The Northeast: Building Industry

An American Studies PresentationBy

Kevin A. TierneyRolling Hills Middle School

Based on Ch. 8 ofThe American Journey

The Growth of Industry

• From colonial times most people in the Northeast worked on farms.

• Some people worked in their home to manufacture goods.

• In the mid 1700s the way goods were made changed.

Industrial Revolution

• Changes began in Great Britain.

• Machines were made to perform work, such as cloth making and spinning.

• Machines ran on water power – so mills were built next to rivers and streams.

• Took root in the United States around 1800.

New England and Industry

• Industrial Revolution came to New England.

• Some left farms for factories.

• Rushing rivers provided power to run the new factories.

Changing Economy

• U.S. economic system is called Capitalism.

• Free enterprise system.

• Major elements: competition, profit, private property, and economic freedom.

New Technology

• The invention of new machines fueled the Industrial Revolution.

• The spinning jenny, water frame, and power loom changed the textile industry.

• Eli Whitney’s cotton gin changed cotton production.

• 1790 Congress passed the patent law.

New England Factories

• British tried to keep their modern factories a secret.

• Samuel Slater came from Britain and started a cotton mill in Rhode Island; duplicating all of the machines he had used in Britain.

• Francis Cabot Lowell launched the “factory system,” where everything was done under one roof.

• Eli Whitney started the use of interchangeable parts.

Changing Economy

• In 1820s 65% of Americans were farmers.

• Northeast farms were small.• Southern cotton production

led to larger plantations with more slaves.

• Agriculture expanded in the west; southern farmers moved west to grow cotton.

• North of the Ohio R. farmers concentrated on pork, corn, and wheat.

Economic Independence

• New industry was financed by private investors.

• Low taxes, few government, and competition encouraged people to invest.

Cities Come of Age• The growth of factories and

trade spurred the growth of cities.

• Older cities prospered; New York, Boston, Baltimore.

• Towns like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville took advantage of their location next to rivers.

• Streets and sidewalks were unpaved, animals roamed the streets, and there was no sewage system (danger of disease was great).

• Offered many jobs as well as cultural attractions (museums, libraries, shops, etc.)

A System of Transportation

• In the 1820s, Kentucky congressman Henry Clay prepared the American System.

• American System included building canals and roads to link the South, Northeast, and West together.

Growth and Movement

• 1790 census showed a population of 4M.– Most lived east of

Appalachians.• 1820 census showed

10M.– 2M lived west of

Appalachians.• Trip west was very

difficult and dangerous.

Roads and Turnpikes

• Private companies built turnpikes (toll roads) – the tolls paid for construction.

• Corduroy roads in muddy areas.

• 1806 congress approved funds for a National Road.– 1st section from

Maryland to western Virginia opened in 1818.

– Later years it reached Ohio and Vandalia, Illinois.

River Travel• River travel was more

comfortable but was limited by where the rivers were located and the direction they flowed.

• 1807 Robert Fulton built the Clermont steamboat.

• Traveled from NY to Albany in 32 hours – usually took 4 days.

• Revolutionized passenger travel and shipping of goods.

• Helped to fuel the growth of cities located along major rivers.

• By 1850 more than 700 steamboats traversed the nation’s rivers.

Canals

• Steamboats were a big advancement but could only go where rivers went.

• New York business and govt. leaders wanted to link NY, NY with the Great Lakes.

• Built a canal across New York State, connecting Albany, on the Hudson R. with Buffalo, on Lake Erie.

Erie Canal• Thousands of laborers,

many Irish immigrants, worked on the 363 mile Erie Canal.

• Locks were used to raise and lower boats.

• Opened on Oct. 26, 1825. The east and mid-west were now joined.

• In the early days steamboats were not allowed – mules pulled the boats.

• Led to explosion of canal building – by 1850 more than 3600 miles of canals in the U.S.

Western Settlement

• Americans moved westward in waves.

• 1st wave in 1790 leading to Kentucky, Vermont, Tennessee, and Ohio becoming states.

• 2nd wave in 1816 leading to Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama and Missouri becoming states.

Shifting Population• In 1800 Ohio had 45,000

people; by 1820 it had 581,000.

• Originally pioneers settled near major rivers but canals later allowed them to spread out.

• Men enjoyed sports like wrestling; women met for quilting or sewing.

• Did not have many conveniences but did have an opportunity for a better life.

Transportation & Daily Life

• Better transportation meant:– Buy goods produced

in distant places.– 1825 Congress

established home mail delivery.

– 1847 first postage stamp is issued.

– With mail came newspapers.

Northern Factories• Industrialization created new

challenges for the men, women, and children who worked in factories.

• Factories produced shoes, guns, watches, sewing machines, etc.

• Between 1820-1860 more and more workers entered factories.

• Long work days – 11.4 hours in 1840.

• Tired employees had more accidents.

• Factories had no heating or cooling – hot in the summer; freezing in the winter.

• Owners cared more about money than workers – there were always more workers waiting for jobs.

Attempts to Organize• By 1830s workers were

organizing to try and get better working conditions.

• In mid 1830s New York workers staged a series of strikes for higher wages and a 10 hour work day.

• Skilled workers formed the General Trades Union of New York.

• Early 1800s striking workers could be fired.

• 1842 a Massachusetts court ruled workers had a right to strike.

• Would be many years before workers received federal protection to strike.

African American Workers

• By 1820 slavery was largely gone from the north.

• Discrimination and prejudiced still thrived.

• African Americans were often banned from schools, voting, and public places.

• Some found success:– Henry Boyd – furniture

manufacturer– Samuel Cornish and John

Russwurm – Freedom’s Journal newspaper.

– Macon B. Allen – 1st African American lawyer.

Women Workers

• Women were discriminated against:– Lower wages– Excluded from joining

unions.• Some women tried to

organize female unions.• Lowell Female Labor

Reform Organization petitioned for a 10 hour day in 1845. – Legislature ignored the

petition because it came from women.

Rise of Cities

• Industrialization led to the growth of cities.

• By 1860 New York had 800,000 people and Philly had 500,000.

• St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville grew into major cities on the Mississippi R.

• Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee grew along the Great Lakes.

Immigration

• American manufacturers welcomed immigrants.

• Immigration increased dramatically btwn 1840 and 1860.

• Largest group was the Irish driven from their homeland by famine.

• Germans were the second largest group driven from home by a failure of a democratic revolution.– Had more money than the

Irish and could afford small farms or open businesses.

Immigration Impact

• 1820-1860 Immigrants changed the country.

• Brought their languages, religions, customs, etc.

• Most Americans were Protestants – now many Catholics arrived.

• Germans lived in own communities with German publications and musical societies.

Immigrants Face Prejudice

• Had heard of U.S.A. in advertisements or from family letters.

• Some Americans didn’t like the new immigrants; especially the Irish – they were Catholic and sounded funny.

• Nativists believed immigrants threatened the American way of life.

• Accused of taking jobs from Americans and bringing disease and crime.

Know Nothing• Nativists began to

create secret anti-Catholic societies.

• 1850s formed the Know Nothing political party.

• By 1854 they were a force in American politics.

• Called for stricter citizenship laws and to ban foreign born citizens from holding office.

• Split in the mid 1850s over issue of slavery.