Forging The National Economy study guide and summary

The following texts are the property of their respective authors and we thank them for giving us the opportunity to share for free to students, teachers and users of the Web their texts will used only for illustrative educational and scientific purposes only.

All the information in our site are given for nonprofit educational purposes

The information of medicine and health contained in the site are of a general nature and purpose which is purely informative and for this reason may not replace in any case, the council of a doctor or a qualified entity legally to the profession.

Forging The National Economy study guide and summary

Ch. 14 Forging The National Economy, 1790-1860
Frontier life:
Life on the frontier was – downright grim for most pioneer families
Pioneering Americans marooned by geography – became ill informed and individualistic in their attitudes
Economy:
All of the following gave rise to a more dynamic, market-oriented, national economy in early nineteenth-
century America
the push west in search of cheap land
a vast number of European immigrants settling in the cities
newly invented machinery
better roads, faster steamboats, further-reaching canals, and tentacle-stretching railroads
But not government regulation of all major economic industry

Growth of cities:
In early nineteenth-century America – the urban population was growing at an unprecedented rate
The dramatic growth of American cities between 1800 and 1860
– resulted in unsanitary conditions in many communities
European economic imperialism in the Western Hemisphere:
“Ecological imperialism” can best be described as – the aggressive exploitation of the West’s bounty
Preservationist efforts:
George Caitlin advocated – the preservation of nature as a national policy
Immigration – Irish & Germans:
The influx of immigrants to the United States tripled, then quadrupled, in the – 1840s and 1850s
Ireland’s great export in the 1840s was – people (Irish immigrants – Irish potato famine & general hard-times)
The Irish immigrants to early nineteenth-century America – were mostly Roman Catholics and hated the British
When the Irish flocked to the United States in the 1840s, they stayed in the larger seaboard cities because they
– were too poor to move west and buy land
When the “famine Irish” came to America, they - mostly remained in the port cities of the Northeast
German immigrants in the early nineteenth century tended to – preserve their own language and culture
German immigrants to the United States – came to escape economic hardships and autocratic government
When German immigrants came to the United States, they – prospered with astonishing ease
Immigrants coming to the United States before 1860 – helped to fuel economic expansion
Factors encouraging the growth of immigration rates in the first half of the nineteenth century included the:
rapid growth rate of the European population
perception of America as the land of freedom and opportunity
introduction of transoceanic steamships
economic and political turmoil in Europe
religious oppression by European state churches
Nativism [xenophobic bigots]:
Native-born Protestant Americans distrusted and resented the Irish mostly because these immigrants
– were Roman Catholic (not Protestant) [xenophobia – fear of foreigners] {Bill the Butcher – Gangs of New York}
Those who were frightened by the rapid influx of Irish immigrants organized
– the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner
The sentiment of fear and opposition to open immigration was called – nativism
Native-born Americans feared that Catholic immigrants to the United States would
– “establish” the Catholic church at the expense of Protestantism
Industrialism – Factories – Textiles in New England:
The “Father of the Factory System” in the United States was – Samuel Slater
The American phase of the industrial revolution first blossomed – with textile mills
The underlying basis for modern mass production was the – use of interchangeable parts (Eli Whitney)
The early factory system distributed its benefits – mostly to the owners
[exploitation of workers, particularly Mill Girls]
The growth of industry and the factory system in the United States was slowed by -
the scarcity of labor – limited investment capital – a small domestic market
The Northeast became the center of early-nineteenth-century American industry because it had -
abundant water power
investment capital available
a relatively large labor supply
The growth of early-nineteenth-century American manufacturing was stimulated by the
– War of 1812 and the Tariff of 1816
By 1850, America’s factory system was producing -
textiles – boots and shoes – firearms – sewing machines
The concentration of capital for investment in large-scale enterprises in the early nineteenth century was
promoted by the wider acceptance of the principle of limited liability & passage of state free
incorporation laws
Cotton Engine 1793 Increases Need for Slaves:
Eli Whitney was instrumental in the invention of the – cotton gin
Most of the cotton produced in the American South after the invention of the cotton gin was – sold to England
As a result of the development of the cotton gin – slavery revived and expanded
Early 19th Century American Industrialists:
Each individual below is matched with the correct invention:
Samuel Morse – telegraph
Cyrus McCormick – mower-reaper
Elias Howe – sewing machine
Robert Fulton – steamboat
Exploitation of Workers, Increasing Male Suffrage, & the Results:
The American work force in the early nineteenth century was characterized by
– substantial employment of women and children in factories
One reason that the lot of adult wage earners improved was – the enfranchisement of the laboring man
In the case of Commonwealth v. Hunt, the supreme court of Massachusetts ruled that
– labor unions were not illegal conspiracies
Status of women in early 19th century America:
The “cult of domesticity” – glorified the traditional role of women as homemakers
American families in the early 19th century:
Early-nineteenth-century American families – were getting smaller
One of the goals of the child-centered family of the 1800s was to – raise independent individuals
Cash-Crop Agriculture:
The effect of early-nineteenth-century industrialization on the trans-Allegheny West was to encourage
– specialized, cash-crop agriculture
With the development of cash-crop agriculture in the trans-Allegheny West,
- farmers quickly faced mounting indebtedness
Early 19th century infrastructure:
In the 1790s a major transportation project linking the East to the trans-Allegheny West was the
– Lancaster Turnpike
Western road building faced all of the following problems:
the expense
states’ rights advocates’ opposition
eastern states’ opposition
wartime interruptions
But not competition from canals
The major application for steamboats transporting freight and passengers in the United States was on
– western and southern rivers
The “canal era” of American history began with the construction of the – Erie Canal in New York
Construction of the Erie Canal – forced some New England farmers to move or change occupations
Most early railroads in the United States were built in the – North
Compared with canals, railroads – could be built almost anywhere
As a result of the transportation revolution
– each region in the nation specialized in a particular type of economic activity
In general – steamboats – tended to bind the West and South together, while
– canals and – steamboats – connected West to East
The turnpikes, canals, and steamboats as new transportation links generally encourages -
lowering of freight rates
economic growth
rising land values
migration of peoples
Clipper ships and the Pony Express had in common -
speedy service and a brief existence
Continental Economy:
In the new continental economy, each region specialized in a particular economic activity:
the South – grew cotton – for export
the West grew grains and livestock to feed eastern factory workers
the (North) East – made machines and textiles – for the other two regions
All of the following were legal questions raised as a result of the new market economy:
how tightly should patents protect inventions?
should the government regulate monopolies?
can a democratic government still support slavery?
who should own these new technologies?
But not who should own the new transportation network?
As the new continental market economy grew
– the home came to be viewed as a refuge from the workday world
A major economic consequence of the transportation and marketing revolutions was
– a steady improvement in average wages and standards of living [not as significant as this sounds]
Advances in manufacturing and transportation brought -
more prosperity and opportunity to most Americans increased immigration from Europe to the
United States

Source : http://www.course-notes.org/sites/www.course-notes.org/files/uploads/english/ap_us_history_2_1800-1850.doc

Web site link to visit: http://www.course-notes.org

Google key word : Forging The National Economy study guide and summary file type : doc

Author : not indicated on the source document of the above text

If you are the author of the text above and you not agree to share your knowledge for teaching, research, scholarship (for fair use as indicated in the United States copyrigh low) please send us an e-mail and we will remove your text quickly.