Chapter 9

The Transformation of American Society: 1815-1840

I. Westward expansionA. To the west

1. 1790 - most Americans within 100 miles of Atlantic Coast

2. 1840 - 35% between Appalachians and Mississippi river

a. Typically families made the move (security/farm labor needs)

b. Generally near rivers at first (crops to market)B. Society and customs

1. Work combined with social life2. “Bees”, etc3. Clear division of labor male/female

a. Men - cut trees/plowb. Women milk/cook/sew/raise kids

4. Unusual amt of equality assumed (I can borrow yr stuff because you have enough and I need some!)

De Toqueville ( Democracy in America) writes of social equality to a degree far surpassing France (and in fact, Europe) read notated quote, p. 49

• French political thinker and historian.

• His most famous works is Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes: 1835 and 1840) and

• and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856).

• His work based on his travels in the United States, Democracy in America, is frequently used in courses in 19th century United States

Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville (July 29, 1805–April 16, 1859)

C. Way out West1. Traders/trappers/mountain men2. Pike, Smith, Kit Carson, etc

D. Government involvement in settling the West1. States ceded lands to government (“ The Public Domain”)

under “Articles of Confederation”a. Land Ordinance of 1785 ( plans for surveying, sales)b. Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (orderly transformation

from territories to states)2. Land promised to War of 1812 volunteers (6 million

acres!)3. Funding westward extension of the National Road (1816)

a. Now US route 40b. Reached Mississippi river by 1838c. Beginning of the end for Indians claims to land

E. Indian Removal1. Huge problems in southwest (modern MS, AL, and N.W. GA, TN)

a. Large areas held by the 5 “Civilized Tribes” (Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, Cherokee and Seminole)

b. Many half bloods among tribal groupsi. half bloods influentialii. farmed, prayed, owned slaves like whitesiii. full bloods more likely to cling to tribal lands

2. 1820s - AL, MS, GA white legislatures pressure Indiansa. survey tribal lands, allow “squatters” on themb. pass laws discriminating against Indians, keeping them

from legal recourse

The southern gold rush, the first in U.S. history, reached Georgia with the discovery of the Dahlonega Gold Belt in 1829. The Georgia gold fields, however, lay in and around Cherokee territory. In 1830 the State of Georgia extended its authority over the area, and two years later the land was raffled off in a lottery. Although they resisted this land grab through the courts, the Cherokees were eventually driven west along the Trail of Tears into what is today northeastern Oklahoma

Discovery of gold In Georgia in 1829, made Cherokee land desirable to miners, 10 years later the Cherokee and others were deported to Indian Territory (Oklahoma)

c. President Jackson, Indian hater, approvesi. pushed passage of Indian Removal Act of 1830ii. authorized exchange of western public lands

(Oklahoma territory) for Tribal landsiii. allocated $500,000 to pay for the move (grossly

insufficient) d. Results during Jackson’s administrations (1829-37)

i. 100 million acres of Indian land exchanged for 32 million of public land

ii. Seminole war (they didn’t want to leave) cost $20 million alone, 1500 lives

Andrew Jackson 1767-1845 Seventh President 1829-1837 “Old Hickory”

Born in a backwoods settlement in the Carolinas in 1767, he received sporadic education, but in his late teens he read law for about two years, and he became an outstanding young lawyer in Tennessee.

According to Daniel Webster, Thomas Jefferson in retirement said of Jackson in December of 1824 during a meeting with Webster:"I feel much alarmed at the prospect of seeing General Jackson President. He is one of the most unfit men I know of for such a place. He has had very little respect for laws or constitutions, and is, in fact, an able military chief. His passions are terrible. When I was President of the Senate he was a Senator; and he could never speak on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen him attempt it repeatedly, and as often choke with rage. His passions are no doubt cooler now; he has been much tried since I knew him, but he is a dangerous man."

In 1825, the Cherokee national legislature established a capital called New Echota. A thriving town, this new governmental seat became headquarters for the small independent Indian nation that once covered present-day northern Georgia, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northwestern Alabama.

