THE SECTIONS GO THEIR WAYS

THE SECTIONS GO THEIR WAYS Chapter 13 The American Nation, 12e Mark. C. Carnes and John A. Garraty

PROGRESS AND POVERTY • Prior to Civil War, United States was a land of opportunity; a democratic society with a prosperous, expanding economy and few class distinctions; people had a high standard of living compared to Europeans • Economic opportunities were great and taxation was little so the rich got richer • While political opportunity for white men was equal, economic opportunity was increasingly skewed

RAILROADS AND THE ECONOMY • Railroads helped determine what land was used and how profitably it could be farmed • “Land Grant” railroads stimulated agricultural expansion by advertising their lands widely and selling farm sites at low rates on liberal terms • Access to world markets gave farmers of upper Mississippi incentive to increase output • Agricultural wages rose sharply due to scarcity

RAILROADS AND THE ECONOMY • New tools and machines appeared to help ease labor shortage • Steel plowshare: John Deere, 1839 • Mechanical reaper: Cyrus Hall McCormick (two workers could cut 14 times as much as with scythes)

RAILROADS AND THE SECTIONAL CONFLICT • East-West linkage had fateful effects on politics • Stimulated nationalism and became a force for preservation of the Union • When the Mississippi ceased to be essential to them, citizens of the upper valley could afford to be more hostile to slavery and especially to its westward expansion • South failed to create railroad network of its own • Scattered population of South • Paucity of passenger traffic • Seasonal nature of much of freight business • Absence of large cities • Placed too much reliance on Mississippi River • Leaders not interested

WEBSITES • “Been Here So Long”: Selections from the WPA American Slave Narratives http://newdeal.feri.org/asn/index.htm • The African American Odyssey http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/images_aa19 • Images of African Americans from the Nineteenth Century http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/images_aa19

THE SECTIONS GO THEIR WAYS