Chapter 10

What was life like for middle-class Americans during the antebellum era?

. lived comfortably. Women remained in the home. They developed the cast iron stove. wealth was distrubited unequally, there was three classes. with social mobility there was not allot because it was hard for someone to climb the economic ladder. middle class almos were rich, they lived very cofontbily and even had servents in some casas.Expansion of middle class

. How did technology, industrial ingenuity, and new energy sources prepare the way for the expansion of industry and the growth of the American economy?

Americans were still catching up with the more advanced technologies of europe. They manufactured machine tools often having a connection to the military. They developed the turret lathe and the universal milling machine. It produced rifle parts and the value of manufactured goods increased. Coal was replacing water which lead to some factory towns further expanding industry.Interchangeable parts

What factors and inventions contributed to the growth and expansion of the Northwest's economy? Who were the men responsible for this?

demand for farm products. Developed the timber industry to make use of forests. farmers cultivated new seeds, and wheat and imported hogs and sheep. Used grain drills, harrows, mowers, and hay rakes. John Deere established steel plows. Cyrus H. McCormik created the automatic reaper. Also the thresher was created by Jerome I. Case.

Who were the "merchant capitalists" and what was the significance of their transformation into "industrial capitalists"?

entrepeurers who were engaged primarily in foreign and domestic trade and invested in small scale manufacturing ventures. Capitalism was delicning because british competitors were stealing americas export trade. There were greater oppritunites in manufacturing than trade.

. Where were most of the goods produced in the Northwest marketed? What role did this play in the pre- 1860 sectional alignment?

Along the shore of lake erie (clevland) , ohio river valley (Cincinnati), and chicago. There were specialization in regions. The expansion oof markets had an impact. The northwest sold products to the northeast. Develeped economic relationships. isolation of the south

What impact did factory work have on the artisan tradition in America?

Factory work limited artisan tradition because people wanted cheap and fast goods. They could only make small scale industries and they couldn't compete with factory goods. It threatened their livelihood. They created national trade unions.

What was the basis of the economy in the Northwest? What goods were produced there?

Furs, timber, textiles, wheat and produce. Agriculture , flour milling, meatpacking, whiskey distilling. Some areas relied on fishing and hunting.

Which area took the lead in canal development? What was the effect of these canals on that section of the country? How did other sections respond to this example?

The north and new england took the lead.Lead to more commerce greater settlement in cities and easier transportation. Other sections wanted settlement too so they attempted to create canals.

Why were natural means of carrying commerce (lakes and rivers) unsatisfactory to most Americans?

They were convenient if the source and destination were both located near a body of water, and there was a navigable waterway between the two points. Boats could easily travel carrying cargo and passengers between the two points. However in many cases there was no navigable waterway between the origin point and the intended destination, making a boat completely useless as a means of transport for such routes.

What attempts were made to better conditions in northeastern factories? What role did unions play in these attempts and what was accomplished?

Children as young as six years old were working in these factories for long hours and little pay because every member of their families had to work for their family to survive. "Children sometimes worked up to 19 hours a day". Things didn't start to improve until the Factory Act 1833 but in the Factory Act 1850 it talks about increasing hours worked by women and children to 10 and a half hours a day, but they not allowed to work before 6amor after 6pm. In 1874 no worker was allowed to work more than 56.5 hours per

What "profound change in the nature and function of the family" took place during this era? What caused this change?

...movement of families and farms to urban areas. (jobs valueable) The shift of income earning work out of the home and into the shop or factory. More commercialized. Women did domestic tasks.

Why was the rise of New York City so phenomenal?

All of the first great American cities were seaports or major river ports.The three largest northern seaports in the early US were Boston, New Yorkand Philadelphia. As the population of the U.S. grew and moved westward, it became more important for goods and merchandise to be moved easily from the seaport westward into the interior of the continent. The only way to move seaport westward into the interior of the continent. The only way to move or efficient. New York had the advantage of its seaport being right on the Hudson River, which led 150 miles into the interior. Even the Hudson was limited, though, because it ran almost due north. That was the frontier in colonial times, but then people started pushing further westward. Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York oversaw the building of the Erie Canal, completed in 1824, which used part of the Mohawk River to connect Buffalo, on Lake Erie, to the Hudson River at Albany, which in turn led to New York Port and the Atlantic.

What caused the decline of farming in the Northeast? What did farmers in the Northeast do to overcome this decline, and what new patterns in agriculture resulted?

...Declined after 1840 because the farmers of the section could no longer compete with the new and richer soil of the northwest. Some moved west and others established new farms. Eastern urban centers increased , they supplied food to the cities through truck farming.

. Despite the gap between rich and poor, there was little overt class conflict in antebellum America. Why?

Because there was a large (not nearly as large as the twentieth-century, but BIG by nineteenth-century standards) middle-class the poor people could aspire to. Unlike most of the rest of the world in that age the citizens (and/or immigrants) had a chance at social mobility all the way up into the ranks of the VERY rich if they worked hard. In Europe and Asia (the source of most immigrants at that time) you were pretty much stuck in the social class you were born into no matter how hard you worked, or how smart you were (or weren't for the "aristocratic" class who got the privileges no matter how dumb they were).

What changes contributed to the rise of the factory? Why was this "the most profound economic development in mid-nineteenth century America"?

