Transcript The People and Culture of the Frontier

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
After the War of 1812 political leaders
recognized the need the need to improve
the country’s transportation network
Roads and Steamboats
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National Road from Cumberland,
Maryland to Wheeling, Virginia
Private turnpikes built by entrepreneurs
Roads useful but unprofitable
Roads and Steamboats (2)
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Network of rivers encourage economic
development
Flatboats transport down river early
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
Canal cuts East-West transportation costs
dramatically
Canal stimulates commercial growth of
New York City
Emergence of a Market Economy
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Canals cut shipping expenses for western
farmers and eastern manufacturers
Steamboats on the rivers also reduced
shipping costs and stimulated commercial
agriculture
The Beginning of Commercial
Agriculture
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Lower transportation costs mean greater
income for the farmer
Sale to distant markets involves farmers in
a complex system of credit
Market stimulates specialization
 Ohio
Valley produces wheat
 Lower South produces cotton
Commerce and Banking
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Commercial farming stimulates new
system of marketing
Farmers borrow on future crops
Use of credit stimulates banking
State banks increase after 1812
1816--Second Bank of the United States
created to check state banks
Bank’s easy credit sparks Panic of 1819
Early Industrialism
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Rise in manufacturing after 1812
Traditional methods but innovative
financing through “putting out” system
 “putting-out”--merchants
deliver raw materials
for farm families, artisans to process
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Textile industry leads development of
factory system
Internal Expansionism
► “Young
Americans” link territorial growth to other
material achievements
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technological innovation—e.g. telegraph
transportation improvements
growth of trade
mass immigration
► Discovery
of California gold inspires
transcontinental projects
► Territorial expansion wanes after 1848, economic,
population growth continues
The Triumph of the Railroad
► 1840s--railroad
begins displacing canals
► Rail construction stimulates iron industry
► Railroads stimulate new forms of finance
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bonds
preferred stock
government subsidies
Railroads, 1850 and 1860
The Industrial Revolution
Takes Off
► Mass
production, the division of labor
makes production more efficient
► Factory system emerges
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gather laborers in one place for supervision
cash wages
“continuous process" of manufacturing
► Agriculture
becomes mechanized
► Northern economy based on interaction
of industry, transportation, agriculture
Mass Immigration Begins
► 1840-1860--4
million Irish, Germans
immigrate to U.S.
► Most come for higher wages
► Immigrants fill low-paying jobs in port
cities
► Low immigrant wages contribute to slums
► Urban reform movement results
Immigration to the United States,
1820-1860
The New Working Class
► 1840s--factory
labor begins shifting from
women, children to men
► Immigrants dominate new working class
► Employers less involved with laborers
► Post-1837 employers demand more work
for less pay
► Unions organized to defend worker rights
The New Working Class (2)
► Wage
laborers resent discipline, continuous
nature of factory work
► Workers cling to traditional work habits
► Adjustment to new work style was painful
and took time
The Costs of Expansion
► Working
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class poses problem for ideals
working for wages assumed the first step
toward becoming one’s own master
new class of permanent wage-earners conflicts
with old ideal
► Economic
expansion creates conflicts
between classes
► Territorial expansion creates conflicts
between sections
► Both sets of conflicts uncontrollable
Economic Issues
Interest in government economic policy
intensified after 1819
 Some wanted to do away with banks,
paper money, and easy credit
 Others wanted more government aid
 Political parties took stands on the role
of the federal government in economic
growth
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Labor Radicalism and Equal
Rights
Working men’s parties and trade unions
emerged in the 1820s and 1830s
 They advocated public education
reform, a ten-hour workday, an end to
debtors prison, and hard currency
 They made some gains but they proved
to be only temporary
 The women’s rights movement and
abolitionists made little progress
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