Chapter 10

Currents of Change in the Northeast and the Old Northwest

Zach Atlas, Gus Roman, Dave Rappeport, Jordan Levine, Matt Karr 

 

I. Intro

II. Economic Growth

     A. Factors Fueling Economic Development

     B. Capital and Government Support

     C. A New Mentality

     D. Ambivalence Toward Change

     E. The Advance of Industrialization

     F. Environmental Consequences

III. Early Manufacturing

     A. The Impact of Industrialization

IV. A New England Textile Town

     A. Working and Living in a Mill Town

     B. Female Responses to Work

     C. The Changing Character of the Work Force

     D. Factories on the Frontier

V. Urban Life

     A. The Process of Urbanization

     B. Class Structure in the Cities

     C. The Urban Working Class

     D. Middle-Class Life and Ideals

     E. Mounting Urban Tensions

     F. The Black Underclass

VI. Rural Communities

     A. Farming in the East

     B. Frontier Families

     C. Oppurtunities in the Old Northwest

     D. Agriculture and the Environment

VII. Recovering The Past- Family Painting

VIII. Conclusion

 

Well organized - but why use such a large font for your work?  (I've reduced it to "130%" from the "150%" you used originally...)

 

 

Introduction

 

Summary: Susan Warner was an upper class woman who found herself devastated by an economic depression in American society.  She lost most of her property, but was then able to establish a successful career as an author, known for The Wide, Wide, World.  She could relate to the common American person due to her past experiences.

 

Commentary: Although this period 1820-1860  was a turbulent one economically for America, some good could emerge from it, as is the case of Susan Warner.  One had to be creative in order to achieve success, and that is indeed what Susan Warner had to do.  Her accomplishments and life foreshadows the booms (her early comforts, her novels) and the busts (her life during the Panic of 1837) of life financially in America.

 

 

Economic Growth

 

Factors Fueling Economic Development

Summary: A large variety of factors led to American economic development during this period.  First, after the acquisition of many new states, more raw materials were available in the economy, which fostered growth.  Second, the population more than tripled from 1820 to 1860 due to large immigrant migrations.  Improves in transportation were a third factor that came into play which spurred economic growth. 

 

Commentary: The factors that spurred economic development in America from 1820 to 1860 were all inter-related.  The increased size of the United States housed more raw materials for economic uses, but it also was simply able to hold more people, such as immigrants.  Many of these people that the US gained were workers that contributed significantly to the economy, some by even helping build railroads, canals, and other forms of transportation.  The new railroads made were able to facilitate the "movement of goods" while also sucking people into the national American economy.  These factors set up the American economy to thrive for future years and laid down the basis of our economy in this time period.

 

Capital and Government Support

Summary: As the economy grew, the strain of internal improvements and cultivating demanded capital, or money, to be invested into it.  European investors put in as much as 500 million dollars from 1790 to 1861, which financed the building of many canals and railroads.  American investors, like their European counterparts, did their part too.  Many merchant class Americans with newfound money, such as Arthur Bronson and Charles Butler, invested it back into the economy.  State governments and the national government both cooperated together on internal improvements and tended to help the entrepreneurial interests.  The Supreme Court case of Palmer v. Mulligan of demonstrated the belief that land ownership included the right to develop property for business reasons.  Dartmouth College v. Woodward showed that a state charter couldn't be altered unless both parties agreed, and Sturges v. Crowninshield declared that a New York state law that allowed debtors to disavow their debts was unconstitutional.

 

Commentary:  The new money put into the economy by American and European investors allowed economic enterprises and improvement to take place, such as new businesses and railroads.  Local, state, and national legislation, as well as the principles revealed in Supreme Court cases, favored the merchant's interests, and this attitude provided capital and an encouraging climate for businesses in America.  An economy needs money to thrive, and in the US plenty of capital was beginning to enter and flow through the economy. 

 

A New Mentality

Summary: A new attitude began to pervade Americans, a desire to be successful and obtain capital.  As Europeans noted, the people seemed energized to work and make money, and many of these people were mechanically minded.  Americans also now bought into the idea that improved education breeded economic growth, and so reform of the school system began under the leadership of Horace Mann.  Due to his efforts, schools for white children improved dramatically, as did their curricula.    Mann believed that a good education promoted creativity, which in turn would only help the economy.

