Chapter 11

1. Chapter 11 Vote: It’s Your Right Section 1: The Country Becomes More Democratic

2. Industries Develop Slowly • Industry grew very slowly during this time for several reasons: • Bad market for manufactured goods • 90% of Americans lived in rural areas • Farmers had little need of money and manufactured goods • Business with farmers was not profitable • U.S. manufacturers couldn’t compete with British goods • American cities didn’t have enough workers • Money was hard to get to start a factory • Loans were not given to most people

3. Industries Begin to Grow • Industry began to bloom in 1791, this is mostly due to a man named Samuel Slater • He was a mechanic born in England • Before he left England he memorized plans to build a machine • Once in America he got funding from Moses Brown and was able to build a cotton thread machine • This was the beginning of America’s ability to compete with other nations • The only problem now was that cotton was hard to pick, therefore not very much was gathered at a time and it was expensive

4. Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin • Eli Whitney was studying law when he traveled the country and saw the conditions of slaves • He wanted to improve their working conditions • He developed a machine in 1793 that separated the cotton very quickly and saved much time in the process • He figured this would make labor easier for slaves and fewer would be needed • He figured wrong, the cotton gin encouraged the expansion of plantations • Which in turn created a need for more slaves and ended up making the conditions worse

5. Farm Tools Improve • All farming was done by hand in the past • In 1834 a man named Cyrus McCormick invented a machine that would harvest wheat, called a reaper • This made farming on a large scale much more possible

6. Chapter 11 Section 2: Transportation

7. Improving Transportation • During this time transportation was slow and expensive • So in the 1790’s a turnpike was built: travelers would pay tolls to use the road • In 1811 the National Road was started by the government • This road spread to the west nearly 600 miles

8. Water Transportation • Transporting by water was slow, difficult, and expensive • Men would have to push the boats with supplies with a long pole • In 1807 Robert Fulton traveled in a steam-powered boat that he had invented • This paved the way to make water transportation much faster • This caused water travel to become the least expensive means to transport goods

9. The Canal Period • First major canal developed was the Erie Canal • This waterway connected the New York to Lake Erie • This became known as the gateway to the west • Ships could quickly travel through it and very cheaply • Shipping costs dropped from $100 to $5 for a ton of grain

10. The Railroad Changes the Nation • Other means of transportation were improving, but nothing improved transportation more than the railroad • 1st railroad built was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and it was 14 mile long • Railroads were the superior mode of transportation

11. Chapter 11 Section 3: Communication

12. Communication Improves • In 1844 Samuel B. Morse developed the telegraph • This invention brought major changes to communication

13. Overseas Messages Are Made Possible • Cyrus Field laid an underwater cable from Newfoundland to Ireland in 1858 • It had many problems, however opened communication between the America’s and Europe

14. The Pony Express • These were lightweight, daring riders would gallop a horse full speed • Every 10 miles or so there would be a fresh horse waiting • Despite the dangers these young riders would speed across the country to deliver mail • This system was used for 18 months until the telegraph was brought to California

15. Chapter 11 Section 4: Population

16. The Population Grows • In 1790 the population was 4 million • In 1820 it had doubled • Then by 1830 the population was 13 million • Immigration was one reason for the growth • The larger reason was birthrates were very high

17. Early Immigration • From 1790 to 1820 about 50,000 immigrants arrived each year • By 1830 newer, faster, safer ships had be built to make the trip much better • Many nations around the world were interested in coming to America

18. The Irish and German Immigration • Potato crop was nearly a complete failure in Ireland in 1846 • Potatoes were Irish major source of food • Many had no food, so they had no choice but to leave Ireland for America • By 1850 almost 1 million Irish were living in the U.S. • People from Germany also wanted to move • Most left to escape political conditions • By 1850 nearly ½ million Germans were in the U.S.

19. Chapter 11 Section 5: Education

20. The Early System of Education • Not all kids had a chance to get an education • Typically only those with money could go • Public education was not a popular idea • Poorer families needed their children at home to help work • There were only a few public schools, that were very poor, and mainly taught religion • Most teachers were not educated, they could however read and write

21. Educational Changes Begin • Working-class people in New England found that there was importance to an education • Horace Mann recognized Massachusetts’ school system and placed it under state control and funding • All children were required to attend • He made all schools have the same program of study • Made teachers have to be trained to teach • This idea started to spread • However, there were still only 1 in 6 children that would attend school

22. Chapter 11 Section 6: Other Major Events

23. American Culture Develops • At first most American’s lived at they had in Europe • After awhile though they finally started to develop their own culture • Artists and writers of that time recorded the rapid changed that took place

24. American Literature • 1815-1860 writers and poets wrote about American life as it was • Most of the stories told during that time are now considered classics • They portrayed America as a special place for people all over the nation

25. Writers of Importance • Washington Irving: one of the earliest writers. Wrote “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” • James Fenimore Cooper: wrote books such as “The Last of the Mohicans” and “The Deer-slayer” • Herman Melville: wrote the classic “Moby Dick”, one of the most exciting stories every written • Nathaniel Hawthorne: wrote “The Scarlet Letter” and Twice-Told Tales • Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, George Bancroft, and Ralph Waldo Emerson also made many contributions

26. Slavery Is Attacked • Slavery writers helped to bring attention to slavery during this time period • One of the most famous was a Harriet Beecher Stowe • She wrote a novel called “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” • This novel depicted just how awful slaves were being treated by their owners • She pulled on her own memories to what she witnessed as a child

27. Slavery is Attacked • Another very important writer of the time was a an ex-slave named Frederick Douglass • He was self-taught and, and excellent speaker, as well as writer • He published an anti-slavery newspaper named “The North Star”

28. American Poets • Some American poets wrote about how wonderful the country was, while others focused on its problems • There are many famous poets from this time, such as: James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow