Chapter 10: American’s Economic Revolution

“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION I:

1)How did the population of America change in the first half of the 19th century? What reactions were there to some of those changes?

  1. The Changing American Population
  1. The American Population, 1820-1840—What were the three trends that characterized American population?
  1. Reasons for Population Increase—How did population change from 1790 to 1840? What were some reasons for population growth? How did immigration contribute to the growth rate? Where did many immigrants come from? Where did many of them settle? What caused the rise of New York City?
  1. Immigration and Urban Growth 1840-1860
  1. Rapid Urbanization—How did population change again in the 1840’s? Which cities became predominant during this time? Why was their location beneficial?
  2. Surging Immigration—How many more Europeans immigrated to America during this time?
  3. German and Irish Immigrants—What countries did the majority of immigrants come from? What caused many people to emigrate? What jobs did these immigrants often have and why?
  1. The Rise of Nativism—How did native born Americans view immigrants? What is “nativism”? What forms did nativism take? What were the arguments of native born Americans toward immigrants?
  1. Native American Party—Who were the “Know- Nothings”? What did they do and what was their goal?
  2. The Know-Nothings—What was the American Party? What happened in the elections of 1854?

“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION II:

1)What technological innovations fueled the growth of America during the early 19th century? How did these innovations heighten sectional differences?

  1. Transportation, Communications, and Technology
  1. The Canal Age—Why were the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers important?
  1. Steamboats—In what ways did steamboats improve in the 1820s? What was the problem with this form of trade? What became the new solution?
  2. Economic advantages of Canals—What were the economic advantages of canals? Who was the first to react to construction?
  3. The Erie Canal—What did the canal provide for the growing markets of cities? What did canals do for the population of the Northwest?
  1. The Early Railroads
  1. Technological Basis of the Railroad
  1. The Triumph of the Rails
  1. Consolidation
  1. Innovations in Communications and Journalism
  1. The Telegraph
  2. The Associated Press
  3. Fueling Sectional Discord

“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION III:

1)What technological innovations fueled the growth of America during the early 19th century? How did these innovations heighten sectional differences?

  1. Commerce and Industry
  1. The Expansion of Business, 1820-1840
  1. Advantages of the Corporation
  2. Inadequate Credit
  1. The Emergence of the Factory
  1. Transformation of the Shoe Industry
  2. The Industrial Northeast—How much of the nation’s manufactured goods came from the Northeast?
  1. Advances in Technology
  1. Interchangeable Parts
  2. Technological Innovations
  1. Men and Women at Work
  1. Recruiting a Native Workforce—What percent of people worked and lived on farms in the 1820s?
  1. Transformation of American Agriculture—What happened to food production and why? How did the production of agriculture change in the United States? Where did many rural residents go? What were the two systems of recruitment? How did labor condition of the United States contrast with those of the English industry?
  2. The Lowell System—What was the “Lowell System”? In what ways was employment different for women in America?
  3. Women Workers—Why was it difficult for women to adjust to working in mills?
  4. Decline of the Lowell System—What happened to the economy in the 1830s and 1840s? What did Lowell mill workers do as a result of this? Who was Sarah Bagley and what did she do?
  1. The Immigrant Workforce
  1. Economic Advantages of Immigrant Labor—For what reasons did immigrants become the new workforce? What work did they do and why? How did the arrival of Irish workers change working conditions? What was the average workday like?
  1. The Factory System and the Artisan Tradition
  1. De-Skilling—Why was there competition between artisans and industry?
  2. National Trade Unions—What are unions? Who was a part of unions? Why did the early craft union not fare well?
  1. Fighting the Control—What kinds of laws were passed in some states?
  1. Commonwealth v. Hunt—What was the ruling of Commonwealth v. Hunt? Did this change the union movement? How did Artisans and skilled workers differ?
  2. Female Protected Unions—What kind of unions did women establish?
  3. America’s Divided Working Class—What led to the growth of effective labor resistance? Why was there tension between natives and immigrants?
  1. “Free Labor”—What was the most important idea of the time? What freedoms did many people not have? What was the debated issue of the 1840s and 1850s? Who was denied freedoms?

“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION V:

1)How did increasing industrialization and urbanization affect society in terms of class and gender?

  1. Patterns of Industrial Society
  1. The Rich and the Poor
  1. Increasing Inequality in Wealth
  2. The Urban Poor
  3. African American Poverty
  1. Social Mobility
  1. Social Mobility
  1. Middle-Class Life
  1. Rapidly Expanding Middle Class
  2. New Household Inventions
  3. Growing Class Distinctions
  1. The Changing Family
  1. Declining Economic Role of the Family
  2. Falling Birth Rates
  1. Women and the “Cult of Domesticity”—What were some traditional ways that women had been treated differently from men?
  1. Female Education—What education were women allowed (and not allowed) to acquire?
  2. New Roles for Women—What roles did women acquire?
  3. Women’s Separate Sphere—What “women’s culture” developed?
  4. Benefits and Costs—What were the benefits and costs of the “cult of domesticity”?
  1. The Agricultural North
  1. Northeastern Agriculture
  1. Truck Farming in the Northeast
  1. The Old Northwest
  1. Industrialization in the Old Northwest
  2. Agricultural Specialization
  3. New Agricultural Technologies
  4. McCormick Reaper
  1. Rural Life
  1. Importance of Religion in Rural Communities