New EchotaState Historic Site

3. Cherokees, Andrew Jackson and John Marshalla. 1827 - Cherokee proclaim independent republic in NW GAb. GA legislature claims state jurisdiction over same territory

i. Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)ii. denies claim of an independent republic, instead they

are a “domestic dependent nation” iii. Worcester v. Georgia clarifies Cherokees to be a “distinct

political community” entitled to Federal protection - Jackson ignored the ruling

iv. Treaty of New Echota (1835) all Cherokee lands in the US sold for 5.6 million, and a free trip to the new “Indian Territory” (modern Oklahoma)

v. Congress ratifies , almost all Cherokees denounce itc. US Army forcibly relocates almost all Cherokees (some

remain in western NC hills, still there today) of all removed west, 1/3 to 1/4 die on the way “The Trail of Tears”

Jackson

Jackson’s hatred of Indians was a matter of record, and led to his being willing to defy the U.S. Supreme Court and order the removal of the Cherokee from Georgia to Oklahoma

4. Northwest Indiansa. Same final result as Cherokee

i. Red Bird leads Winnebago rebellion, crushedii. Black Hawk’s War

A) Chief of Sac and Fox tribes, resists removalB) moves 1831 across Mississippi, but returns

following yearC) 1832, Illinois militia (including young Abraham

Lincoln) and federal troops attack, annihilate Black Hawk and followers, as they tried to recross into Iowa

D) most others got the “message” went to Indian Territory

5. 1832 to 1837a. US took 190 million acres in the “Old Northwest”b. Paid $70 million in gifts and annual paymentsc. Typically, there was little relationship between which

tribal groups had control of the land and those chiefs who signed the treaties. (“they all look alike??”)

Black HawkSac/Fox chiefLeader of Black Hawk’s rebellion,killed

Red Bird, WinnebagoResisted deportation, killed

Keokuk, Sac/Fox chief, refused to support Black Hawk. Took money and gifts from Americans, went to Indian territory

F. Agricultural Boom1. Post war of 1812 farm prices high2. Move west for better farm land3. Brisk demand in Europe for corn and wheat4. Urbanization builds dependence on commercial

farms5. Mississippi natural highway from midwest to Gulf6. Cotton Gin

a. 1793, Eli Whitney from 1 slave cleaning 1 pound per day to 50 pounds per hour!

b. Large demand in Europe for cotton clothc. 1815 - MS and AL half nation’s cotton

productiond. By 1836 cotton 2/3 of all US exports. “Cotton

was King”

From 1820-1860 world cotton production increases 5% per year. US production keeps up the pace, growing almost logarithmically 1800-1850. By 1850, cotton represents 2/3 of all US exports.

Whitney’s Cotton Gin, 1794

II. Growth of The Market EconomyA. Cash crops - crops raised for market, vice family

consumption1. In South, cotton, slave dependent for

production2. Risks

a. Frequently had to borrow to get crop in ground or to buy the “ground”

b. Long wait till harvestc. Weather dependent

3. Land Policya. Early preference for orderly settlement of Public

Domaini. Ordinance of 1785 - orderly procedures for

survey and salesii. Federalists wanted to slow westward

movement (eroded their northeastern powerbase)A) Federalists encouraged sales to speculatorsB) Republicans (Jefferson) reduced minimum

purchase amount from 640 acres (a section) which most farmers couldn’t afford to 320 in 1800, @ $2/acre

C) 160 acres in 1804 @ $1.64/acre D) 80 acres in 1820, 40 acres in 1832 @

$1.25/acre

b. Speculatorsi. bought sections, subdivided as small as 40 acresii. could clear only 10 to 12 acres annually anywayiii. US Bank recharter spurred bank note production

A) Plethora of speculation 1815-1819B) 1819 Panic crashed the economy

c. Squattersi. settled on unimproved land regardless of

ownershipii. generally gained right of “preemption” (allowed to

purchase and register land at minimum $ that they had settled and improved) only before land was sold to speculators

iii. Had to forgo subsistence crops to pay off debts iv. forced to produce cash crops to make money,

exhausted land, moved on

B. Panic of 18191. Land boom collapsed

a. State banks poor management caused much of itb. Proliferation of bank notes, farmers borrowed heavily

to buy more landc. US Bank insisted on specie vice paper to repay loans

to state banksd. Land prices from $69/acre to $2/acre!!e. Farm market prices bottomedf. Farmers couldn’t repay loans, went bustg. Horribly bad press for US Bank, (A. Jackson lost

money in the crash too!!)

