Transcript Hota Chapter 14

The Westward Movement
 In 1845, a Democratic leader and influential editor by the name of John
L. O' Sullivan gave the present day United States the term Manifest
Destiny. Manifest Destiny conveyed the idea that the rightful destiny of
the United States was included to make an empire.
Mexico was just one out of a series of aggressive acts can be tied to
America's Manifest Destiny. Talk about Manifest Destiny had many
people suggesting that America should assume the role as world power.
Manifest Destiny became a disputed philosophy. Here are two
examples of the different views of the American people. Manifest
Destiny became the rallying cry throughout America, Manifest Destiny
became the torch.
Manifest Destiny is as old as America itself. It has always existed
throughout American history. Some people still believe it should be a
present topic in the United States. Others believe it has no relation to
the " more important" topics, and should not even be thought about.
Manifest Destiny was used to describe beliefs in the 1840's about territorial expansion. In other
words they wanted to expand the US, coast to coast..... from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean.
This meant that that there were new states being settled, such as California and Oregon.
Oregon was being settled around the 1820's. These settlers established the Oregon Trail, and
as a result there were more pioneers that could settle in Oregon. After the Mexican War, James
K. Polk (president at the time) threatened Britain, but they finally made an agreement on the 49th
parallel which would act as a border in between Canada and Oregon Territory. Finally, Oregon
officially became a state in 1859. Around 1846 John C. Freemont and many soldiers invaded
California, made it their own Republic, and named it the Bear Flag Republic. Another effect of
the Manifest Destiny was how the terrible issue of slavery spread throughout the US, and
meanwhile dividing the nation. For example: While the Mexican Cession was being added to the
union, the idea of popular sovereignty restarted the battle of slavery. There were lots of events
that occurred during the Manifest Destiny period. There was The Compromise of 1850, which
said there was no restriction on slavery in New Mexico Territory, California became a state, no
slave trade in the Washington DC area, and many more key events that tried to compromise
between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in Congress and in the territories themselves. There
was also the Kansas Nebraska Act, Uncle Tom's Cabin ( a book about slavery, by Harriet
Beecher Stowe ) which was published in1852, and also a civil war broke out in Kansas.
The March of Millions
 Around 1850 the population was
doubling every 25 years.
 By 186 there were 33 states. America was
the fourth most populous nation in the
world.
 Cities were rapidly developing as were
problems of sanitation and sewage
removal.
 Irish and German immigrants poured
into America in the late 1840s. They fled
famine and persecution and sought jobs,
land, food, freedom of religion and no
aristocracy.
 New transatlantic steamers brought
people here in 12 days.
Quiz
Test your knowledge on the Manifest Destiny.
1.The Manifest Destiny was :
A. An act that spread slavery coast to coast.
B. A term used to describe Western Expansion.
C. A term used to describe the revolution of new technology.
D. A term that described the US's Future.
2.In the early years of the US the term 49ers was used to describe :
A. People that mine for gold.
B. A football team.
C. Coal miners.
D. People that mined for silver.
3.Which of these people contributed in the Manifest Destiny ?
A. George Washington.
B. James K. Polk.
C. James Monroe.
D. Fredrick J. Douglas.
4.The Compromise of 1850 was:
A. A term that said if runaway slaves were found they must be returned.
B. An agreement that said there were no restrictions on slavery in Mexico.
C. A compromise that said there would be no fighting over slaves.
D. A compromise that said women were allowed to vote.
Fill in the blank.
5. The (name a republic)__________ was named by John C. Freemont, and was another name for
Texas.
6. This (name a trail)____________ led pioneers to settle.
The German 48ers and Irish
Immigrants
German immigration
Irish Immigration
 Millions come to America
 Came as a result of “Black

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


from 1830-1860s because of
crop failures and political
revolutions
Often settled in the mid west
Abolitionist
Supporters of public
education (Kindergarten)
Bier
Did not assimilate quickly





