Growth and Expansion

Economic GrowthWestward Bound

Unity and Sectionalism

Overview of the Industrial Revolution

Growth of Industry

• not many colonial workers, so people learned to develop tools and methods to get work done and do it efficiently

• “American ingenuity”• produced what they needed or bought things locally• mid-1700’s, production of goods changes in England– machines begin to be powered by water– people leave homes/farms to work in mills

Industrial Revolution

• led to major changes in production, economy and lifestyle

• American Industrial Revolution– centered in New England, around 1800• poor soil, people tired of struggling to farm• many rushing rivers and streams to run machinery• close to resources (coal/iron)• near ports for raw materials and finished products

2 new economic ideas take shape

• capitalism-people put capital (money) into a business in hopes of making a profit

• free enterprise-people are free to buy, sell, produce whatever they wish and to work wherever they wish

**for industrial growth, an economic system without a lot of government influence is necessary

New technologyscientific discoveries play a huge role

• inventions allow goods to be made by machine (saving time and money)

• eventually steam engines will provide power • patent laws passed– protects rights of those who invent machines and

guarantees them profits for a certain period of time• Eli Whitney-cotton gin (quickly removes seeds

from cotton) – one worker on the gin does the work of 50 workers

by hand

Impact of the cotton gin

Prior to the 1790s, a minor cotton economy had existed in some coastal areas of the South, particularly the Sea Islands. The sandy soils supported the growth of long-staple or black seed cotton. It was relatively easy to remove the seeds from this variety; devices with rollers to force out the seed had been used for centuries in India. The drawback with the long-staple variety was that it would not grow in the rich soils of the inland regions.Short-staple or green seed cotton grew easily in the regions that would become the “cotton belt” of the interior South. Efforts to extract these seeds with rollers resulted in crushed seeds, which emitted an oil that ruined the fiber. http://www.u-s-history.com

New England Factories• Britain tries to keep industrial technology a secret

–workers sneak ideas/methods out of England and bring to US (cotton mill/Samuel Slater)

• 1814 Francis Cabot Lowell, textile mill in MA– all stages of cloth making under one roof– factory system-brings manufacturing steps together

in one place, increases efficiency

• interchangeable parts-identical machine parts that can be put together to make a complete product (Eli Whitney)– Benefits: parts made with less skilled labor, machine repair

easier– Leads to: many kinds of goods, produced on mass scale,

reduces cost of goods

From Cottage Industries to Factories

Agriculture Expands• Even with New Englanders at work in factories, most

Americans live and work on farms during the early 1800s– NE, small farms, produce marketed locally– South, cotton production increases dramatically• demand up due to textile industries• enslaved workers used to plant, tend and pick cotton• cotton gin made cotton able to be cleaned faster, new

areas tillable

*1790, 3,000 bales/yr 1820, 300,000 bales/yr

--West, southern farmers move seeking land, raised pork, corn, wheat (north of Ohio River)

Economic Independence

• Industries are financed by small investors hoping to earn profits if the new businesses succeeded– low taxes, few government regulations and

competition encouraged investors• Corporations (large businesses) developed

rapidly in 1830’s when legal obstacles to their formation are removed– stock (shares of ownership) then sold to finance

improvement and development

Effects of capitalism on society

Second Bank of the United States

– chartered for 20 years in 1816 when the charter for the 1st bank expires

– bank could make large loans to businesses

– bank criticized by state banks/frontier people• said bank was a monopoly used by rich and

powerful for their own gain• also said bank was unconstitutional using a

strict interpretation of the Constitution

Cities

• towns/cities grow as factories grow

• developed along rivers/streams

• older cities like New York, Boston, Baltimore grow as centers of business/trade

• new towns (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville) develop due to position on major rivers

Changes brought about by growth of cities:*people left homes to earn a living*people’s lives guided by clocks*family life changes/children raised differently

City Conditions• brick/wood buildings• streets/sidewalks unpaved, animals roam freely• no sewers to carry waste away– disease spreads easily

• fire a threat, sparks can ignite wooden buildings– structures close together, no fire departments

• some advantages to cities– variety of jobs, steady wages– libraries, museums and shops unavailable in rural

areas