The panic was frightening in its scope and impact. In New York State, property values fell from $315 million in 1818 to $256 million in 1820. In Richmond, property values fell by half. In Pennsylvania, land values plunged from $150 an acre in 1815 to $35 in 1819. In Philadelphia, 1808 individuals were committed to debtors' prison. In Boston, the figure was 3500.

C. Transportation revolution1. Midwest rivers north/south2. Need for waterway improvement3. 1807- Robert Fulton’s Clermont first successful

steamboat in worlda. Gained monopoly from NY to run a ferry

service to NJb. Challenged in fed. Court in Gibbons v

Ogden (John Marshall ruled Fed. Power to regulate interstate commerce overruled NY state legislature)

c. Causes numerous state granted monopolies to collapse

The Clermont, Robert Fulton’s first steamboat, sail up the Hudson on its first run from New York City, 1807

Robert Fulton, (1765-1815) American painter and inventor

Various scenes of the Erie Canal. Lower left is the Seneca Chief, first barge through the canal in 1825, the painting is contemporaneous. The Canal still operates today over much of its 360 mile length. It has 83 locks and at minimum is 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep!

4. Steamboat cause revolution in Mississippi/Ohio transportationa. Caused decrease in interest in turnpikes,

interest shift to canalsb. Thought of connecting Great Lakes/Mississippi

by canal (actually done today)c. 1817-1825 - Erie Canal completed links Hudson

River to Lake Eried. Brief canal building boom in North, ended as

panic of 1837 and rise of cheaper railroads (beginning in 1830)

e. After 1830s Railroads attract far more investment, track cheaper than canal digging

Steamboat on Mississippi ca 1855. Design hadn’t changed much since 1820s. Flat bottom and stern wheel were essential for navigating the shallow and treacherous Mississippi

5. Railroads - First (Baltimore and Ohio) chartered 1828a. easier than canal to go through mountainsb. slow growth

i. non-standard track gaugesii. cheap constructioniii. still cheaper for bulk cargo by wateriv. east coast to Great Lakes by rail by 1850

6. Growth of citiesa. Accelerated by transportation revolutionb. Most intense 1820-1860

i. NYC from 124,000 (1820) to 800,000 in 1860ii. towns on canals boomed (ex Rochester NY,

from sleepy town to Flour City by 1830)iii. River cities thrive more than landlocked

Decorated plate commemorating the B&O railroad

A steam locomotive called the Dewitt Clinton hauled carriages on railroad tracks in the early 1830s

Modern reproduction of an early type of engine

III. Industrial BeginningsA. New England and textiles lead as agriculture in region

wanes in importance1. Lowell Mills in Mass, 10 times capacity of previous

cotton mills2. By 1836, 8 mills, 9000 workers (Lowell)

a. More complete than Slater’s Rhode Island millsb. Raw cotton in one end, cloth out the otherc. Hired young, unmarried women

i. carefully supervised as to living, working conditions

ii. nasty working conditions, hot, lint in air, humid

iii. self contained , vice other industries which still used “outwork”

A) piecework done in domestic settingsB) finishing/assembly done in factories

B. Mid Atlantic cities1. NY, Philadelphia also dependent on outwork2. Lacked New England’s falling streams 3. Small shops, piecework4. Artisans begin to form craftsmen groups, late

1820sa. Attempting to gain better wages, working

conditionsb. Many workers falling into poverty, in a

laissez -faire workplace and market place

Why is it difficult for the industrial revolution to come to America? • people wanted to be farmers, plenty of land

• had raw materials but not machines

• a lot of people had technological ingenuity, but very little specialized knowledge

• most people didn't have money or leisure to worry about luxuries

• England wanted to prevent industrialization in America

• negative attitude about impact of factories on society

• people invested their money in trade

Thomas Jefferson didn't think factories were a good idea, even though he liked gadgets • The new nation was to be a republic, which required a

balance of power, liberty, and virtue

• Who makes a good voter? a yeoman farmer--independent, self-respecting. “ You can't have republic without a virtuous citizenry.” ( Jefferson quote)

