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.
The American Nation
Chapter 14: North and South, 1820–1860
Section 1:
Industry in the North
Section 2:
Life in the North
Section 3:
Cotton Kingdom in the South
Section 4:
Life in the South
Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.
Life in the North
Chapter 14, Section 2
• How were conditions in factories in the 1840s
worse than those in the 1820s?
• What did factory workers hope to accomplish by
joining together?
• Who were the new immigrants in the mid-1800s?
• How were free African Americans treated in the
North?
Factory Conditions Worsened in the 1840s
Chapter 14, Section 2
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Steam-powered factories of the 1840s and 1850s were larger than
the mills of the early 1800s. The new factories changed the way
work was done and the way workers lived and worked.
Mass production changed the way workers felt about their jobs. In
the past, artisans, or skilled workers, were proud of what they
made. With mass production, factory owners were interested in
how much the factory produced, not how well it was done.
Workers could not be creative.
Artisans often owned and managed their own businesses. Factory
workers were unlikely to rise to manage a business.
Often, entire families labored in factories, including children. They
worked long hours—from 4 A.M. until 7:30 P.M.
Factory workers faced discomfort and danger. Few factories had
windows or heating systems. Factory machines had no safety
devices. There were no laws regulating factory conditions.
Workers Joined Together
Chapter 14, Section 2
Poor working conditions and low wages led workers to organize. In the
1820s and 1830s, artisans in each trade formed trade unions.
• The unions called for a shorter workday, higher wages, and better
working conditions.
• Sometimes, unions went on strike, that is, they refused to work until
their demands were met.
Slowly, workers made progress.
• In 1840, President Van Buren approved a ten-hour workday for
government employees.
• Artisans won better pay, but unskilled workers made little progress.
• Women Workers organized, too.
New England textile workers protested wage cuts and unfair work rules.
• Women workers staged strikes at Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1830s.
• The Lowell Female Labor Reform Association petitioned the state
legislature for a ten-hour workday.
New Immigrants of the Mid-1800s
Chapter 14, Section 2
• By the late 1800s, many factory workers were new
immigrants.
• Many immigrants came from Great Britain seeking to
earn higher wages.
• Between 1845 and 1860, over 1.5 million Irish immigrated
to the United States. A disease had destroyed Ireland’s
potato crop, leading to a famine, or severe food
shortage. Thousands died of starvation and disease.
Others fled to the United States.
• Between 1848 and 1860, nearly a million Germans
arrived in the United States. Revolutions had broken out
in many parts of Germany. People left Germany to avoid
the violence.
New Immigrants of the Mid-1800s
Chapter 14, Section 2
Not everyone welcomed the immigrants.
• One group of Americans, called nativists, wanted to
preserve the country for native-born, white citizens.
• Because immigrants were willing to work for lower pay,
some Americans protested that they “stole” jobs.
• Many people distrusted the different languages, customs,
and dress.
• Some people blamed immigrants for a rise in city crime.
• Some people mistrusted Irish newcomers because many of
them were Catholics. Until then, a majority of immigrants to
the United States had been Protestant.
• Nativists formed a new political party. It was called the
Know-Nothing party. The party was anti-Catholic and antiimmigrant.
New Immigrants of the Mid-1800s
Chapter 14, Section 2
African Americans in the North
Chapter 14, Section 2
African Americans in
the North met
discrimination
• Discrimination is a policy or attitude that denies
equal rights to certain groups of people.
• African Americans were denied “the ballot-box,
the jury box, the halls of the legislature, the
army, the public lands, the school, and the
church.”
• African Americans had trouble finding good
jobs.
African Americans in
the North met some
success.
• Some African Americans found success owning
their own businesses.
• Some African Americans became successful
professionals.
Section 2 Assessment
Chapter 14, Section 2
Which statement best describes one way factory conditions changed in the
1840s because of mass production?
a) Workers began to take greater pride in the goods they made.
b) Factory owners began to care more about how good their products
were.
c) New laws said that owners must spend money on safety equipment.
d) Factory workers now worked longer hours for lower wages.
After northern states outlawed slavery, free African Americans in the North
a) were drafted into the army.
b) were still not allowed to vote in most northern states.
c) found good jobs because they were willing to work for less.
d) fled to the South.
Want to connect to the American History link for this section? Click here.
Section 2 Assessment
Chapter 14, Section 2
Which statement best describes one way factory conditions changed in the
1840s because of mass production?
a) Workers began to take greater pride in the goods they made.
b) Factory owners began to care more about how good their products
were.
c) New laws said that owners must spend money on safety equipment.
d) Factory workers now worked longer hours for lower wages.
After northern states outlawed slavery, free African Americans in the North
a) were drafted into the army.
b) were still not allowed to vote in most northern states.
c) found good jobs because they were willing to work for less.
d) fled to the South.
Want to connect to the American History link for this section? Click here.