 

Commentary: The US's new mentality resulted in more profits reaped by the merchant class.  People thirsted to make money, and so they valued hard work in obtaining it as a result.  The new mechanically-minded, hard working Americans also were able to make many inventions that made factory work much more efficient and productive, like the Colt revolver and the McCormick harvester.  Seeking more successful inventions, America turned to the youth of its society.   Education was reformed to be more effective because many believed that a good education in children would lead to increased creativity.  Moving forward, the new mentality of the era was one of the hard-working merchant,  and that hard work would ultimately lead to capital. 

 

Ambivalence Toward Change

Summary: As technology improved, large improvements in transportation caused people to move from their roots.  Some people feared that the quick change would turn the children of the era to money-thirsty barbarians.  Authors restated the proverbs of Poor Richard's Almanac by Ben Franklin in order to instill a certain good character and hard-working attitude in students, which was to prevent the students from disintegrating in this rapid period of economic change,

 

Commentary: As the people moved from their roots, nervousness stemmed about the stability of the civilization as a whole.  Although many were for change, others feared the potential influence it could hold on the young ones of society.  Hence, more traditional, family-like values were force fed to the children of this age in order to maintain these conventional, middle-class beliefs.

 

The Advance of Industrialization

Summary: Notable economic growth between 1820 and 1860 occurred from the change of individual artisans to factory production. Factories realized the potential of manufacturing an article by first making individual parts. As more factories were created, more goods were put in circulation, and prices dropped significantly. Textile manufacturing became the country's leading industry. The South was impacted as well (Improper use of the word; "impacted" is a word, but not as you use it here; the proper syntax for this is "had an impact upon"; thus, "textile manufacturing had an impact upon the South as well..."). Although most of the cotton produced there was being shipped to England, a greater percentage of it went to northeastern mills.

 

Commentary: As people such as Hamilton had predicted, big business and factories were starting to become the focal point of the American economy. Textile mills in New England became the leading industry. Innovations in technology only increased benefits from the textiling ventures. The increased need for cotton helped tie the country together, as the South began to rely on the North for the purchase of cotton. The North became a factory driven big business depending economy.

 

Enviromental Consequences

Summary: Canals, railroads, steamboats, and the growth of industry helped economic growth, but their impact on the environment was profound. The eastern forest slowly disappeared from the need of wood to power steamboats, railroads, and keeping families warm. Mills relying on water power interfered with the natural habitats of fish, and sometimes even changed the flow of rivers. The high price of wood and the beginning use of coal began a shift in the power source. Beginning heavy coal use resulted in visible air pollution. Some  Americans resisted this, but most saw this as a inevitable part of progress.

 

Commentary: The increased growth of factories took its toll on the environment. Nowadays, people are very concerned about global warming, saving the trees, and preserving the wildlife. However, back then, people did not realize the true danger that would proceed from this increased growth without restraint. Forests were being cleared without an attempt to regrow them. Smoke created from coal use began to clog up the air, and this could be easily seen from any active factory. Americans did not know better, and thought this was necessary for progress, and the more it happened, the faster the country's economy would grow.

 

 

Early Manufacturing

 

The Impact of Industrialization

Summary: Industrialization produced a cheaper method of producing goods instead of home manufacturing and individual artisans ever could. Evidence can be seen such as the past luxury of libraries. As printing and publishing industries came into existence, the luxury of owning books became an everyday thing anybody could have. The increased independence of word of mouth resulted in the ability to anybody to be able to form their own opinions from their own readings. This had a deep impact on available information, values, tastes, and use of leisure time. Timepieces, a past luxury, became an everyday item through factory production. Timepieces were essential for the success of railroads and imposed a new rhythm in many workplaces.

 

Commentary: During this time, past luxuries became today's necessities. As the printing business grew, less people began relying solely on word of mouth. People began to be able to form their own ideas from less biased sources. The availability of books also revolutionized the way people could spend their own leisure time and people's values/taste. The widespread production of timepieces also impacted (improper use of the word; "impacted" is a word, but not as you use it here; the proper syntax for this is "had an impact upon") the success of railroads and the ability to schedule time accordingly for working and the like. All these demonstrated how factory production affected everyone, not just the workers who were working in the factories themselves. As time went on, the life of an everyday person would be changed by the depending on factories for the economy.

