PowerPoint Presentation on the economy of the US prior to the Civil War.

1. Growing pains:
the US before the
Civil War

2. Essential questions:
 What are some factors that led to the rapid growth of cities and growing
sectionalism in the United States from 1800-1850?
 How did immigration affect the economic growth of the new nation?
 In what ways did industrialism shape the economic growth of the US?
 How was economic growth distributed throughout the nation?

3. Writing prompt
Answer each of the following questions in two to three sentences. You’ll have
a bit of time to work on this, so make sure you’re answering them completely.
 How did your family arrive in the United States? What were the reasons
they came to the US?
 Did they move to a city or the country? Why?
 What are the factors that drive immigration today?

4. Chickens and eggs – immigration and
industrial development
 The US undergoes rapid economic growth in the period following
independence.
 A rise in canals, steam powered engines, factories, and more efficient
means of production leads to increased demand for low skill workers.
 In the North we see a rise in factories, mills, and industrialism.
 In the South, agriculture continues to dominate and becomes even more
efficient, leading to a booming market in the Southern and Western states.

5. Competing Economic Visions
Jeffersonian Vision
 Self-sufficient farms
 Small rural mills for those unable to
contribute to manual labor
 Considers factories the “dark, satanic
mills” of Europe
 Fought against industrial revolution;
believed farming was the basis of the
American dream.
Hamiltonian Vision
 Rise in industrialism would bring about
social change and raise the status of
all Americans.
 Industry may employ families as well –
children, wives, idle family members.
 Industrialized society is the only way
the US can compete in international
economy.

6. What does Hamilton’s vision look like?
 Industrial Revolution begins in Great
Britain in the 1700’s – quickly moves to
American soil with the development of
large mills and factories.
 Francis Cabot Lowell opens a mill in
Waltham, MA in 1811 that employs
young New England women.
 Places like Birmingham, England have
already been transformed by
manufacturing.

7. Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures (1791)
 What are the arguments that Hamilton makes?
 How does he support these arguments?
 How do his arguments compare to those of Thomas Jefferson
 What does Hamilton’s America look like?

8. A Description of Factory Life in Lowell, MA - 1846
Answer the following questions on a sheet of paper.
 Create a schedule of the work day at Lowell.
 What is the relationship between the women of the Lowell factory and
their work?
 In what ways is life at the factory a fulfillment of Hamilton’s vision for the
American economy? In what ways might it be considered a departure?

9. Particular encouragements of particular manufactures may be of a
nature to sacrifice the interests of landholders to those of
manufacturers; but it is nevertheless a maxim well established by
experience, and generally acknowledged, where there has been
sufficient experience, that the aggregate prosperity of manufactures,
and the aggregate prosperity of agriculture are intimately
connected. In the course of discussion which has had place, various
weighty considerations have been adduced operating in support of
that maxim. Perhaps the superior steadiness of the demand of a
domestic market for the surplus produce of the soil, is alone a
convincing argument of its truth.

10. The Era of Good Feelings(?)
 The New Era
 Democratic-Republicans are virtually the only party in American politics.
 James Monroe receives all but one electoral vote in his reelection bid of 1820.
 Tariff of 1816 signals a marked shift in D-R’s political platform. Once supported agriculture and free trade –
now support manufacturing, industry, and workers. Receives southern support.
 The American System: Three Components
 A tariff to protect American industry
 A national bank
 Federal subsidies for canals, transportation, and other internal improvements.
 Monroe goes on nationwide “Great Goodwill” tour and is embraced by New England Federalists,
still smarting from the Hartford Convention.

12. The American System
 Tariff – Bank – Internal Improvements
 Internal improvements would be funded by money raised off the Tariff – a 20-
25% tax on foreign imported goods.
 Money would be distributed via the National Bank.
 Forwarded by former Federalists: John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, John C.
Calhoun
 Henry Clay calls for support based on the exchange between Western
farmers and Northern industrialists and between Southern farmers and
Northern manufacturers.
 Based on ideas of Alexander Hamilton

13. Results
 Economic interdependence leads to
Boom-Bust Cycles
 Three “panics” will occur: 1819, 1837, 1857.
 We’ll discuss the Missouri Compromise
tomorrow.

14. Tariffs
 High tariffs
 Tariff of 1816: First tariff passed to protect US manufacturing from foreign
competition. Has the support of the South.