The North, The South, and Slavery

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Chapter 11 Outline The Developing North
Northeastern Industry

Transportation and Communications

Cities and Immigrants

The Rise of Nativism

Labor in the Northeast

Wealth and Mobility

Women and the Cult of Domesticity

Northeastern Agriculture

The Old Northwest

The Expanding South
The Rise of King Cotton

Plantation Society

The Southern Lady

The Plain Folk

The Peculiar Institution
Varieties of Slavery

The Slave Trade

Slave Resistance

Slave Religion and the Black Family

I. The North and South- Diverging Societies

a. Mid-19th Century Americans believed that USA was a nation that was specially recognized by God and would serve as a model for the rest of the World

b. USA just a decentralized confederation of states, many having little in common with one another

c. States remained together because the union was loose and the central authority of the nation was weak and the differences often didn’t have to be confronted

d. USA began to move toward greater national unity and encountered great obstacles

i. Sectionalism threatened to tear country apart

ii. Sectionalism was not new, but dated back to NE, Mid-A and S in colonial times

e. 1840s and 50s- Sectionalism changed in nature and intensities- 4 distinct regions

i. NE- growing industry, commerce, and population density

ii. NW- agriculture

iii. SE- plantation system- some decline in economic fortunes

iv. SW- booming frontier (cotton economy)

v. Sectionalism grew to divide nation into 2 regions- N and S

f. Reasons for divisions

i. Labor systems

1. S committing to slavery as primary source of labor

2. NE and NW committing to free-labor economy

ii. N- modern, diversified economy was developing with manufacturing, commerce, and expansion of urban service and abilities

iii. N and NW- more economic and culture ties developing

iv. S becoming left behind

1. Dependant on North for basic necessities of life

2. Cut off from NW flourishing agriculture

3. S was a “colony” of the north

v. Intensified during 1840s and 50s and would produce conflicts causing to disrupt the Union

II. The Developing North

a. Biggest change- Rapid economic and society development of NE

b. Industrialization- major factor in the economy

c. Urban centers grew rapidly

d. Class divisions became more noticed

i. Growing urban middle class=important

ii. Industry created working class

e. Industrial capitalists and others experienced fortunes

f. NE and NW developing a complex, modern society that was different from the South

III. NE Industry

a. 1840-1860- steady and spectacular growth

b. 1st time- manufactured goods=agricultural goods

c. 74,000/140,000 establishments for Manufacturing were located in NE

i. Most of the larger companies

d. Most highly developed items were nothing like they would later be

i. Cotton Man. Produced goods of coarse grade

ii. Fine goods had to be imported from England

iii. Woolens suffered from lack of raw materials to produce enough goods to satisfy the home market

iv. America exported little because it could not fit demands at home

v. Tech. and industrial ingenuity paved the way for future American industrial primacy

e. Machine tools used in USA (turret lathe, grinding machine and universal milling machine) were better than those used in Europe

i. Principle of interchanging parts was being introduced into other industries besides Eli Whitney’s gun industry

ii. Coal used as industrial fuel, replacing wood, and to power steam engines and replace old, water power driven, machinery in NE

1. Mined in PITTSBURGH and W PA

2. Mills now located away from running streams, and spread rapidly

f. American inventions

i. 1839- Charles Goodyear found a way to vulcanize rubber, and established great American rubber industry by 1860

ii. 1846- Elias Howe (MASS) constructed a sewing machine and Isaac Singer mad improvements

1. Employed in manufacturing of ready-to-wear clothing

g. Past- dominant figures were merchant capitalists, and remained important into the 1840s

i. NYC, BOSTON, PHILA- important and influential shipping groups operated shipping lines to S ports carrying cotton, rice, and sugar, ore sent trading ships to the orient or Europe

ii. Merchant capitalism was beginning a decline in mid-century

1. Value of American exports (largely agricultural)- American merchants saw their trade fall into hands of British competitors, who had steam driven iron ships and government subsidies

iii. Rise of factory, not foreign competition was the main reason for decline in Merchant capitalism

1. Merchants saw greater profit in manufacturing than in trade

2. Reduced mercantile investments and became owners and operators of factories or invested in other factories

3. Industries developed quickly in NE because of the affluent merchant class and the will to finance factories

h. Many businesses continued to be owned by individuals, families, or small groups

i. But, by 1840s- mainly in textiles- corporations were spreading rapidly

ii. Overseas- merchants invested in a number of vessels and voyages; then bought stock in many different textile companies

iii. Ownership of American enterprise was moving away from individuals and families and toward many stockholders, each owning small proportion of total

iv. $$$ and tech.- crucial factor in advancement of industrialization

i. Industrial capitalists soon became ruling class (aristocrats) of NE

i. Secured dominance and often reached political influence

ii. Liked to be represented by highly literate lawyers that could articulate prejudices and philosophies

iii. Ideal rep was Daniel Webster of MASS, who they had supported for years in the USA senate

IV. Transportation and Communications

a. Industrial economy could not have developed without an adequate transportation system

b. Crucial in alliances between industrial NE and Agricultural NW-important in economic growth but also contribute to sectional tension

c. 1830s- most goods carried down Erie Canal

d. 1840s- RR surpassed all other modes of transportation

i. W farmers to quickly and cheaply ship their goods E, which drove the E farmers out of business

ii. NE had the most comprehensive and efficient system (2x as much as NW, 4x S)

iii. RR reaching MISS and spanned by iron bridges

1. Hannibal to St. Joseph on MO River and another from ST.L to KC

2. Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, and Norfolk had direct ties with Memphis and with NW