 

 

A New England Textile Town

 

Working and Living in a Mill Town

Summary: By the 1830's, the majority of New England's textile factory workers were single, unmarried women. Mill work proveded them the possibility of economic indepedence until marriage. The salary was reasonable in the 1820's and 1830's. Most women were free to work when they wanted, and women left when marriage occurred. The hours were long, 12 hours a day, six days a week. Women had boardinghouses with strict rules and a early curfew in order to produce well-rested workers. With such intimate working and living conditions, women formed close bonds. They dictated acceptable behaivor, clothing, and speech, shared leisure time, and helped newcomers out.

 

Commentary: The mill owners of these times learned to tap into a resource nobody had thought of before- women workers. Up until this time, women were thought to be only housewives, or do work from the house. However, single and unmarried women welcomed the economical potential that working in these factories could give. Also, the humane conditions of working only encouraged more women to work in these factories. Women quickly grew accustomed to living in mill towns and bonded with one another during this time, and stood up for each other.  Women were beginning to see things in a new light, and not too long from now they would start wanting more equal rights.

 

Female Responses to Work

Summary: Although the pay for women was fair, they could still never expect as much payment as men. Sexual discrimination went unquestioned for the most part, but the sense of sisterhood was starting to realize the possibility of a dependent wage earners. When textiles started doing bad, they lashed out on the salaries of their employees. The results were petitions and requests for strikes. Although this prevented wage reduction, awareness was increased. By the 1830's, wage cuts, longer hours, increased work loads, and production speedups started to make women realize the possibility of being slaves to their bosses.

 

Commentary: At first, women experienced fair working conditions and salaries for their work. However, when textile companies started suffering, they passed their deficits to their own employees. Women who were bonded together saw the beginning of oppressment (the word is "oppression")  and attempted to stop the wage reductiong ("reductions") by petitions and strike. Although it was a failure to prevent the wage reduction, it was a success that more women were alerted to the cause. Women began to want their own rights and did not want to be at the feet of their bosses. Women began wanting their own rights and to be treated more fairly. Evidence of this happening becomes clearer and clearer as time goes on.

 

The Changing Character of the Work Force

Summary: Female protests for equal labor privileges had little to no success.  Mill owners did not view the strikes as threats because of the major flow of immigrants into the United States.  Because of the major increase in European immigrants in the 1950's, many jobs were being replaced by hardworking Irish and German men, instead of Yankee farm girls.

 

Commentary: I feel as though this is the same type of problem that Americans are facing in the present day.  Back then, women felt cheated out of jobs because Irish and German men came and worked extremely hard for little pay.  The immigrants would work for whatever amount of money they could get, just so they could live in America.  Now, many illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from legal citizens, in the same way as immigrants did in the 1800's.  Illegal immigrants are willing to work very hard and perform the jobs that most people do not want to do, so they can spend their life in America.  Because women were losing there jobs in the 1800's, men had to work even harder to provide food for their families, creating even more economic problems.  No 1st person - ever!!!

 

Factories on the Frontier

Summary: By the 1840's Cincinnati was the third-largest industrial center.  Many people began to work in factories for small wages.  Working conditions were extremely poor and women had a particularly hard time.  Many families did not produce enough income to provide food, and protests broke out in the working class.  Race also became an issue in the working environment and tensions arose between the different groups of immigrants.

 

Commentary: This time period is the start of a minor depression for the American people.  The surge of industrial work that started up, more people turned to large factories to find work, rather than working on the farm.  Because so many employees began to work at the factories, pay was not very high.  Also, with the lack of farming, people had less and less food to eat.  Even though it seems like people should be better off because there were more jobs available, people ended up weaker and more angry at work.  This beginning to an industrial period did not get off to a good start, leaving the North in a state of fear for what was to come.

