Forging the National Economy

Westward Ho!Immigration

Factory systemTransportation

Rise of Market Economy

Westward• PA Lancaster Turnpike

– 1790s connects Phil. w/ farmland surrounding– Success

• More privately built short toll roads• By 1820s; most major cities connected

• Internal improvements blocked by States Rters• Erie Canal finished 1825

– Sparks frenzy canal building• More immigrants settle west• Steamboats: Cleremont 1st Hudson R. 1807• RRs start late 1820s

– Hampered @ 1st by safety issues– Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago: bcm big cities bcs of it

• Cheap land, EZ credit– Large areas of W land avail @ ↓prices by fed gov– Markets use: OH R MS R S. markets w/ canals & RRs, E. cities

open up

Immigration 1830s-60s• Pop ↑ 12.8 mill 31.4 mill– Sparsely settled; labor shortages– Arable land unltd

• Most immigrants (by 1860: ¼ 4n born)– W & NW Europe- mostly males

• 300K from G.B., 25K Scandinavia• I mill from Germany, 1.5 mill Ireland• Failure of potato crops, famine 45• So ravaged by econ collapse: average age at death in some

areas: 19• Unemployment in Europe very high• Minority well to do middle class• Poor: $30 ticket (steerage) on cargo ships ret. From Eur

– Poor food, no sanitation

Immigration (2)» Thousands died of dysentery, typhus, malnutrition on

long voyage• Failed revolutions of 48 drive out refugees • Majority looking for better economic conditions• NY, Bost, Phil, New O, Balt• No system to protect newcomers

– Many swindled, herded -> slums– Many Germans MidW w/ $ for farming, as craftsmen,

businesses• Most settle in N: cooler, jobs, unwilling to compete w/

slaves– Factory jobs, RRs, Canals, Mines, Farms

Nativism• 1850s: ½ pop NY, majority in Chi, Mil. St. Louis:

immigrants– 1st anti 4n movement: anti-Catholic

• Objections to crowds, crime in slums• Accused Euro govs of deporting undesirables

– Immigrants support Dem party (party of common people in N)• Anti Catholic riots

– Burned Ursaline Convent School (MA)– Order of Star Spangled Banner– Know Nothings w/ former whigs, some Dems

» Peak: 1854-5» All American Party- nom’d Fillmore (22%)

– Goal: restrict immigration» Responsible for riots, election disorders- discredited

Economic Growth

Lowell system (2)– Standard work day: 12-15 hrs– Wage: less than $6 per week (wage slaves)

• Few laws on max hours• Child labor issues ignored• High rates of accidents; poor sanitary conditions• Reformers recommend workers go W & farm

– (not unionize)• Early labor movement of 1830s wiped out in Panic 1837

– Commonwealth v Hunt (1842)• Unions are not conspiracies to restrain trade• Courts still regard strikes as such• Press, public against unions

– Strike breakers easy to find– Skilled crafts organize starting 1852: Int’l Typographical Union– Most unskilled don’t organize– Most strikes fail

Eli Whitney• Development of Cotton Gin made cotton the cash

crop of the S– Discontent rises in S w/ growth of W markets

• NE less dependent on S for economy• S has less econ power in union• Largely still agri w/ 10% nation’s mfcts• S tries to est trade w/ Eur• 40s: some factories built• 50s: cotton recovers, industry declined

– Northern conspiracy?– To reduce S to colonial status/ serfdom– No used fed gov to sectional advantage– Got monopolies in shipbuilding, commerce, protected by tariffs– Fed gov subsidizes N industry– N is draining away S wealth– No built up at expense of the S!

Industry• Mostly in NE; some foodstuffs, raw materials in Old NW, S• Signs of early industrial Revolution:

– Most mfctr: processing farm, forest goods (mills)– Most factories had under 10 workers– US still had favorable bal of trade

• Imports lots of finished goods; exports lots of raw materials, agri products– 1844: Ch. Goodyear patents vulcanized rubber– 46: Elias Howe: Sewing machines– 51: I. Singer improves, markets– 40s: PA iron makers supply RRs, not enough to cut imports (br)– 50s: Factories begin making shoes, ready made clothes

• Modern mass production developed to overcome labor shortages• Assembly lines, interchangeable parts• Businesses incorporate• Securities traded on Wall St.• Industrial entrepreneur: important in econ

International tradeEurope

• Econ recovery mid 40s encouraged 4n trade– US= main supplier to Brits of cotton– Brit corn laws repealed; imports wheat– Low Walker Tariff 1846– Lower tariff 1857– Increased immigration keeps ships filled on ret. Trips– US imports, exports rise– Sale of cotton, wheat, flour: biggest export (Brit)– Poor trade balance; value of imports higher than

exports

Agriculture• In New Eng:

– Cities grow, rural pop declines– Farms go over to wool prod– NY, PA: wheat, corn growing areas– Fruit, vegetables, dairy produced for nearby cities– Daily shipments possible w/ RRs

• South: tobacco, rice, sugar, cotton booming w/ slave labor– Heart of cotton prod moved to MS delta, E. TX

• Doubled in 50s, by 59: South near to monopoly of world markets• Tech changes of fertilizers, equipment affects NE more than S

• Old NW becomes center of wheat, beef, corn, pork production– Specialized crops, wider markets improved mechanization– Tougher steel plows needed for prairie sod– Grain drills for hand planting– Mowers for harvesting– Cyrus McCormick Reaper (after 30s) replaced hand sickles– Agri bcms businesses; not way of life– Heavy investments needed for equip; RRs open new markets, increased

dependence on others for finance, storage, shipping– Specialization increased efficiency & dependence on E merchants, mfctrs

Domestic Commerce• Canals divert business from rivers to Great lakes– NY replaced N.Orleans as chief outlet for W goods– Young cities on lakes outdistance older towns on rivers– RRs compete w/ water transp

• 1820s 1st steam locomotives• Track stretches across NE to Gt. Lakes & Old NW• In W, lines link OH & MS Rs to Lakes

– 1st congressional RR land grant: 1850– Sen Douglas for IL central 3mi sq land in alt sections either side of

track– W land turned over to company as RR built

• Overland freight service: KS CA 1858• Talk of transcontinental RR• 1860: Pony Express carried mail, St. Joseph, MO

Sacremento: 10 days– Put out of business by Morse’s elect telegraph in one yr