Daily Life in Early America

In the early 1800s, nationalism spread through the U.S.

Man I was born

in the U.S.A.

As settlers moved west, the Northwest Ordinance made sure to provide for public education

However, Massachusetts and Philadelphia were the only areas that guaranteed free education

Sweet!

The Second Great Awakening, people met at camp meetings where the equality of all was stressed

It inspired many to join movements to end slavery and curb drinking

The works of authors such as Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper focused on American setting and adventures and turned away from European influences

Washington Irving Stephanie Meyer

Songwriter Stephen C. Foster combined African and European music to create American melodies like “My Old Kentucky Home”

The North’s major economic activity was farming

Most farm communities were within a short distance of each other

Hey neighbor!

Southerners either lived on small farms or large plantations

They started to focus on cotton as a cash crop

This also increased the demand for slaves

Cotton is king, y’all!

Most enslaved men worked on plantations, while others served as coach drivers, household servants, and artisans

As industry rose in the North, the gap between the rich and poor increased

Merchants and businessmen controlled the economic and social life

It’s a hard knock life for us!

Even though after the American Revolution slavery began to decline, African Americans were still discriminated against

They were excluded from white churches and schools and could not vote

And as Americans moved farther and farther West they came into contact with Native Americans

Some tribes, like the Cherokee, adopted written laws and constitutions patterned after those of the U.S. in order to protect their freedom and prevent themselves from losing anymore land

Sequoyah developed a written language for the Cherokee in 1821

Can’t we alljust get along?