 

 

Urban Life

 

The Process of Urbanization

Summary: The three distinct types of cities of the early 1800's were commericial centers, mill towns, and transportation hubs.  With the completion of the Erie Canal, New York became the most important city.  Since the amount of urban citizens was growing, commercial farmers were also making more money.  The large amount of people moving into cities caused sanitary issues, and many people were left without water in cities such as Philadelphia.

 

Commentary: At this time the main way of transporting goods was still through ships.  Because New York was near the Erie Canal, goods were easily imported and exported.  Although cities were growing, commercial farmers were able to make a better living because more and more people living in the cities needed food to survive.  The large amounts of people moving into cities did not neccessarily help peoples' lives.  The tight living caused people to suffer from diseases caused by unsanitary lifestyles.  It was clear that city life had to be greatly improved in order for citizens to live healthy lives.

 

Class Structure in the Cities

Summary: The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed a tremendous increase in the the concentration of wealth in American cities.  Merchants, lawyers, bankers, and brokers of the upper class began to take most of the control of the wealth of Philadelphia.  Many social tensions arose from the gap created between the upper and lower classes.  As many people took jobs as businessmen, factory owners, and engineers, many people, especially immigrants, were stuck performing manual labor.

 

Commentary: These different class structures are not entirely different from the ones we still have today.  Although such drastic ranges of wealth were present in the cities, people were not loosing any money because more money was being made because of the larger amount of people.  In the present, immigrants are still performing the majority of manual labor jobs because they are able to stay in the United States under the radar.  Also many people became bussinessmen and factory owners, opening new job positions for less skiled workers.  The end result of this was a larger working class in the cities.

 

The Urban Working Class

Summary: The lives of the working class were gradually becoming worse and worse.  Families were living in absolute poverty in back alleys, concealed by substantial housing fronting the streets.  Because families were so poor, many cases of family violence occured and many lives were put in danger.

 

Commentary: This was a sad time for people who lived in cities in the United States.  It is terrible to think that people were living in completely terrible conditions, while wealthy citizens hid them from view with their large houses.  This just shows how drastic the gap between the upper and middle classes were becoming.  It is not hard to believe how much violence was occuring within families.  Mothers could not work and Fathers were hardly making any money.  One man even murdered his wife because she seemed to be careless with his hard-earned money.  It is obvious that these were very tough times for the American people, and that a change needed to occur.

 

Middle-Class Life and Ideals

Summary: The Middle class was rising, and living comfortably, with many luxuries being made affordable to them because of falling prices on new products caused by improvement in transportation an factory outputs.  Women and children were only expected to be "housekeepers," while men brought in the money.  Women's role in society was still important though, as they were also expected to bring up children with good morals.  The country believed that the republic would be successful if women were able to bring up good kids.  Women at this time also began to work for charitable purposes, such as orphanages.  Children were not expected to contribute to the family economically; they were instead though to be in the stage of life which sets them up for adulthood.

 

Commentary: The changing ideals of the middle class not only affected the culture of the middle class, but also seemed to shape the mentality of the entire country.  Clearly, more emphasis was being put on strong moral values during childhood, which would in turn create a generation of decent people.  In that sense, it seems that although women were not helping with family life economically, they were in fact still extremely important to the American way.  Interestingly, at the same time that this mid-upper class was thriving, the mid-lower and lower class was struggling greatly. 

 

Mounting Urban Tensions

Summary: Violence and crime was becoming prevalent in cities such as Philadelphia.  Much of this violence was caused by resentment of lower-class whites against blacks who were competing for the same jobs as the whites.  The police force, which was not a modern one similar to the military-style force in London, was not able to stop the violence or crime.  Riots broke out in which blacks were beaten by whites greusomely, and some blacks were killed.

 

Commentary: This section stresses the importance of the creation of a modern police force; clearly the constable system was not able to suppress riots and violence that ran rampant in the cities.  The reason for the violence, racial tension in the fight for job opportunities, seems similar to the present-day immigration debate.  Just like the blacks of the time, illegal immigrants now are taking jobs away from other Americans.  Just as in the 1830s, this employment struggle is causing some racial unrest. 

