economic changes and inventions in early 1800s
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Economic Changes and Inventions in early 1800s. Westward Expansion. After Revolution, Americans began moving westward to Mississippi By 1840, 1/3 lived west of Appalachians Causes End of British ban on westward movement Louisiana Purchase - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Economic Changes and Inventions in early 1800s
Westward Expansion• After Revolution, Americans began
moving westward to Mississippi
• By 1840, 1/3 lived west of Appalachians
• Causes
– End of British ban on westward movement
– Louisiana Purchase
– Northwest Ordinance provided orderly creation of states
– Growing families and sons that needed own farm land
– The National Road (reached Illinois by 1838)
– War of 1812 ended idea of an Indian “buffer state”
– Canals (like Erie Canal) allowed settlement away from rivers
Western Life• With improved transportation and
farming technology, farmers increasingly moved West in search of cheap land.
• “West” meant mostly OH, IL, IN, MI, KY, TN, MS, etc.
• Pioneer life was tough – poor shelters, backbreaking work, hunger and isolation
• While rugged individualism prevailed, people worked together to build barns, roads and other improvements
• Westward migration affected environment: crops, deforestation, livestock, fences
• Despite destruction of environment, people began to appreciate unspoiled nature (first national park, Yellowstone, est. in 1872)
A “gander pull”
Sod house in South Dakota
Early Industrialization• Industrialization has two
phases:– Water power (early 1800s)– Coal power (late 1800s)
• Began in England in late 1700’s• England tried to keep skilled
mechanics from emigrating• Samuel Slater left Eng. (in
disguise!) with memorized factory plans: first mechanized textile mill in RI (1789)
• Eli Whitney developed cotton gin in 1793, went on to develop “interchangeable parts” for guns.
• Evans develops automated flour mill (1790’s)
• Industrial espionage - Lowell visits England (1811) and returns with plans for better machines
Causes of Early Industrialization• Embargo Act of 1808• Era of Good Feelings’
protective tariffs• Fast running rivers provided
steady energy for machines• Transportation revolution
brought eastern manufacturers closer to markets and suppliers in the South and West
• Frontier land lured many families: high wages led to quest for labor-saving machines
• Labor increased:– New England farmland all
taken: excess population– Immigrants from Ireland and
Germany
Key Inventions
• 1807: Steamboat– Robert Fulton– Allowed easier upstream
river travel
• 1837: Cast Steel Plow– John Deere– Cut through prairie soil
without clogging
• McCormick’s Reaper– 1830s– Helped farmer harvest
grain– Allowed single farmer
and horse to do work of five men