U.S. History
Fort Burrows
14.2 -- Life in the North
Read Pgs 413 – 417
Main Idea:
Industry in the North changed with the arrival of new immigrants and the efforts of factory workers to improve their working conditions.
Vocabulary:
artisans - skilled worker
trade unions - association of trade workers formed to gain higher wages and
better working conditions
strike - refusal by workers to do their jobs until their demands are met
famine - severe food shortage
nativist - person who wanted to limit immigration and preserve the US for
native-born, white citizens
Know-Nothing Party - political party of the1850s that was anti-Catholic
and anti-immigrant
discrimination - policy or attitude that denies equal rights to certain groups of people
Setting the Scene:
Alzina Parsons never forgot her thirteenth birthday. The day began as usual, with work in the local spinning mill. Suddenly, Alzina cried out. She had caught her hand in the spinning machine, badly mangling her fingers. The foreman summoned the factory doctor. He cut off one of the injured fingers and sent the girl back to work.
Twenty years earlier, such an incident probably would not have occurred. Factory work was hard, but mill owners treated workers like human beings. By the 1840’s, however, there was an oversupply of workers. Many factory owners treated workers like machines.
Factory Conditions Become Worse
Factories were very different from mills
Factories were larger, employees worked longer hours and were paid less
Employees usually lived very close to the factories
§A Change in Values
Mass production verses artisans
Quantity verses Quality
Artisans could own their own business
Factory workers rarely rose to management positions
§Families in Factories
Entire families worked in the factory; Mom, Dad, and ALL the kids
Work would begin as early as 4:00am and not end until as late as 7:30pm
§Hazards at Work
Few windows – no fresh air to circulate
No heating systems; extreme cold winters
No air conditioning; not yet invented
No laws regulating factory conditions; many accidents and injuries
Workers Join Together
§Trade Unions and Strikes
1st workers to organize in a union were the artisans
1820s artisans united to form trade unions
Demanding shorter work days, more $$ money, better working conditions (more chicken in their lunch soup)
If the company refused, they would strike
Some strikes were considered illegal by law
Employers could just fire the striking employees and hire new workers
§Progress for Artisans
1840, President Van Buren approved a 10-hour work day for gov’t employees
1842, Massachusetts courts declared their strike LEGAL
Artisans received higher wages due to their skills
Common, unskilled workers were easily replaced
§Women Workers Organize
Women workers in New England textiles protested wages and unfair work rules
Women earned less $$ than men workers
They were not welcome in the unions
1840, Lowell’s Girls form a female union
Sarah Bagley organized the Lowell Female Labor Reform
A New Wave of Immigrants
1840 to 1850, 4 million immigrants came to the United States
Many, ironically, came from Great Britain; their skills as machinist, as carpenters and as miners allowed them to earn higher wages in the US compared to GB
§From Ireland and Germany
1840, a disease destroyed the POTATO crop in Ireland
Potatoes were the main food source of the poor people
Ireland was under British rule; most Irish crops ( wheat and oats ) were exported to England
This caused a famine; thousands died from starvation
1845 to 1860, 1.5 million Irish fled to the United States
Harsh weather in Germany between 1829 and 1830 resulted in a severe food shortage
By 1832, 10,000 Germans came to the US
1848, Germany was in a revolution; the revolt failed
Between 1848 and 1860 about 1 million Germans immigrated to the US
§Enriching the Nation
Immigrants supplied much needed labor in the US; this helped the US economy GROW!!!
Many Irish settled in the Northern cities; they worked in low-paying factories, built new canals and railroads
German immigrants came to US with money and bought farmland in the West
Towns like St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati had German grocers, butchers, and bakers
German Jews began immigrating to US in 1820s
By 1860, there were about 150 communities with large Jewish populations
¿¿ What social and economical contributions did Irish and German immigrants make to the United States ?
______.
§A Reaction Against Immigrants
Nativists wanted to preserve the US, natural-born, white Protestant people
Their motto, “Americans must rule America”
Limit immigration, increase the pre-set time you must live in US from 5 years to 21 years before you could gain voting rights
‘Newcomers stole our jobs’ and They’re Catholic!!!!
As they grew in numbers, nativists formed a political party,
Know-Nothing Party
(when ask any question the members would reply, ‘I know nothing’)
In 1856 Presidential election, their candidate won 21% of the popular vote
Soon after, the Know Nothing Party died away
Many Americans blamed the countries problems on immigrants
African Americans in the North
During the early years, slavery was legal in the North
By the early 1800s, all Northern states declared slavery illegal
As a results of this, many free African Americans lived in the North
The first known Africans to arrive in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, landed in 1645 at a wharf near what in now Prescott Park. For the next 350 years, African Americans, both enslaved and free, would be part of this seacoast town
§Denied Equal Rights
Being ‘free’ does not equal ‘rights’
Blacks could not – vote, serve on juries, be elected to office, etc.
White workers seemed very prejudice against even skilled black workers; they would not work in the same shops with freedmen
Immigrants created competition for the ‘bottom’, low-pay jobs
§Some Success
William Whipper was the exception; he was a wealthy lumber-yard owner in Pennsylvania
Whipper devoted much time and money toward ending slavery
Henry Boyd was a successful furniture store owner in Cincinnati
Henry Blair invented a corn planter and a cottonseed planter
1845, Macon Allen became the 1st black licensed lawyer in the US
John Russwurm became the editor of the 1st African American newspaper
¿¿ What was life like for African Americans in the North ?
______.
1. Between 1840 and1860, the number of European immigrants entering the United States…
A. steadily increased
B. steadily declined
C. dramatically increased and then returned to previous levels
D. remained about the same
2. How were conditions in the 1840s worse than those in the 1820s ?
1______
2.______
3.______
3. What did factory workers hope to accomplish by joining together ?
1______
2.______
3.______
4. Who were the new immigrants in the mid-1800s ?
______.
5. How were free African Americans treated in the North ?
1______
2.______
3.______
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