Bell Ringer

1. Bell Ringer What is your family’s ethnic heritage? What ethnicity do you think most Americans share?

2. The Making of America Immigration and the Market Revolution

3. Coming to America America’s First Mass Migrants

4. The March of the Millions • By the mid 1800's the population continued to double every 25 years. • There were 33 states and America was the 4th largest nation in the world. • In 1790, only two cities had more than 20,000 people. By 1860, there were 43 cities that size. • The increase came from a high birthrate but also from immigration. • The appeal of America was for land, religious freedom, safety from wars, but mostly, just the opportunity for a better life than in Europe.

5. Where do Americans Come From?

6. 3 out of every 20 people are of German ancestry 1 out of every 10 people are of Irish heritage Many people are beginning to list themselves as “American” instead of their family origin. Where do Americans Come From?

7. The Blight

11. The Emerald Isle Moves West • In the 1840's, the potato crop failed and the "potato famine" resulted. 2 million Irish died. • During the "Black Forties" thousands of Irish emigrated to America searching for a better life. • From the American perspective, the Irish brought little to the table because they mostly were uneducated and poor. • They were also Catholic which was frowned upon. • Irish largely stayed in the cities on the east coast • From the beginning Americans looked down upon the Irish and gave them the worst and lowest-paying of jobs. Many places posted signs with “No Irish Need Apply” • Politicians quickly learned that there was power in the Irish vote and got their votes • Despite discrimination, the Irish were hard workers and stubbornly determined to make a better life for themselves. They worked hard, drank hard, and were passionate people who lived robust lives.

12. The German Forty-Eighters • 1848 - 1 million Germans came to America. • crop failure (as in Ireland) • to flee the chaos of war in 1848. • Moved to the Mid-West (the frontier) • Allowed them to continue their traditions in peace • The Germans gave America the Conestoga wagon, the Kentucky rifle, the Christmas tree, and kindergarten. • The Germans were unique in that… • They were Lutheran and clung to their native language. • They were outspokenly against slavery. • They drank large quantities of beer

13. Flare-ups of Antiforeignism • “Nativists”: Native-born Americans who did not like immigration and sought to ensure that immigrants were not allowed to hold public office. • Believed newcomers would cause the downfall of America • They were uneducated, poor, from non-democratic backgrounds, Catholic (in the Irish case), and willing to work for next to nothing (which drove down American wages). • Immigrants took the most dangerous and least desirable jobs • They found their way into politics to improve their situation.

14. Flare-ups of Antiforeignism • The "Order of the Star Spangled Banner" (AKA: The "Know-Nothings”): A nativist anti-immigration secret society; directed hatred mainly at Irish Catholics. • Attacked immigrant businesses, homes, and intimidated them at the polls. • When questioned about their activities, they would respond with “I know nothing.”

15. Political Machines • The surge of immigration to the cities left a void in the political structure. • Political machines developed to fill the needs of the immigrant classes • Tammany Hall • William “Boss” Tweed” • Most were corrupt, but did improve the cities infrastructure and encouraged citizens to vote.

16. The Market Revolution

17. Industrial Review • Change from human labor to machines • Development of new energy sources • Increased use of natural resources • Standardization of products • Effects on environment • Effects on politics and economics

18. Origins of American Industrialism • America had characteristics that enabled it to become an industrial powerhouse: • Had an increasing population – natural and immigrant (labor and consumers) • Abundance of raw materials • Economic increase due to British blockade and improved transportation • Still, America struggled to compete with the British in manufacturing. The U.S. simply couldn't produce goods as fast and cheap as the Brits.

19. The Father of the Factory System • Samuel Slater (“Father of the Factory System”) • Built the first spinning machine in America • Slater’s machine created a shortage of cotton fiber

20. Raw Cotton

21. Eli Whitney: The Cotton Gin • Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which separated the fiber from the seed (1793). • Caused the South to expand its cotton producing land and increase its desire for slaves • The cotton gin caused the North to expand its factories for spinning and weaving cloth.

22. Crowning “King Cotton”

23. Midwest Farming • Major Inventions • John Deere steel plow. It enabled farmers to cut into the fertile but hard Midwestern soil. • Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical mower-reaper (for harvesting wheat) • The Midwestern farmers now had a problem—how to get their crops to the markets (cities) back in the East.

24. Eli Whitney: Interchangeable Parts • Eli Whitney created “interchangeable parts” while on contract for the US Army • Industrialism flourished in the North using this method

25. Mass Production • The method of production of large amounts of standardized products efficiently and cheaply. • Interchangeable parts • Machine tools • Division of labor

26. Changes to Business • “Limited Liability Corporation” (LLC): Ensured that if the company went bad, an investor could lose only what he'd invested (not everything he owned). • This assurance caused more people to invest in business and thus for businesses to grow.

