the antebellum period technology, culture, and everyday life 1840-1860
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The Antebellum PeriodThe Antebellum PeriodTechnology, Culture, and Everyday life1840-1860
IntroductionIntroduction• In the 1840’s and 1850’s, most
Americans believed God had ordained that man should progress (morally and materially)
• The means to progress of both kinds was through technology– Americans defined as “the application of
science to improve the conveniences of life”• We will look at the changes in the
everyday life of ordinary citizens brought about by the new technology of the period of 1840-1860
• Also looking at the ways people responded to those transformations
Introduction (cont.)Introduction (cont.)1.) How did technology transform the
daily lives of middle-class Americans between 1840 and 1860?
2.) How did American pastimes and entertainment change between 1840 and 1860?
3.) How did Americans express their distinctiveness in their literature and art?
Technology and Economic Technology and Economic GrowthGrowthIntroduction
◦ Pre-Civil War decades were affected and transformed American life by: The steam engine Cotton gin Reaper Sewing machine Telegraph
◦ This new technology increase productivity and eased travel and communication
◦ Also it brought down costs and prices
Introduction (cont.)Introduction (cont.)Most Americans between 1840 and
1860 enjoyed improved standards of living
But the new technology hurt other Americans◦ The cotton gin encouraged the expansion
of the plantation-slave economy◦ Sewing machines and new manufacturing
techniques rendered traditional crafts and the artisans who practiced them obsolete
Agricultural AdvancementAgricultural Advancement
Between 1830 and 1860, settlers moved onto the grasslands of IN, MI, and IL
John Deer’s steel-tipped plow was developed in 1837
Used to break up the tough prairie soil
Agricultural Advancement Agricultural Advancement (cont.)(cont.)
Cyrus McCormick◦ 1847◦ Massed produced
mechanical reapers◦ Farmers could harvest
grain 7 times faster than before and use 1/2 the labor
Wheat became the dominate crop of the Midwest
Agricultural Advancement Agricultural Advancement (cont.)(cont.)Americans quickly adopted these
laborsaving inventionsBut they generally farmed wastefully
◦ Rapidly depleted the soil◦ Then moved on to virgin land
In the East some farmers introduced fertilizers◦ Increased their yields so they could
compete with the new western fieldsIn the South farmers had little
incentive to invest in laborsaving machinery (used slaves)
Technology and Industrial Technology and Industrial ProgressProgress
Americans of the antebellum period readily invested in new technology
Eli Whitney◦ Interchangeable parts◦ Greatly facilitated by
improved machine toolsEuropeans called
interchangeable parts “American System of Manufacturing
Technology and Industrial Technology and Industrial Progress (cont.)Progress (cont.)Readiness to invest in innovations,
interchangeable parts, and better machine tools
Resulted in:◦ Rapid acceptance◦ Mass production◦ Use of the new inventions
Samuel Colt’s revolving pistol Elias Howe’s sewing machine Samuel F. B. Morse’s telegraph
The Railroad BoomThe Railroad BoomBy 1860, the United States had
30,000 miles of track◦More than the rest of the world
combined.Most of the new rail lines linked
the East and Midwest.Much of the produce of the
Midwest was now shipped via railroads radiating from Chicago eastward.
The Railroad Boom (cont.)The Railroad Boom (cont.)Positives of the railroad growth:
◦ simulated the settlement of the Midwest◦ Growth of wheat farming◦ Aided the development of cities, towns,
and industrySeveral states barred funding of the
railroads◦ Encouraged a shift toward private
investment
The Railroad Boom (cont.)The Railroad Boom (cont.)Railroad was America’s 1st big
businessRailroads pioneered new forms of
financing in the 1850’s◦Sale of stock and other securities◦Many of the transactions were
handled through Wall Street◦Made NY the nation’s leading capital
market
Rising ProsperityRising ProsperityTechnological improvements reduced
the price of commodities to consumers◦ Contributed to an average 25% rise in the
real income of American workers between 1840 and 1860
The increased annual income of working families also was attributable to the use of steam power◦ Allowed factories to operate in all seasons◦ Offer work to more laborers
Rising Prosperity (cont.)Rising Prosperity (cont.)The growth of towns and cities that
accompanied industrialization opened new employment opportunities for women and children◦ Often had to work to supplement the
inadequate wages of the husband/fatherThere was a steady stream of
American to cities◦ economic opportunities plus the comforts
and conveniences of urban life
The Quality of LifeThe Quality of LifeIntroduction
◦Technological advances improved the quality of life in the middle class Now enjoyed luxuries formerly reserved
for the rich
◦These changes were slower to reach the poor Increasingly came to congregate in
cramped urban tenements
Introduction (cont.)Introduction (cont.)Medical knowledge lagged
behind the strides made in industry and agriculture◦Many Americans looked to popular
health fads for the prevention and cure of illness
DwellingsDwellings
In the cities the typical dwellings of the period were row houses
Middle class row houses became elaborate
Poor were forced into crowded row houses that were further subdivided by several families and boarders
Dwellings (cont.)Dwellings (cont.)Log cabins
◦On the frontier◦Often times 1 room
As the communities matured and prospered◦Log cabins were replaced by more
comfortable houses◦Larger homes
Dwellings (cont.)Dwellings (cont.)