• The workers in British factory cities were clearly degraded

• The trade embargo by the British in 1807 that led eventually to the war of 1812 convinced Jefferson to change his mind

• The new nation couldn't afford to be dependent on England for imported goods

Factory Floor at Slater Mill Historic Site

IV. Equality and InequalityA. Widening rich-poor gap in early 1800s

1. Small % control majority of wealth2. Rich

a. Exhibit conspicuous consumption, flaunt wealthb. Live among peers, isolated from povertyc. Many Attempt to look ordinary in public, keep

appearances of equalityi. paying minimal wagesii. inadequate for male workers to provide

sufficiently from factory work for family3. Poor

a. Close to povertyb. More affected by panics - laid off, wages reducedc. Paupers (aged, sick) considered the “deserving”

poord. Drunks, loafers considered the “undeserving”

poor

4. Immigrantsa. Numerous, increasing in number as century

progressedb. Irish poorest, evicted by English landlords, many

came to USi. most canal diggers on Erie were Irishii. Five Points district in NYC horrible slum,

predominately Irish (See “Gangs of New York”) iii. Catholic as well as poor, double whammy for

the Irishiv. widely discriminated against (“dogs and Irish

keep off the grass”, “Help wanted Irish need not apply”)

5. Free Blacks in Northa. Bottom of non slave social scaleb. Many discriminative laws in Northc. Most lost vote between 1800-1850, or had

restrictions which didn’t apply to whitesd. segregation widely practiced in schools,

hospitals, etc i. barred from many municipal facilities

open to whitesii. forced into lowest paying jobsiii. paid less than whites for same work in most

casese. Churches

i. Blacks form own churchesii. African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.)

Founded 1816, in Philadelphia by Richard Allen (first A.M.E. bishop)

6. “Middling” classesa. Professionals, small merchants, landowner

farmersb. Artisans moved into this sphere in some

casesc. Some moved into greater business

(contractors, sales, entrepreneurship)d. Much higher degree of mobility. Transience

than earlier generations, by steamboat, rail

B. Changing Social relationships1. Principal motives

a. questioning authorityi. more than any other world cultureii. spirit of 1776, and all that stuff

b. notion of women’s “separate sphere” in the homei. no social rights to speak of outside homeii. more authority inside home, family circle

2. Attacking the professionsa. decrease in respect for educated professionals among

middle, lower classesb. value of training, degrees minimized by manyc. value of the “self made” man emphasized d. made ministers more transient, subject to dismissal

by congregations e. frontier respected authority little, titles assumed by

anyone who cared to, “judge”, “colonel”, “squire”

3. Family authority questioneda. more choice of spouses by womenb. working outside home by choicec. longer engagementsd. women who remained single rather than forfeit

independencee. Wives and husbands

i. Separate spheresA) mothers expected to be the experts in child rearingB) father provider role unchanged, mother role increased

in scopeC) Idealized home, provider father, expert child rearing

mother in a safe haven away from trials and evilsii. Women’s issues

i. birthrate gradually decrease - farming becomes less prevalent in northeast

ii. Various forms of pregnancy prevention, including unnamed abortions in many cases

iii. separate spheres seen by many (mostly men) as an alternate to real equality of rights.

Architect A.J. Downing designed single family, ideal homes with comfortable rooms and wide windows

d. Horizontal allegiances and Voluntary associationsi. Vertical Allegiances - typical “chain of authority” top to

bottomA) employee or individual identifies self interest with

superiors in chain of commandB) family hierarchy, apprentice-journeyman-foreman-boss

relationshipii. Horizontal allegiances

A) workers organizations, for exampleB) more in common with each other than with the bossC) fraternal organizations, debating societies

iii. All these voluntary associations, not government ordained or even sanctionedA) encouraged sociabilityB) many gender specificC) some moralistic in nature

Generally any workingman’s organization that even looked, smelled or acted remotely like a union was met with hostility by businessman and government alike.

Quick Review!

