economic and social divisions between north and south
TRANSCRIPT
Economic and Social Divisions between North
and South
SectionalismConcern for local
needs and culture supersede interest in the national good
The North became increasingly concerned with industry while the South remained an agrarian, slave-based society
New technology fuels sectionalism
Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin
Developed in 1794Machine that separated
usable cotton from its seeds
Made cotton farming more profitable and led to the rise of “King Cotton”, the South’s dependency on the cotton trade
Growth in the cotton trade led to further growth in slavery
Interchangeable partsEli Whitney also
developed the idea of making mechanical products out of standardized parts
If a part broke, it could be replaced easily with another part just like it
Whitney first applied this to muskets
Samuel Slater’s“Factory System”
1768 – 1835British cotton mill
manager who violated British emigration law to come to US
British did not want secrets of their industrial technologies to spread to other countries
Francis C. Lowell1775 – 1817Studied British
textile mills before returning to US and building first industrialized textile mill in the country, in Massachusetts
One of the first businesses to sell stock to raise capital
Lowell GirlsFactory workers in
Lowell’s millsAveraged over 70
hours a weekHad to attend church
services, maintain a strict moral standard
Stood up for labor rights by going on strikes, pushing for labor laws
Sewing machinesDeveloped by Elias
Howe from work of others and patented in 1846
Opened the way for mass product of finished textiles (cheap, store-bought clothes and linens)
Why did the North industrialize?
Easy to get loansFew government
restrictionsLow tax ratesCheap labor available due
to immigration States passed laws which
protected business owners from liability to investors for losses
Many streams and rivers to provide water power
Technology encourages westward expansion, ties North to West
The Erie CanalCompleted in 1825Connected Lake
Erie to Hudson River
Cheap way to travel for families heading west
Connected NYC to Great Lakes, making NYC top commercial center in US
SteamboatsFirst put into
practical commercial use in US in 1807 by Robert Fulton
Quickly became the preferred means of travel along major US rivers and the Great Lakes
The National Road
Built between 1811 – 1839US government never finished the road
Toll roads & turnpikes
Privately ownedBy 1821: 4000
miles of toll roads built (almost all in North)
Mainly built between Northern cities or to connect the West to Northern cities
RailroadsMiles of railroad in
US1830: 401840: 27551850: 85711860: 28,9201870: 49,1681880: 87,8011890: 163,562
Miles of railroad in South
1830: 101840: 7371850: 20821860: 79081870: 10,6101880: 14,4581890: 27,833
“Tom Thumb”1830First American
built locomotiveBuilt by Peter
CooperTraveled at 10 mph
along a 13 mile track around Baltimore
Used as a demo only
TelegraphDeveloped by
Samuel Morse in 1837
Allowed long-distance communication through coded electrical impulses sent through wires
Allowed news to travel quickly through the nation
Steel plow
Iron plows worked poorly in American Midwest due to loamy soil
Steel plow developed by blacksmith John Deere in 1837
Tens-of-thousands sold, made the Great Plains “America’s Bread Basket”
McCormick ReaperHorse-drawn
machine which harvested wheat; harvest now required less labor
Invented by Cyrus McCormick (with the help of a slave) in 1834
Went into mass production in 1847