 

The Black Underclass

Summary: Most blacks of the era were not able to reap the rewards of America's industrial productivity and strengthening economy.  Blacks were treated as inferior by whites, and men were forced into dangerous jobs, causing women to take on more household responsibilies when their husbands were injured or killed.  Although there would be no slavery permitted in any new states, blacks were treated far from equally to whites.  Only seven percent of blacks in America had the right to vote.  They were forced to go to school at much poorer facilities than whites.  They not allowed to serve on juries or testify against whites in five states.  In addition, blacks were constantly bombarded by foul words of discriminators. 

 

Commentary: The situation for blacks was very pressing, as nearly none of them had much money or rights.  Sadly, it seems like this situation really did not get much better for blacks until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.  I have heard similar stories of discrimination that were from this the 20th century to the stories the text book outlines from the 19th century.  No 1st person!

 

 

Rural Communities

 

Farming in the East

Summary: Throughout the antebellum period, farming in the Northeast began a slow decline. Many Northeastern and New England farmers began to move west to more fertile lands. The farmers who stayed had to transform their production. The farmers of the East began to seek out the growing urban demand. Cities were surrounded by farms growing food to feed the urban population. During this time farming also was beginning to be considered a more scientific task, and farmers began to cultivate their crops scientifically (crop rotation, better tools etc.) to produce more profit.

 

Commentary: It seems that farmers of this time period were evolving.  They were learning new methods of farming, and adapting to the country's changing economic conditions.  Because of this willingness to change, farmers were finally starting to turn around what had been a 200 year decline in American farming production, an extremely important feat. 

 

Frontier Families

Summary: Many people left the North during the antebellum period and headed west. In 1820, less than a fifth of the American population lived west of the Appalachians, but by 1860 almsost half the population did. Land sells and settlement were booming during this time in the Old Northwest. Although the West was being settled quickly, frontier families faced difficult challenges. Farms were often small, and it took families several years to cultivate 50 acres of land with hand tools.

 

Commentary: Though originally life on the frontier was challenging and very difficult, the monetary gains were well worth it to many. The opportunity and the ability to start a new life away from America's cities and class distinctions were attractive to many Americans during this time period. As a result, families moved and began to populate the Northwest.

 

Opportunities in the Old Northwest

Summary: Although during this time it was possible to start a farm with less, some farmers still had to work as hired hands for a couple years or take out loans from insurance companies in order to get the funds needed. The Old Northwest allowed American families to strike out on their own and escape the rigid class structure of the urban cities. This is not to say that there was no distinction between wealth and poverty; however it was not as prevalent. Over time, the rigors of frontier life would fade and life in the Old Northwest became easier.

 

Commentary: Farming in the Old Northwest was still not without its problems. Even though it was a relatively available investment during those times many still did not have the funds needed to start farms and support a family so they worked as hired hands. Those who were successful saw much profit and became wealthy. They hired help for their farms and payed their help honestly. As life became easier in Old Northwest, farming only became more profitable.

 

Agriculture and the Environment

Summary: While changes in agriculture in the East and the settling of Old Northwest were taking place, the character of the American landscape was undergoing changes. Nature was being abused in order for America to grow both physically and economically. Forests began to disapear because the coal was needed for the furnaces of American industry and farmers were depleting the land to produce their crops more efficiently. One French visitor remarked that Americans would never be happy until they had completely subdued nature.

 

Commentary: Nothing was without cost. Nature was the unintended victim of America's hunger to grow. Farmers cultivated cash crops and did not necessarily respect the land, while American industry needed coal to fuel its growing furnaces, and took it greedily from everywhere available. Forests were being depleted; however, the American economy was growing and so was America's wealth.

 

 

Recovering the Past: Family

 

Painting

 

Summary: Family paintings in the times before the camera reveal the idealized conception of family life and the details of the reality the families lived in. Some painters were trained in the art of European realism while others, primitive artists, painted in their leisure time. The paintings of the era give both an idealized version of what the painter and subjects felt to be and what was actual reality.

 

Commentary: A picture says a thousand words. Paintings during this time were not just art but an expression of American life and ideals. Families had themselves painted in the image of themselves and in the image they had of family life during that time.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Summary: America experienced tremendous growth and economic development between 1820 and 1860. Better transportation and larger markets facilitated America's agricultural and industrial growth. However, the countries growth did not come at no cost. Industrial profits were partially thanks to the low pay of workers and America saw the growth of a large unskilled, impoverished group of people. The expansion of the country's agriculture also came at environmental costs. During this time much of America's growth is credited to the East and Old Northwest, divisions between the North and South were a source of tension in American life.