27. Working Conditions • A side-effect of the factory system was the exploitation of workers. They came to be called "wage slaves." • Conditions in a typical factory were not good… • They were unsafe. • They were unhealthy. • Hours were long and wages were low. • Child labor was common. Childhood was short and harsh. • Unionization was illegal – seen as “criminal conspiracy”

28. Home Sweet Home Women and The Industrial Family

29. Women Go to Work • Preindustrial society • Women were responsible for helping out on farms as well as producing textiles and clothing in the home. • Industrial society • Women were being replaced by machines, but were needed to run and maintain the machines • Provided greater economic independence

30. The Lowell Mill Girls • Lowell, Mass. was well-known for employing young women to work in its textile factories. • Mainly farm girls who came to the cities for better job opportunities • The women worked, bunked in dorms, were escorted to church by overseers, were able to take classes, and were carefully guarded over with strict curfews and rules on dress and behavior.

31. Other Occupations • Other opportunities for women were in nursing, domestic service, and teaching. • Almost always, these working women were young and single. Once they married, the expectation was that they'd stay at home and raise their family. • School-teaching became an increasingly feminized occupation. • Domestic service was common; 1 in 10 white families employed at least one servant.

32. The Industrial Home • Families began to shrink in size. On a farm, another child was simply another worker—not so in the city. • This meant more child-centered families, where children were more closely cared for, and their spirit shaped, rather than “broken” • The home changed from a place of work (like on the farm) to a place of rest (away from the factory). This is when the phrase "Home Sweet Home" emerged.

33. Separate Spheres Ideology • Women were seen as inferior to men based upon physical observations: • The visual evidence that women were generally physically smaller than men • The belief that women had less physical stamina than men because they seemed to faint so much more (caused by the clothing worn by the two sexes and the amount of exercise they got). • The knowledge that women menstruated, and therefore were believed physically incapacitated every month, causing fatigue and temporary insanity. • The female nervous system was finer, more irritable, and more prone to overstimulation and fatigue than the male nervous system, because of the "unpredictable nature" of the female reproductive system. • Women had smaller brains than men. Natural scientists measured cranial capacity, and brain weight and correlated these with intelligence.

34. The Industrial Home • “Cult of Domesticity”/ Cult of True Womanhood: a cultural creed that glorified the customary functions of the homemaker. • Placed on a moral pedestal: piety, purity, submissiveness, domesticity • Caused middle class women to focus on bettering the moral lives of others (temperance movement, child labor, etc.)

35. Women and Society • Marriages were more often based on love, rather than parental “arrangement” • The desire for romance in relationships became popular in magazines, novels, and advertisements, as well as the rise of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day. • Families became more closely knit and affectionate

36. Living Conditions of the Social Classes Industrialization brought about a dramatic rise in the standard of living for all Americans. Despite these improvements, the uneven division of income between the working class and the wealthy caused resentment among workers.

37. Lower Class Living The poor families struggled to survive in crowded slums. The buildings they lived in were called tenements. They often had no windows, heat or inside bathrooms, and as many as 10 people slept in one small room. Outbreaks of cholera and typhoid were common. More than half of all babies died before their first birthday. Cities had no sewers and garbage was thrown into the street.

38. Middle Class Living The middle class included doctors, lawyers, and skilled crafts people. They lived just outside the inner city in row houses, or new apartment buildings. These homes often had a patch of lawn. In these neighborhoods, disease was kept under control. Many of the middle class joined clubs, bowling leagues and charity groups. It gave them a sense of community.

39. Upper Class Living • The very rich built mansions in the most prime parts of the city, or on lavish estates in the countryside. • The rich lived like royalty. They filled their homes with priceless art and gave lavish parties.

40. Building America’s Infrastructure Roads, canals, and steamboats, oh my!

41. Roadways The future growth and the economic backbone of the western states was dependent on transportation. The Lancaster Turnpike (a hard-surfaced highway) ran from Philadelphia to Lancaster, PA.

42. No Irish Need Apply Then I gets my dander rising And I'd like to black his eye To tell an Irish gentleman "No Irish Need Apply.“ I couldn't stand it longer So a hold of him I took And gave him such a welting As he'd get at Donnybrook. He hollered, "Miliamurther,“ And to get away did try, And swore he'd never write again "No Irish Need Apply.“ Well he made a big apology, I told him then goodbye, Saying, "When next you want a beating, Write `No Irish Need Apply.' " I'm a decent boy just landed From the town of Ballyfad; I want a situation, yes, And want it very bad. I have seen employment advertised, "It's just the thing," says I, “But the dirty spalpeen ended with 'No Irish Need Apply.’” "Whoa," says I, "that's an insult, But to get the place I'll try, So I went to see the blackguard With his "No Irish Need Apply. Some do count it a misfortune To be christened Pat or Dan, But to me it is an honor To be born an Irishman. I started out to find the house, I got it mighty soon; There I found the old chap seated, He was reading the Tribune. I told him what I came for, When he in a rage did fly, "No!" he says, "You are a Paddy, And no Irish need apply.”