Forties” and Irish Potato
Famine
Moved to eastern cities
(Boston / New York)
Got quickly involved in
politics
Often illiterate / Catholics
Built the railroads
Set up ancient Order of
Hibernians
Catholics became a major religion in
United States
 Catholics schools
were built to
educate Irish
Catholics and
other Catholic
immigrants
Flare-ups of Anti-foreignism
 “Nativists” were against
the new Americans
 The Irish were
discriminated against in
the work place and were
forced into the worst
jobs
 Catholic churches and
schools burned in
Philadelphia in 1844
American
Party
• The American or
Know-Nothing
Party fought for
immigration
restriction
• Ran Millard
Fillmore (13th
President of United
States) for President
in 1856
Industrialization
 Slowly, because of abundant
natural resources, money for
investment, plentiful raw
materials and American
ingenuity America would
become an industrial giant
 The War of 1812 and various
tariffs encouraged the
development of factories and
manufacturing
 England would attempt to dump
cheap goods on America and
tried to maintain a monopoly on
manufacturing technology
Marvels of Manufacturing
 Samuel Slater, “The
Father of the American
Factory System” built
first mill (1791) in
Pawtucket RI with
support of Moses Brown
 Cradle to Grave
philosophy , mill life ,
child labor
Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin
 Whitney’s cotton gin
increased need for slaves in
South. Cotton became
King. Industry in North
used southern cotton to
manufacture their mills
near the New England
rivers.
 Remember real gold mines
of New England were fish,
lumber, now factories near
rivers
Manufacturing models
 The concept of limited
liability and “corporations”
begins to develop…change
from guild system
 Interchangeable parts
concept first used by Eli
Whitney…will lead to
assembly line work
 By 1860 28,000
government patents in one
year
Marvelous Inventions
Sewing machine was basis
Samuel Morse connect business
for clothing industry.
world with his telegraph
Invented by Elias Howe and
Issac Singer.
Early Working conditions in
factories
 Factory system led to impersonal
relations
 Wages were low , hours were high
 Immigrants work cheaply
 Unsanitary conditions
 Child labor
 Unions were not strong (lots of
scabs used)
 1842 Commonwealth v. Hunt
Supreme Court case legalized
unions but scab labor meant unions
would develop slowly
Women and the New Economy
 Women worked in mills
before marriage
 Other opportunities were
in nursing, domestic
service, teaching
 Lowell Mill Girls
With the invention of the power loom
running off the river, a series of mills or factories
were built along the Merrimack River by the Boston Manufacturing Company an organization founded
years prior by the man for whom the resulting city was named, Francis Cabot Lowell. Construction
began to in 1821, and the mills were at their peak roughly twenty years later. For the first time in the US,
these mills combined the textile processes of spinning and weaving under one roof, essentially
eliminating the putting-out system in favor of mass production of high-quality cloth. The workforce at
these factories was three-quarters women.
A workforce of thousands, composed primarily of women, came from struggling farms willing to put
their daughters to work to bring in extra income. The typical Lowell girl was young, between 15 and 30;
unmarried; white; of neither aristocracy nor the homeless; and from a farm that would benefit from
extra income. Most Lowell girls sent the majority of their income home for the benefit of their men
folk. Many believe that the women working at this mill were deprived of many rights. The long work
days for little pay showed wage differentials between men and women.
The Lowell System, as it was called, was impacted by economic instability and by immigration. A minor
depression in 1834 led to a sharp reduction in wages, which in turn produced organization by the
female workers and two of the earliest examples of a successful strike. A feature of such organization
was the magazines and newsletters put out by the girls, the most famous of which was the Lowell
Offering. Then later, when the Panic of 1837 necessitated a true drop in wages, many Lowell girls were
replaced by the cheaper Irish “biddies,” or “Bridgets.” By 1850 the majority of workers at Lowell factories
were poor immigrants. One result of this large scale laying-off was that now there were many adult,
single women in society, who were used to earning their own money. It was only sensible that they seek
other positions (teaching, etc) in which to make money; and by doing so they further
contributed to the birth of the working woman.
Western Farmers
and the Breadbasket of the World
 The mid west was
becoming America’s
breadbasket.
 Cincinnati was the
“porkopolis” of the West
 John Deere invented the
steel plow and Cyrus
McCormick the
mechanical mower reaper
to harvest grain…these
machines drastically
increased farm production
Changing Transportation
to move goods West to East and South
 Lancaster Turnpike
(hard surfaced road)
brought goods from
Philadelphia to
Lancaster, Pa.
 Federal government built
Cumberland or National
Road from Maryland to
Illinois
Fulton’s Folly
Robert Fulton
invented the
steamboat
(Clermont) in
1807. Causes an
increase in trade
because no
longer issues of
water currents
Governor Dewitt
Clinton’s Big Ditch
The Erie Canal
connected Lake Erie
to Hudson River.
This canal reduced
food prices and led
to cities to be
developed in New
York area.
Locomotives
• The first railroad was
introduced in 1828. It
was the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad.
By 1860 30,000 miles of
track laid, mostly in
North
• Time zones,
standardized track ,
labor organizations and
strikes and Pullman
Palace cars