 

Commentary: Throughout this chapter America is expanding via the North. Nothing is mentioned of the growth of King Cotton in the South. The Northern economy was based upon the farm family's of the Old Northwest, and the poor working class of the Eastern cities, while the Southern economy was built upon the backs of slaves. The dispute over slavery resulted in tension between the North and South.

 

Vocabulary:

Monotonous- lacking in variety; tediously unvarying

Unprecedented- without previous instance; never before known or experienced; unexampled or unparalleled

Blight- any cause of impairment, destruction, ruin, or frustration

Genteel- belonging or suited to polite society

Tumult- violent or noisy commotion or disturbance

Scapegoat- a person or group made to blame for others' suffering

Transient- not lasting, not enduing

Destitute- without any means of substinance

Subjugation- to bring under complete control, subjection

Repudiate-  To reject as having no authority or binding force.

Underwriting- To sign one's name, as to a document.

Entrepreneur- a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

Bough- branch of a tree

Undergirded- to give fundamental support; provide with a sound or secure basis

Haughty- disdainfully proud; snobbish; scornfully arrogant; supercilious

 

 

 

Geography:

Ireland:  European country where many immigrants were coming from

Cincinnati: Third-largest industrial center by 1840 located in the midwest.

New York: Country's largest and most important city

Erie Canal: Canal used for trade in New York

Chicago: Large commercial city

London: Organized a modern, military style police force before America was able

South Street, Philadelphia: Site of large mob riot against minorities

American Northwest Territory: New states here did not allow enslaved blacks

Ohio and Illinois: the two most populous of the new fronteir states

Philadelphia

Lowell, Massachusetts: "model" textile town

 

 

Famous Figures:

Prudence Crandall: A black Quaker who tried to open a school in Canterburry, Connecticut and was arrested because of mass citizen upheaval.

Susan Warner:  Author of The Wide, Wide World, the first American novel to sell over a million copies.

Arthur Bronson and Charles Butler: Two New Yorkers who invested heavily into the Northwest, and were very wealthy as a result.

Horace Mann:  A reformer of the education system, Mann intended to attract more students in school while creating a more distinct curriculum.

Samuel Slater- designed a water-powered, yarn-spinning machine capable of carding or straightening the cotton fibers.

William Ashley and Moses Brown- hired Samuel Slater, started a spinning mill in Pawtucket Rhode Island.

Paul Moody- mechanic who designed a power loom capable of spinning cloth, his knowlege of British and Scottish cotton factories helped him greatly

Francis Cabot Lowell- merchant who hired Moody, installed Moody's loom in a mill at Waltham, MA, capitalized at $300,000 by Lowell and his Boston Associates.

James Fenimore Cooper- author who in his novel The Pioneers criticized those who destroyed nature without consideration.

 

 This is excellent work...with a few areas in need of improvement:

1.  No 1st person; when writing historical summaries/commentaries, etc., one should always use the the 3rd person.  You should not be expressing "personal opinion" via first person; the assumption is that you are presenting either facts (which need no "I believe") or analysis (wherein the "I believe" is already assumed).

2.  LESS IS MORE.  Your summaries are, for the most part, too long.  And, you've summarized just about everything, when the assignment is, specifically NOT to discuss everything but rather the MOST IMPORTANT things.

3.  I think, in the future, it might help to do SOME portions of your summary sections via "bullets"'.  Perhaps to lay out any specific facts which you want the reader to know (because, in your bid to be brief, I think there are times when you might neglect to convey a distinction between the general idea of some specific section and any important facts within that section).  The irony of this suggestion is not lost on me:  your group is the only one which was obviously striving to be brief in each specific commentary (and thereby stick to the "summarize in a sentence or two" instruction) - and you did that well!  The trouble is that you summarized just about everything! 

 

And finally, upon reading it through one final time...

 

4.  There are far too many spelling errors, etc.  (For example:  "proveded", "behaivor" and "indepedence".)  Proof-read and edit!

 

93/A.