Imroved technology and higher demand allowed for factories. It appeared in the new england textile industry first. This allowed employment and lead to the shoe industry. The value of manufactured goods rose as a result.

What influence did technology have on the growth of American industry?

On the technology front, the biggest advancements were in steam power. New fuels such as coal and petroleum, were incorporated into new steam engines. This revolutionized many industries including textiles and manufacturing. Also, a new communication medium was invented called the telegraph. This made communicating across the ocean much faster. But, along with this great leap in technology, there was an overall downfall in the socioeconomic and cultural situation of the people. Growth of cities were one of the major consequences of the Industrial Revolution

What were the general characteristics of early railroad development in the United States? What innovations aided the progress of railroads?

Railroads helped promote the factory system and urbanization.Needed faster transportation. Railroads for steam (steam boat) powered trains were introduced in the United States in the 1830's. Within five years many small local railroads were operating, most only going a short distance of only a few miles. By 1840, railroads crisscrossed the state of New York. Many small railroads joined together to connect their tracks and form larger companies.

What was the lot of working women in Lowell and other factory towns? How did conditions deteriorate?

The "Mill Girls" were female workers who came to work for the textile corporations in Lowell, Massachusetts, during the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The workers initially recruited by the corporations were daughters of propertied New England farmers, between the ages of 15 and 30. women came to the mills of their own accord, for various reasons: to help a brother pay for college, for the educational opportunities offered in Lowell, or to earn a supplementary income for themselves. While their wages were only half of what men were paid. While they decried the deteriorating factory conditions, worker unrest in the 1840s was directed mainly against the loss of control over economic life. This loss of control, which came with the dependence on the corporations for a wage, was experienced as an attack on their dignity and independence.

What innovations in transportation and/or communication, other than the growth of the railroads, took place during this period?

The telegraph was invented by Samuel F. B. Morse in 1844. With this new method of communication messages could travel over telegraph lines and be received in seconds. Telegraphs made sending and receiving messages much quicker, but there were also problems. In 1807, Robert Fulton launched the world's first steamboat. It could move a boat against the current in a river by a large paddle wheel that turned in the water.The invention of the telephone greatly changed the daily lives of ordinary people. In 1876 this new faster form of communication was patented by Alexander Graham Bell, a teacher at a school for the hearing impaired. His invention allowed people to talk to each other over telegraph wires.

What gave rise to the nativist movement? What were its political goals?

The introduction of immigrants to do labor for cheap -simple racism -feelings of supremacy -workers complained because the immigrants were willing to work for less than them, and therefore got their job a defense of born people and a hostility to the foreign-born, usually combined with a desire to stop or slew immigration

What major immigrant groups came to the United States during this period? What impact did they have on the character and distribution of the population in the North?

The irish and the germans. They brought disease and labor. The irish settled in cities and germans were farmers that created ethnic communities.

What impact did this immigration have on the political system? Which party was the most successful in attracting immigrant voters?

created nativism and anti immigration movements. Germans want a democracy. it created the native american party and the know nothings.

. How did the circumstances of immigrant workers differ from those of native laborers?`

immigrants were large in population and unexpensive and there were many of them and they worked for almost nothing they didnt care about the conditions they lived in.

. How did Americans propose to overcome the geographical limitations on water travel?

they created man made transportation called canals to allowed easy and faster transportation. As well as railroads to speed up transportation.

What was the "cult of domesticity," and what costs and benefits did it bring to middle-class women? To working-class women?

they were mainly to watch the children. women started to create social networks though and make destincive female culture... the cult domestcity was tat a women was responsible to provide religious and moral instuction to their children and to the countblance allwoing usband to work there fore it allowed women to live more confortbally and with for goods. there was also the workng class women that worked in mills

. Where did this increased population settle? What population shifts took place between 1820 and 1840?

to industrializing cities of the northeast and northwest. The population increased rapidly due to public health. went from 10 mil to 17 mil

What were the reasons for and the effect of the rapid increase in population between 1820 and 1840?

Between 1820 and 1840, the American population increased about 7 milion from 10 million to 17 million. As the American industry had developed, the quality of American's life had also improved consequently: Epidemics declined in both frequency and intensity, which was a result of improvements in public health.The improvements in public health resulted in the low death rate and high birth rate of the American population, since women were able to be treated with a proper medication and medical techniques brought about by the American industrial revolution. As the result of the huge population growth, many small communities were expanded to bigger, major cities, immigration from Europe increased, and transportation systems were improved and expanded, allowing Americans migrations to all over the nation.

Why was the increasing wealth of America not widely or equitably distributed? How was this unequal distribution manifested in daily life? Which groups were most likely to be found at the bottom of the economic scale?

Slaves, indians, landless farmers, and unskilled workers weren't given a lot of money, Merchants and industrialists were accumulating tons of money. Larger wealthy class in cities. African americans and immigrants were in poverty. The wealthy displayed their wealth through lavish homes and clothing

How did the textile mills recruit and use labor? What was the general response of workers to the Lowell method? Of observers? What caused the breakdown of this system?

The textile mills recruit and use labor by getting women who initially were recruited between ages 15 and 30. Women came to the mills for different reasons. On of the reasons it to help a brother pay for college, for their educational opportunities in Lowell. After how many years, many women joined the broader American labor movement, to protest the dramatic social changes.