Unit III: The Family in mid-19th Century America

Robin BurkeGAM 206

Preliminarieso Antebellum (pre-Civil War)

Americao a country divided

o Slavery o gradually eliminated in the Northo becomes an economic

powerhouse in the Southo and a defining institution

o Cultural movement, politics, economic developmento cannot be divorced from this fact

Emancipation in the NorthEmancipation in the North

Missouri Compromise, 1820Missouri Compromise, 1820

Political Issueso Balance of power in House and

Senateo slave seats vs free seatso census issues (3/5 rule)

o How to handle new territorieso Status of slaves in free states

o fugitive slave lawo Dredd Scott decision

o Political parties o had northern and southern wingso had to try to satisfy botho (until 1856)

Economic Issueso Southern states

o agricultural economieso capital-intensive (in human

form)o enormously profitableo mono-cultural

o Northern stateso more diversified economyo quick adoption of mechanizationo railroad networkso largest arrival point for

immigrants

Cultural Issueso South

o original settlers were businessmeno maintained connections to England

o economic powero large-scale agriculture

o tobaccoo colonial conditions very hazardous

o tropical diseaseso organized native resistance

o Northo original settlers were religious refugees

o fleeing persecution in Englando economic power

o commercial fishing (cod)o colonial conditions difficult

o but families often survived intact

Consequenceso Southern culture

o more hedonistico more closely tied to English

class distinctions

o Northern cultureo more straight-lacedo more egalitarian

Two Trendso Religious Revival

o and reformist repercussions

o IndustrializationBoth of which contributed too Sectionalization

Religious Revivalo First "Great Awakening"

o outpouring of religious sentimento 1720-1750

o originated in New Englando spread by charismatic preachers

o emphasized personal responsibility for salvation

o taught that Americans were chosen people

o Second "Great Awakening"o another wave of religious activity

o 1790s to 1830so included North, South and Westo a reaction to "liberal" religious

notions coming from European thinkers

Revival Meeting

Denominational Growth

Offshoots of Religious Revival

o Temperanceo Abolitiono Women's Rightso Transcendentalism

Temperance Movement

Frances WillardThe Beecher Family

1826 - American Temperance Society

“Demon Rum”!

R1-6

Consumption of Alcohol

The Drunkard’s Progress

From the first glass to the grave, 1846

Abolitionist Movement

1816 American Colonization Society created (gradual, voluntary emancipation. Created a free slave state in Liberia, West Africa. No real anti-slavery sentiment in the North in the 1820s & 1830s.

The Liberator

Premiere issue January 1, 1831

R2-5

The Tree of Slavery

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)

1845 The Narrative of the Life Of Frederick Douglass

R2-12

Anti-Slavery Alphabet

Southern Pro-Slavery PropagandaSouthern Pro-Slavery Propaganda

Industrializationo The abundant natural

resources of the United Stateso Increased labor pools

o due to immigration from Europeo labor shortages had been

common earlier

o Improved modes of transportationo canalso railroads

Price of Transportation

The Advance of Industrialization

o Home-based manufactureo common since medieval timeso distributors gave raw materials to

workers who produced at homeo "putting out" system

o Starts to be replaced by factorieso mechanization

o water, then steam powero standardization

o Eli Whitney applies interchangeable parts to firearms

o specialization of labor

Cottono Cotton textiles were the

first factory goodso plans sneaked out of England

by Samuel Slater in 1789

o Boston Manufacturing Companyo by 1836o 6,000 workerso 80% young women

Spread of Textile Mills

Farming Loses Dominance

The Process of Urbanization

o Three types of citieso Commercial centers

o New York, Philadelphia, Bostono Mill towns

o Lowell, Waltham, New Haveno Transportation hubs

o Chicagoo New Orleans

Urbanization by 1850

Class Structure in the Citieso The inequities of wealth and lifestyle

in the urban areas o reflected social fluidity and o the potential for everyone to “make it.”

o Americans believed capitalists deserved the profits from economic expansion

o The growing inequities o solidified class lines and o led to increased social agitation and labor

protests.

Middle-Class Life and Idealso The new middle class benefited

from economic growth.o Furnished houses with the latest

conveniences were the rule o compared to the inadequate housing of

the working class.

o Genteel behavior and etiquette as well as specific designations for gender and age.

Mounting Urban Tensionso Social tensions led to dramatic

increases in urban violence in the years before the Civil Waro also during the Civil War

o Large American cities were slow to establish a professional police force relying instead on volunteer constables.

Working-Class Reformo The reform movement gradually was

adapted to the conditions in factorieso trade unions began to appear.

o Skilled workers o organized to protect their crafts ando negotiated better conditions.

o The National Trades Union (1834) was the first attempt at a nation-wide labor organization

The Southo Did not experience much

industrializationo remained agrarian

o Inadequate transportationo except by water

o Poorly-developed financial system

Southern Society (1850)Southern Society (1850)

““Slavocracy”Slavocracy”[plantation owners][plantation owners]

The “Plain Folk”The “Plain Folk”[white yeoman farmers][white yeoman farmers]

6,000,0006,000,000

Black FreemenBlack Freemen

Black SlavesBlack Slaves3,200,0003,200,000

250,000250,000

Total US Population --> Total US Population --> 23,000,00023,000,000

[9,250,000 in the South = 40%][9,250,000 in the South = 40%]

Slave-Owning Families (1850)Slave-Owning Families (1850)

Changes in Cotton ProductionChanges in Cotton Production

18201820

18601860

Value of Cotton Exports Value of Cotton Exports

Includes textiles manufacturedfrom southern cotton

Westward Expansiono After the War of 1812

o movement to the Old Northwest began in earnest

o territory east of the Mississippi ceased to be "frontier" by 1840s

o Federal land policyo Homestead act

o land was free if you could make it productive

o Mistaken ideas about agriculture caused farmers to ignore prairies as arable lando until later in the century

Farming in the Easto By mid-century, fertile land in the

east began to run out.o Irresponsible farming techniques

depleted the soilo Cities encroached on farmlando Couldn't compete with western grain

farmers

o Switched cropso cattle farming for meat and milko fresh vegetable production for the urban

marketso no refrigeration meant no competition

Jackson’s Indian Policy

o Indians occupied prime land for farmingo in Georgia, Alabama, and other states

o Andrew Jackson favored o forcible removalo relocation westward on reservations.

o Supreme Court ruledo that Indians could occupy but not hold

title to land in the United States

o Military force was used o forced Indian Nations to march west to

present-day Oklahomao "trail of tears" 1835-1838

Sectionalizationo After the Mexican-American War

o new territories were addedoTexas, New Mexico, California, Utah,

o Increasingly bitter confrontationo whether new states would be free

or slaveo neither side could compromise

oNorth saw slavery increasingly as eviloSouth saw emancipation as a cultural

death sentence

Theno In 1860

o the country elects a anti-slavery Northerner as president

o Abraham Lincoln

o Most previous presidents had been o either Northerners with southern

sympathieso James Buchanan 1856o Franklin Pierce 1852

o or southernerso Zachary Taylor 1848

Civil Waro 1861-1865o Abraham Lincolno Robert E. Leeo Battleso Emancipation Proclamationo Almost 1 million dead

o 3% of the populationo 1/3 civilians

Mondayo Gameplayo Reading

o 1st chapter Huck's Raft