Upper class and middle classes favored ornate home furnishings in the rococo style
rococo furnitureWealthy imported
furniture from EuropeMiddle class bought
mass-produced imitations from new furniture manufacturing centers ◦ Cincinnati◦ Grand Rapids
Conveniences and Conveniences and InconveniencesInconveniencesIndustrialization and improved
affected home heating, cooking, and diet
By 1840’s, coal-burning stoves were replacing fireplaces for heating and cooking◦ These stoves were more convenient◦ Made it possible to cook several dishes at
once◦ Coal burning contributed to fouling the
urban environment
Conveniences and Conveniences and Inconveniences (cont.)Inconveniences (cont.)Railroads brought fresh produce
to city dwellers◦Only the rich could afford fruits out
of seasonHome iceboxes were rare before
1860◦Most Americans still ate meat
preserved by salting rather than fresh meat
Ice BoxesIce Boxes
Conveniences and Conveniences and Inconveniences (cont.)Inconveniences (cont.)By the 1840’s and 1850’s, cities such
as New York began to construct aqueducts, reservoirs, and water works◦ Brought pure water to street hydrants
The majority of houses were not yet hooked up to the water main◦ Americans of the time bathed infrequently
Few cities had sanitation departments◦ Most people used outdoor privies
(outhouses)American cities often stunk
Disease and HealthDisease and HealthTransportation boom increased
and widened the risks of epidemics◦Recurring epidemics of cholera,
yellow fever, and other diseasesThe medical profession was held
in low esteem◦Divided and uncertain about the
causes and cures of epidemic diseases
Disease and Health (cont.)Disease and Health (cont.)
Anesthetics were developed in 1840’s◦ Crawford Long◦ William T.G. Morton◦ Allowed advances in
the field of surgery◦ Still failed to
recognize the importance of disinfection
Popular Health Popular Health MovementsMovementsNeither public-health boards nor
doctors seemed able to prevent disease
Many Americans put their faith in various popular therapies◦Hydropathy◦Grahamite regimen
PhrenologyPhrenologyMost popular of the scientific fads of
the antebellum periodAn accurate analysis of an individual’s
characterExamining the contours of his skullPromised to teach the principles of lifeGive the individual control over his/her
own fateScience was believed to be a tool to
improve ones life
Democratic PastimesDemocratic PastimesIntroduction
◦New technology transformed leisure as well as work between 1830-1860
◦Imaginative entrepreneurs used new inventions and advances in manufacturing to sell the kinds of entertainment they believed the public wanted
NewspapersNewspapers
James Gordon Bennett
Publisher of New York Herald
Used new techniques in paper making and printing
Used the telegraphBuild a mass
circulation
Newspapers (cont.)Newspapers (cont.)Realized you could make $$$$ by
building a mass circulationSlashed the price of the paper to a
pennyUsed newspaper boys to sell hundreds
of thousands of copies dailyThe number of weekly papers grew
from 65 to 138 (between 1830 and 1840)
Newspapers (cont.)Newspapers (cont.)The penny papers filled their
columns with human-interest stories of crime and sex
Bennett’s New York Herald and Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune also pioneered in modern financial and political reporting
The TheaterThe TheaterAntebellum theaters were filled
with large, rowdy audiences from all social classes
People liked romantic melodramas best
William Shakespeare’s plays were performed the most of any other dramatist
Minstrel ShowsMinstrel ShowsMinstrel shows=performances of
songs, dances, and skits by white men in blackface
Minstrel shows became popular in the 1840’s with the white working-class audiences
Catered to and reinforced the prejudices of whites
Depicted blacks as stupid, comical, musical, and irresponsible
P.T. BarnumP.T. Barnum
Displays of curiositiesFlair for publicityDevelopment of the
American Museum in New York
The ultimate “entrepreneur of popular entertainment” in the antebellum era
The Quest for Nationality in The Quest for Nationality in Literature and ArtLiterature and Art Introduction
◦ Europeans in the early 19th century looked down on American writing
◦ Washington Irving◦ Most successful
American writing in early 1800’s “Rip Van Winkle” “The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow” Biography
Introduction (cont.)Introduction (cont.)“American Renaissance”
◦After 1820◦“a flowering of literature”◦James Fenimore◦Ralph Waldo Emerson◦Walt Whitman
Some sought to develop a new, unique American literature
Introduction (cont.)Introduction (cont.)