43. The Steamboat • Robert Fulton is credited with building the first steamboat, the Clermont (1807). This invention radically changed the transportation structure • Rivers were now two-way streets, not one-way. • The South and especially the West would draw the benefits of the steamboat.

44. Erie Canal • It was headed by NY governor Dewitt Clinton and built using only state money. • Mockingly called “Clinton’s Big Ditch” • Effects: • Shipping costs from the West to the East dropped 20 times ($100 became only $5). • The canal effectively stole most of the trade from the Mississippi River. • "Western" cities boomed, like Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago

45. Erie Canal A three-man team with mules could build a mile in a year. Mostly built by poor immigrants The men who planned and oversaw construction were novices, both as surveyors and as engineers. When the canal reached Montezuma Marsh (west of Syracuse), over 1,000 workers died of swamp fever and construction stopped.

46. Erie Canal We better get along on our way ol'gal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal 'Cause you bet your life I'd never part with Sal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal. Git up there mule, here comes a lock,We'll make Rome about 6 o'clockOne more trip and back we'll go, right back home to Buffalo. I've got a mule, her name is Sal, 15 miles on the Erie CanalShe's a good old worker and a good old pal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal We've hauled some barges in our dayfilled with lumber, coal and hayAnd we know every inch of the way from Albany to Buffalo. Chorus:Low bridge, everybody downLow bridge for we're coming to a townAnd you'll always know your neighbor, you'll always know your palIf you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

47. I’ve Been Working On The Railroad • The railroad engine was known as the “iron horse” • By the 1860's there were 30,000 miles of track. • ¾ of railroad tracks were in the North. • Early Railroads were unreliable • Embers started fires to nearby haystacks, brakes were poor, and arrival/departure times weren’t accurate • Later railroads provided a safe method of transportation for both goods and passengers.

48. Well captain said to John Henry "What is that storm I hear?" John Henry said, "That ain't no storm captain That's just my hammer in the air, Lord, Lord That's just my hammer in the air" John Henry said to his shaker "Shaker, why don't you sing? Cause I'm swingin' thirty pounds from my hips on down Yeah, listen to my cold steel ring, Lord LordListen to my cold steel ring" John Henry he hammered in the mountains His hammer was striking fire But he worked so hard; it broke his heart John Henry laid down his hammer and died, Lord, Lord John Henry laid down his hammer and died Well every, every Monday morning When a blue bird he began to sing You could hear John Henry from a mile or more You could hear John Henry's hammer ring, Lord, Lord You can hear John Henry's hammer ring Ballad of John Henry Well John Henry was a little baby Sittin' on his daddy's knee He picked up a hammer and a little piece of steel And cried, "Hammer's gonnabe death of me, Lord, Lord Hammer's gonna be the death of me" Now the captain he said to John Henry "I'm gonna bring that steam drill around I'm gonna bring that steam drill out on these tracks I'm gonna knock that steel on down, God, God I'm gonna knock that steel on down" John Henry told his captain "Lord a man ain'tnoth' but a man But before I let that steam drill beat me down I'm gonna die with a hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord I'll die with a hammer in my hand" John Henry driving on the right side That steam drill driving on the left Says, "Fore I let your steam drill beat me down I'm gonna hammer myself to death, Lord, Lord, I'll hammer my fool self to death"

49. Paddy Works on the Railway In eighteen hundred and forty-sixI made my trade to carrying bricksI made my trade to carrying bricksFor working on the railwayI'm weary of the railwayPoor Paddy works on the railway I was wearing corduroy britchesDigging ditches, pulling switchesDodging pitchesI was working on the railway In eighteen hundred and forty-sevenPoor Paddy was thinking of going to HeavenIf he left one kid, well he left elevenTo work upon the railway, the railwayI'm weary of the railwayPoor Paddy works on the railway I was wearing corduroy britchesDigging ditches, pulling switchesDodging pitchesI was working on the railway In eighteen hundred and forty-oneMy corduroy britches I put onMy corduroy britchesIput onTo work upon the railway, the railwayI'm weary of the railwayPoor Paddy works on the railway I was wearing corduroy britchesDigging ditches, pulling switchesDodging pitchesI was working on the railway In eighteen hundred and forty-three I broke the shovel across me knee I went to work for the company and work upon the railway In eighteen hundred and forty-four I landed on Columbia’s shore My belly was empty me hands were raw With working on the railway, the railway I'm sick to my guts of the railway Poor paddy works on the railway

50. Analysis of American Labor Songs • What is a common theme within the working songs presented? Why do you think this theme is repeated so often? • Why do you believe so many songs of this era have survived? • Are there any recent songs that illustrate the same themes as the songs from the 19th century? Why or why not?