CHAPTER 10
Chapter 10
America's Economic Revolution
Chapter Summary
After the War of 1812, a combination of rapid population growth, the expansion of communication and transportation systems, and the development of an agricultural system sufficient to feed an urban population gave rise to the American industrial revolution. The two sections of the nation most affected by these changes were the Northeast and the Northwest, which were drawn closer together as a result. Canals, railroads, and the telegraph made it easier to move goods and information. Business grew as corporations began to shape the world of trade and commerce. Technological innovations helped expand industries as the factory system began to replace the artisan tradition. In the Northwest, agriculture expanded to meet the increasing demand for farm products. All of these developments had profound implications for American men and women, both in the ways that they worked and in their family lives.
Objectives
A thorough study of Chapter 10 should enable the student to understand
1. The changes that were taking place within the nation in terms of population growth, population movement, urbanization, and the impact of immigration.
2. The importance of the Erie Canal for the development of New York City and the Old Northwest.
3. The changes that were taking place in transportation, business, industry, labor, and commerce as the full impact of the industrial revolution was felt in the United States.
4. The reasons the Northeast and the Northwest tended to become more dependent on each other in the 1840s and 1850s.
5. The vast changes taking place in the Northeast as agriculture declined while urbanization and industrialization progressed at a rapid rate.
6. The characteristics of the greatly increased immigration of the 1840s and 1850s, and the immigrants’ effects on the development of the free states.
7. The reasons for the appearance of the nativist movement of the 1850s.
8. The living and working conditions of both men and women in the northern factory and on the northwestern farm.
9. Efforts to define the role of women in society and the "cult of domesticity."
Main Themes
1. How the American population changed between 1820 and 1840, and the effect this had on the nation’s economic, social, and political systems.
2. How the dramatic economic growth of the 1820s and 1830s was accomplished.
3. How the rapid development of the economy and society of the North influenced the rest of the nation.
Points for Discussion
1. What forces combined to produce a period of dramatic economic growth in the United States in the 1820s and 1830s? How was this overall growth reflected in urban areas such as New York City? (Document number 1 in the Study Guide may be useful here.)
2. Examine the development of the systems of roads and canals between 1815 and 1840. What geographical factors contributed to this? What sections did this transportation system link together, and what effect did this have on the economy of each? How might this transportation network have influenced political alliances?
3. It has been said that "the most conspicuous change in American life in the 1840s and 1850s was the rapid development of the economy and society of the Northeast." What changes occurred in this region during the period under consideration, and how did these changes tend to draw the Northeast and Northwest more closely together(economically, socially, and politically? (Document numbers 1 and 2 in the Study Guide shed some light on this.)
4. Discuss the impact of increased European immigration between 1840 and 1860 on American political development, the workforce, and the character and distribution of the population.
5. Describe the types of workers recruited and the conditions they faced in America's early factory system. How and why did workers and conditions change from the 1820s to the 1840s, and what were the consequences?
6. Discuss the shifting concepts of mid-nineteenth-century America concerning the woman's place within the family and the family's place within the larger society.
7. Why were early attempts to organize American workers relatively ineffective?
8. What were the major technological inventions and innovations of this period? How did they help unify the nation? How did they reflect the divisions that were taking place in America and even contribute to these divisions? In short, what was the impact of technology on the United States during this period? (Document numbers 1 and 2 in the Study Guide apply here.)
9. Explain how the popularity of the theater, and especially of Shakespeare, reflect the society of Jacksonian America.
Interpretive Questions Based on Maps and Text
1. What were the natural advantages New York State had that made the building of the Erie Canal easier? What physical obstacles did the state have to overcome and how was this accomplished?
2. What were the other canals in the Erie Canal system? How did this system work to the advantage of New York City?
3. What other cities and areas gained from the Erie Canal system? What impact did this have on western trading patterns?
4. Which cities did not benefit from the canal boom? Which regions? What impact did this have on political and economic ties among regions?
5. Where did most of the railroad construction between 1850 and 1860 take place? How did this construction change earlier transportation patterns?
6. Where railroads went, industry followed (and vice versa). What does the growth of railroads between 1850 and 1860 suggest about the industrial development of the nation?
7. Compare the principal cities in 1850 to those in 1860. Where were most of the rising urban centers located? What does this indicate about the economy and way of life of the North and South?
8. Identify the railroad lines that linked North to South in 1850 and in 1860. What does this suggest about how this transportation network united or divided the nation?
9. Compare the population density in 1820 with that in 1860. Which areas show the most growth? What geographic factors account for this?
10. How did the growth in population density in the South differ from that of the North? What factors account for these diffeences?
11. What impact did immigration and transportation have on population density?
Library Exercise
The following exercise will require students to consult a historical atlas and other sources found in most college libraries. Using these library resources and the text, they should be able to answer the following:
1. Determine which cities are associated with the areas of greatest population density in 1820. Which cities are associated with the areas of greatest population density in 1860? How has the urban landscape of the nation changed during this four-decade period? What cities have grown to become major urban centers? What caused this growth?
Essay Questions
These essays are based on the map exercises. They are designed to test students' knowledge of the geography of the area discussed in this chapter and to test their knowledge of its historical development. Careful reading of the text will help them answer these questions.
1. Discuss the natural features that determined the location and growth of canal systems. Consult the physical map in the Appendix of the text, and speculate on the limits of the canal system and on the regions that would need another form of transportation for goods.
2. Compare and contrast the railroad lines in the United States in 1850 to those in 1860. How did this growth both unite and divide the sections of the United States? How did this shape and reflect the nation's economic growth?
3. What impact did the spread of railroad lines have on the nation's urban development?
4. Compare and contrast the nation's population density in 1820 with the population density in 1860. What accounted for this growth in population? What factors determined where this population would concentrate?
Internet Resources
For Internet quizzes, resources, references to additional books and films, and more, consult the
text’s Online Learning Center at brinkley12.
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