14th Congress (1815)

Chartered national bank Enacted a protective tariff Debated federally funded system of

roads and canals Many argued that national independence would be achieved

through subsidies to commerce and manufactures

Government and Markets

Henry ClaySecond Bank of the United

States (1816)

The American System:The Bank of the United States

(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun Tariff of 1816 Internal Improvements

Presidents Madison and James Monroe oppose internal improvements

State government and internal improvements Erie Canal

The American System: Tariffs and Internal Improvements

Courts prioritize legal principles desired by merchant class

John MarshallDartmouth College v. Woodward (1816)McCulloch v. Maryland (1816)Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

State courts: right to develop property for business purposes more important than neighborhood wishes

Markets and the Law

After 1815: dramatic improvements in transportation: Roads Steamboats Canals Railroads

Tied communities together Made a market society physically possible

The Transportation Revolution

Land transport very expensive compared to water

flatboatsKeelboatsEarliest steamboats

Transportation in 1815

Transportation revolutionNational RoadRobert Fulton

Clermont

Improvements: Roads and Rivers

(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

Baltimore and Ohio RailroadErie Canal

DeWitt ClintonModel for canal boom across

countryNew York Central

Improvements: Canals and Railroads

Rivers, Roads,

and Canals, 1825-1860

Freight costs went downSpeeds improvedMarket revolutionForeign trade continued to expand

Growing internal domestic market

Time and Money

Market-driven economy: “market revolution” Farmers trade their surpluses for urban

products Until 1840 markets more regional than

national North will become unified market in 1840s

and 1850s

Markets and Regions

Many young people of Northeast left for cities and factory towns, or headed West

Remaining generations began new forms of agriculture

Northwest was transformed from wilderness into cash-producing farms

From Yeomen to Businessmen: The Rural North and West

New England farmers could not compete with western, frontier farmers

Livestock raising replaced mixed farming for many New Englanders – transformed the woodlands into open pastures

Factories and cities of Northeast provided Yankee farmers a market for their meats and perishables

More pasture, less cropland

Shaping the Northern Landscape

Position of outworkers declinesManufacture began to

concentrate in factoriesOutworkers were reduced to

dependence on merchants, who began to control the labor of outworkers

The Transformation of Rural Outwork

New England farmers became customers for necessities that they had once either produced or acquired through barterCoal, cotton cloth, straw hats, shoes

1820s: storekeepers increased their stock in trade by 45%

Material standards of living roseIncreased dependence on and vulnerability

to markets

Farmers as Consumers

1830: northeasterners migrated to the Northwest via the Erie Canal and on Great Lakes steamboats

Wisconsin and MichiganImmigrants from Germany and

ScandinaviaNew settlers: receptive to improvements in

farming techniques and intensive agriculture

The Northwest: Northern Migrants

19th Century: Americans begin to limit the size of their households

Commercialization of agriculture closely associated with the new concept of housework: Male work vs. female work New expectations of female tasks

New notions of privacy, decency, domestic comforts

Emergence of separate kitchens and bedrooms

Households

1820-1870: American cities grew faster than ever before or since

Seaport cities gain more from commerce with interior than overseas

Beginnings of industry and the greatest period of urban growth in U.S. history

The Industrial Revolution

Jeffersonians—factory towns are bad and overcrowded with dependent masses

Neo-Federalists: U.S. can make decentralized factories

Richard ArkwrightSamuel Slater

Rhode Island (or family) system

Factory Towns:The Rhode Island System

Acceptance of urban class divisions: Seaport merchants and wealthy men of

finance new middle class impoverished producers, laborers

Commercial classes transformed the look and feel of American cities

Downtown business offices Main Street storefronts Shopping markets in Boston, Philadelphia,

Rochester

Urban Businessmen

Growth in amount of laborers who made consumer goods

Pre-1850s: few goods were made in mechanized factories – most were made by hand

Urban working class Clothing and shoe manufacturing

Men skilled labor, women unskilled Social distinctions between manual and

non-manual labor

Metropolitan Industrialization

Cotton belt extended into Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana

1840s: cotton accounted for one-half to two-thirds the value of all U.S. exports

South produced three-fourths the world’s cotton supply

The Market Revolution in the South