The painters of the Hudson River School and Frederick Law Olmsted in his landscape design also offered distinctively American visions
Roots of the American Roots of the American RenaissanceRenaissance1820’s and 1830’s2 things transformed the writing of
fiction in the U.S.A.The transportation revolution
◦ Opened a nationwide market for booksSpread of the romantic movement
◦ Romanticism stressed feelings rather than learning
◦ Suited fiction well
Roots of the American Roots of the American Renaissance (cont.)Renaissance (cont.)Women still were
not admitted to most colleges
Women could publish best-selling romantic novels◦ Harriet Beecher
Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller and WhitmanFuller and Whitman James Fenimore
CooperThe 1st of the “new”
writers Introduced
frontiersman Natty Bumppo◦ Particularly American
characterCooper's works
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson
Wrote mostly essays
Transcendentalism
American brand of romanticism
Emerson' works
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (cont.)(cont.)Emerson rejected the importance of
education and reason in seeking the truth
He contented that every individual is capable of knowing God, truth, and beauty by following his feelings
Young, democratic America had nothing to learn from Europe◦ American could produce its own great
literature and art
Henry David ThoreauHenry David ThoreauEmerson’s discipleNot only expressed his radical insights
but lived themHe went to jail rather than pay taxes
to support what he considered the “evil” Mexican War
He defended the right to defy unjust govt. policies in his essay “Civil Disobedience” (1849)
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (cont.)(cont.)
Thoreau's works“he seems to
have wanted most to use words to force his readers to rethink their own lives”
Margaret FullerMargaret Fuller
Emerson discipline
Combined transcendentalism and feminism
Women in the Nineteenth Century (1845)
Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman
Leaves of GrassBroke new ground
in poetry◦ “lusty” and “bold” ◦ Free verse ◦ Celebrated the
American common man
Whitman's works
Hawthorne, Melville, and Hawthorne, Melville, and PoePoe
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet LetterHawthorne works
Herman MelvilleHerman Melville
Moby DickMelville's works
Edgar Allen PoeEdgar Allen Poe
Poe's worksPoems and short
storiesThe Raven
Hawthorne, Melville, and Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe (cont.)Poe (cont.)They were more interesting in
writing in analyzing moral dilemmas and probing psychological states
Shared an “underlying pessimism about the human condition”
Explored questions of human nature
Literature in the Literature in the MarketplaceMarketplaceMost 19th century U.S. authors hoped
to gain recognition and a living from their writings.
Poe sold short stories to popular magazines
Emerson, Thoreau, Melville made $$$ by lecturing for lyceums◦ Most lyceum speakers were men
Literature in the Literature in the Marketplace (cont.)Marketplace (cont.)Women could and did earn excellent
livings by turning out sentimental novels◦ Susan Warner’s The Wide, Wide World
Neither the writers nor most of the female readers who consumed the sentimental novels were active feminists
Many of the works did illustrate the moral that “women could overcome trials and improve their worlds.”
American Landscape American Landscape PaintingPaintingAmerican artists sought to depict
their native landEspecially in its primitive
grandeur before pioneers deforested and plowed it
American Landscape American Landscape Painting (cont.)Painting (cont.)George CatlinCatlin exhibitPortrayed Indians
as “noble savages” doomed by the “march of progress”
American Landscape American Landscape Painting (cont.)Painting (cont.)Thomas ColePainted
allegorical scenes on themes of importance to a young republic
Cole's works
American Landscape American Landscape Painting (cont.)Painting (cont.)Hudson River SchoolCole, Asher Durand, and Frederic
Church◦Subordinated realism to emotional
effect◦Reflected the romanticism of the
periodPBS Hudson River School
American Landscape American Landscape Painting (cont.)Painting (cont.)New York’s Central Park
◦ Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Clavert Vaux
◦ Shared a romantic view of nature◦ They aimed to refresh the souls of harried
urbanites by creating an idealized pastoral landscape in the midst of the city
Central Park HistoryCentral Park map
ConclusionConclusionBetween 1840 and 1860, new
technology changed the lives of Americans
Advances in transportation and manufacturing helped the following:◦ improved the American diet◦ made a greater variety of necessities and
luxuries available at lower prices◦ transformed leisure pursuits ◦ encouraged efforts to diffuse and
popularize culture
Conclusion (cont.)Conclusion (cont.)Negative effects of technology:
◦Increased the gap between the lifestyles of the reasonably affluent and the poor
◦Increased the gap between middle-class men and women
◦Led to assaults on America’s beautiful natural environment
Conclusion (cont.)Conclusion (cont.)The despoliation troubled writers
such as Thoreau and artists such as the painters of the Hudson River school
Hawthorne’s and Melville’s fiction showed that material progress and political democracy did not liberate man from the dark places in his own soul
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