currents of change in the northeast and the old northwest

Copyright ©2011, ©2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.All rights reserved.

The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, Seventh EditionNash • Jeffrey • Howe • Winkler • Davis • Mires • Frederick • Gardina Pestana

THE AMERICAN PEOPLETHE AMERICAN PEOPLECREATING A NATION AND A SOCIETY

Seventh Edition

Chapter

Currents of Change in the Northeast and the Old Northwest

8



Currents of Change in the Northeast Currents of Change in the Northeast and the Old Northwestand the Old Northwest

• Economic Growth• Early Manufacturing• A New England Textile Town• Factories on the Frontier• Urban Life• Rural Communities• Conclusion: The Character of Progress



Economic GrowthEconomic Growth



The Trans-Atlantic EconomyThe Trans-Atlantic Economy

• Industrial Revolution Began in Britain Initially focused on textiles

• Britain becomes most powerful country• The model for industrialization



Factors in Economic DevelopmentFactors in Economic Development

• Canal-building in the 1820s and 1830s Erie Canal links New York City to interior

• Railroads Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 1928 30,000 miles of track by 1850

• Transportation developments spur migration



Finding CapitalFinding Capital

• Governments funded early projects Usually state and local Some federal

• Property becomes an exploitable financial asset

• Contract law defined Dartmouth College v. Woodward Sturges v. Crowninshield



A New MentalityA New Mentality

• Entrepreneurial spirit Constant experimentation, change Inventions: harvester, revolver, rubber

• Education Massachusetts uses taxes to pay for schools Horace Mann Education in the service of business

• Concurrently, concern with progress



IndustrializationIndustrialization

• Putting-out system• Textiles

Often using child labor Learned from English examples

• Industrialization facilitated by transportation



Industrialization (cont'd)Industrialization (cont'd)

• Lowell Mills in Waltham, Massachusetts All stages in one operation Becomes a prototype

• Northeast changes, economically



Environmental ConsequencesEnvironmental Consequences

• Dams, canals change waterways• Wood required in abundance

Clearings as settlements move west• Coal becomes the major power source

Air pollution follows• Some awareness of environmental

problems



Early ManufacturingEarly Manufacturing



Changing LifestylesChanging Lifestyles

• Spread of literacy: mass market Magazines McGuffey readers

• Greater availability of goods Clocks, bringing a new work rhythm



A New Hampshire Printing Factory



A New England Textile TownA New England Textile Town



Lowell, MassachusettsLowell, Massachusetts

• Build in the 1920s• Focused on hiring unmarried women

New independence Usually worked prior to marriage Lived in boardinghouses

• Women organized labor, formed unions



Lowell, Massachusetts (cont'd)Lowell, Massachusetts (cont'd)

• Immigration brings a new labor pool Hard times in Europe, especially Ireland Many Catholics



Factories on the FrontierFactories on the Frontier



CincinnatiCincinnati

• Becomes a major industrial center by 1840• Men have a variety of work experiences

But loss of independence• Women

Many white women employed as “outworkers”• Black women often work in service• Unions formed

Hampered by ready pool of immigrant labor



Cincinnati and the Ohio River



Urban LifeUrban Life



Urban LifeUrban Life

• By 1860 1 in 5 Americans live in cities• Cities represent new markets



Urban Growth in 1820 and 1850



The Process of UrbanizationThe Process of Urbanization

• Commercial Centers Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York Canals change commercial map

• Mill towns Lowell, Trenton, Wilmington

• Transportation hubs Louisville, Cleveland, St. Louis Especially west of the Appalachians



Class StructureClass Structure

• Concentration of wealth 4% of the population holds 60% of wealth Upward mobility dampens any animosity

• Middle class Desire for white collar work

• Constant supply of new manual laborers



African Americans in Philadelphia



Working ClassWorking Class

• Slums Mobility weakened sense of community

• High rates of family violence Men not always the main or sole support Women more independent



Middle-Class Life and IdealsMiddle-Class Life and Ideals

• Women’s domestic role changes Their work no longer crucial Housekeepers, not producers

• Men often work in a separate world• Idea of separate spheres

Women ascribed a moral role



Middle-Class Life and Ideals (cont'd)Middle-Class Life and Ideals (cont'd)

• New ideas of childhood New ideas of discipline Children’s fiction



The Sargent Family, 1800



Henry Darby, “Reverend John Atwood and His Family,” 1845



Mounting Urban TensionsMounting Urban Tensions

• Mob violence Often spurred by racial and ethnic animosity Often blacks and Irish compete for jobs

• Skilled workers resent mechanization• Police forces slowly developing



The Black UnderclassThe Black Underclass

• Slavery disappearing in North But equality not assured Legally disenfranchised

• Separate, parallel communities• Immigration pushes blacks from many

jobs• Old Northwest

Racism moves west with settlement



Rural CommunitiesRural Communities



Farming in the EastFarming in the East

• Many older New England farms abandoned

• Railroads transformed farming, diets• Agriculture increasingly seen as a science

Productivity increased after a long decline



Preparing for Market



Frontier FamiliesFrontier Families

• Economic boom• Transportation links interior to coast• Grain producers: Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa• No longer the frontier by 1860• Some capital needed to start a farm



Conclusion:Conclusion:The Character of ProgressThe Character of Progress



Conclusion:Conclusion:The Character of ProgressThe Character of Progress

• Urbanization• Cycles of expansion and recession• Divergent paths in the North and South

King Cotton and slave labor Industrialization and wage labor



Timeline

currents of change in the northeast and the old northwest

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