3. Independent lines flourished between OH R and NO, but much of S remained unconnected to a major RR system

e. New feature in RR developments- consolidation of short lines into trunk lines

i. 4 major lines crossed APP. and connected NE to NW

1. NY Central and NY and Erie gave NYC an access to Lake Erie ports

2. PENN RR linked PHILA and PITT

3. Baltimore and OH went from BALT to OH R at wheeling

a. Chicago- RR center of W

b. Appearance to trunk lines diverted traffic from Erie Canal and MISS river

c. Weakened further connection between NW and S

f. Money to fund RR came from various sources

i. Private American investors

ii. Borrowing money from abroad

iii. Local governments- state, county, city, town- funded RR to suit their needs

iv. Federal government- public land grants

1. Stephen Douglas and other RR-minded politicians persuaded Congress to grant land to Illinois to aid the IL Central

2. Other states and RR promoters wanted same privileges

g. Facilitating the operation of the railroads was the magnetic telegraph

i. Lines ran from one station and aided the scheduling and routing of trains

ii. Provided instant communication between distant cities, tying the nation together like never before

iii. Reinforced sectionalism

1. Far more extensive in N than S

2. Linked N and NW, excluded S

h. Telegraph came in 1844- when Samuel F. B. Morse transmitted the news of James K. Polk’s nomination for president from Baltimore to Washington

i. Seemed ideal answer to problems of long-distance communication

1. Low cost of constructing wire systems

2. 1861- Pacific telegraph connected NY with SF

3. All independent lines absorbed into Western Union Telegraph Company

i. Journalism helped to draw communities together and enforce sectionalism

i. 1846- Richard Hoe invented steam cylinder rotary press, making possible printing newspapers rapidly and cheaply

ii. With the telegraph, the press mad the collection and distribution of news faster

iii. 1846- Associated Press formed to gather news cooperatively by wire

1. No longer dependent on exchange of Newspapers for out-of-town news

2. Metro newspapers appeared in NE

a. Horace Greenley’ Tribune (NY)

b. James Gordon Bennett’s Herald (NY)

c. Henry J. Raymond’s Times (NY)

d. All gave attention to national and international events

e. S newspapers produced only local news

f. Circulation of Tribune and Herald exceeded all S newspapers put together

j. Long-term, journalism was a unifying factor, but in 40s and 50s- helped create sectional problems

i. Most major newspapers and magazines were in the North

ii. Also, the News revolution along with comm., tech., contributed to a growing awareness of N and S differences

V. Cities and immigrants

a. One of the most profound changes in NE society was the growing size of cities and change in population distribution

i. NYC, PHILA, and BOSTON grew

ii. More people living in free states

b. National population rose from 23-31 million in 1850s alone, but also a result of people flowing into cities from 2 sources

i. Native NE farming class

1. Members being forced off lands by western competition

ii. Immigration from Europe

1. 1840- (84,000) arrived in USA

2. 1840-50- 1.5 million immigrants moved to America

3. 1850- out of 23 million people, 10% were foreign born and 2.5 million immigrants arrived in the 1850s

4. 1850s- ½ NYC population consisted of recent immigrants

5. ST.L, CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE, immigrants outnumbered native born Americans

6. 500,000 lived in slave states, 1/3 in MO

c. Newcomers came from many different regions: England, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Poland, Holland

i. Most came from Ireland and Germany

ii. 1850- Irish=45% and Germans=20% of foreign born in America

iii. 1860- 1.5 million Irish born and 1 million German born in the USA

iv. Factors caused people to come mostly from I and G

1. Economic dislocations of industrial revolution, famines resulting from potato failure and other crop failure, dislike of English rule by Irish, and the collapse of Liberal revolution of 1848 in Germany

d. Irish and German patterns of settlement were different

i. Irish occupied Eastern cities and filled ranks of un-skilled labor

ii. Germans moved on to NW as farmers or went into business in W towns

iii. Wealth

1. German immigrants arrived with some money; Irish had virtually none

iv. Gender

1. Germans came in family groups or single men for whom movement to the frontier was possible and attractive

2. Irish immigrants consisted of single women for whom work was less plausible

a. More likely to stay in E cities, where factory and domestic work was available

VI. The Rise of Nativism

a. Foreign born population became a major factor in American life

i. WISC (1848) allowed aliens to vote as soon as they intended to seek citizenship and had lived in WISC for over 1 year

ii. Other states followed; most places, the officials were more generous than the laws allowed

iii. Many politicians saw the immigrants as a source of potential support, but others viewed foreigners as alarming

1. First important nativist movements in American History

iv. Nativism took many forms

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1. Some argued that immigrants were mentally and physically defective, bred urban slums, and sold votes to corrupt politics

2. Others said that they worked for low wages and were stealing jobs from Americans

3. Protestants claimed that Church of Rome was attaining an undue power in American government

4. Many newcomers voted Democratic (older citizens thought they were radical)

v. Secret societies to combat the “alien menace”

1. Originated in NE, spread to west, then South

2. Native American Association (1837)

a. Held PHILA convention and formed Native American party

b. Anti-immigrant sentiment crested in 1850s

i. 1850- Supreme ...

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