The Westward Movement In 1845, a Democratic leader and influential editor by the

name of John L. O' Sullivan gave the present day United States the term Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny conveyed the idea that the rightful destiny of the United States was included to make an empire.        Mexico was just one out of a series of aggressive acts can be tied to America's Manifest Destiny. Talk about Manifest Destiny had many people suggesting that America should assume the role as world power. Manifest Destiny became a disputed philosophy. Here are two examples of the different views of the American people. Manifest Destiny became the rallying cry throughout America, Manifest Destiny became the torch.        Manifest Destiny is as old as America itself. It has always existed throughout American history. Some people still believe it should be a present topic in the United States. Others believe it has no relation to the " more important" topics, and should not even be thought about. 

Manifest Destiny was used to describe beliefs in the 1840's about territorial expansion. In other words they wanted to expand the US, coast to coast..... from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. This meant that that there were new states being settled, such as California and  Oregon. Oregon was being settled around the 1820's. These settlers established the Oregon Trail,  and as a result there were more pioneers that could settle in Oregon. After the Mexican War, James K. Polk (president at the time) threatened Britain, but they finally made an agreement on the 49th parallel which would act as a border in between Canada and Oregon Territory. Finally, Oregon officially became a state in 1859. Around 1846 John C. Freemont and many soldiers invaded California, made it their own Republic, and named it the Bear Flag Republic. Another effect of the Manifest Destiny was how the terrible issue of slavery spread throughout the US, and meanwhile dividing the nation. For example: While the Mexican Cession was being added to the union, the idea of popular sovereignty restarted the battle of slavery. There were lots of events that occurred during the Manifest Destiny period. There was The Compromise of 1850, which said there was no restriction on slavery in New Mexico Territory, California became a state, no slave trade in the Washington DC area, and many more key events that tried to compromise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in Congress and in the territories themselves. There was also the Kansas Nebraska Act,  Uncle Tom's Cabin ( a book about slavery, by Harriet Beecher Stowe ) which was published in1852, and also a civil war broke out in Kansas.

The March of Millions Around 1850 the population was

doubling every 25 years. By 186 there were 33 states.

America was the fourth most populous nation in the world.

Cities were rapidly developing as were problems of sanitation and sewage removal.

Irish and German immigrants poured into America in the late 1840s. They fled famine and persecution and sought jobs, land, food, freedom of religion and no aristocracy.

New transatlantic steamers brought people here in 12 days.

Quiz Test your knowledge on the Manifest Destiny. 1.The Manifest Destiny was :      A.  An act that spread slavery coast to coast.      B.  A term used to describe Western Expansion.      C.  A  term used to describe the revolution of new technology.      D.  A term that described the US's Future. 2.In the early years of the US the term 49ers was used to describe :     A. People that mine for gold.     B.  A football team.     C. Coal miners.     D. People that mined for silver. 3.Which of these people contributed in the Manifest Destiny ?    A.   George Washington.    B.    James K. Polk.    C.    James Monroe.   D.    Fredrick J. Douglas. 4.The Compromise of 1850 was:   A. A term that said if runaway  slaves were found they must be returned.   B. An agreement that said  there were no restrictions on slavery in Mexico.   C. A compromise that said there would be no fighting over slaves.   D. A compromise that said  women were allowed to vote.

Fill in the blank. 5. The (name a republic)__________ was named by John C. Freemont, and was another name for Texas. 6. This  (name a trail)____________ led pioneers to settle.

     

The German 48ers and Irish Immigrants

German immigration Irish ImmigrationMillions come to America

from 1830-1860s because of crop failures and political revolutions

Often settled in the mid west

AbolitionistSupporters of public

education (Kindergarten) BierDid not assimilate quickly

Came as a result of “Black Forties” and Irish Potato Famine

Moved to eastern cities (Boston / New York)

Got quickly involved in politics

Often illiterate / Catholics

Built the railroadsSet up ancient Order of

Hibernians

Catholics became a major religion in United States

Catholics schools were built to educate Irish Catholics and other Catholic immigrants

Flare-ups of Anti-foreignism“Nativists” were

against the new Americans

The Irish were discriminated against in the work place and were forced into the worst jobs

Catholic churches and schools burned in Philadelphia in 1844

American Party• The American or Know-Nothing Party fought for immigration restriction• Ran Millard Fillmore (13th President of United States) for President in 1856

IndustrializationSlowly, because of abundant

natural resources, money for investment, plentiful raw materials and American ingenuity America would become an industrial giant

The War of 1812 and various tariffs encouraged the development of factories and manufacturing

England would attempt to dump cheap goods on America and tried to maintain a monopoly on manufacturing technology

Marvels of ManufacturingSamuel Slater, “The

Father of the American Factory System” built first mill (1791) in Pawtucket RI with support of Moses Brown

Cradle to Grave philosophy , mill life , child labor

Eli Whitney’s Cotton GinWhitney’s cotton gin

increased need for slaves in South. Cotton became King. Industry in North used southern cotton to manufacture their mills near the New England rivers.

Remember real gold mines of New England were fish, lumber, now factories near rivers

Manufacturing modelsThe concept of limited

liability and “corporations” begins to develop…change from guild system

Interchangeable parts concept first used by Eli Whitney…will lead to assembly line work

By 1860 28,000 government patents in one year

Marvelous InventionsSewing machine was basis for clothing industry. Invented by Elias Howe and Issac Singer.

Samuel Morse connect business world with his telegraph

Early Working conditions in factories

Factory system led to impersonal relations

Wages were low , hours were high

Immigrants work cheaply Unsanitary conditions Child labor Unions were not strong (lots

of scabs used) 1842 Commonwealth v. Hunt

Supreme Court case legalized unions but scab labor meant unions would develop slowly

Women and the New EconomyWomen worked in

mills before marriageOther opportunities

were in nursing, domestic service, teaching

Lowell Mill Girls

With the invention of the power loom running off the river, a series of mills or factories were built along the Merrimack River by the Boston Manufacturing Company an organization founded years prior by the man for whom the resulting city was named, Francis Cabot Lowell. Construction began to in 1821, and the mills were at their peak roughly twenty years later. For the first time in the US, these mills combined the textile processes of spinning and weaving under one roof, essentially eliminating the putting-out system in favor of mass production of high-quality cloth. The workforce at these factories was three-quarters women.A workforce of thousands, composed primarily of women, came from struggling farms willing to put their daughters to work to bring in extra income. The typical Lowell girl was young, between 15 and 30; unmarried; white; of neither aristocracy nor the homeless; and from a farm that would benefit from extra income. Most Lowell girls sent the majority of their income home for the benefit of their men folk. Many believe that the women working at this mill were deprived of many rights. The long work days for little pay showed wage differentials between men and women.The Lowell System, as it was called, was impacted by economic instability and by immigration. A minor depression in 1834 led to a sharp reduction in wages, which in turn produced organization by the female workers and two of the earliest examples of a successful strike. A feature of such organization was the magazines and newsletters put out by the girls, the most famous of which was the Lowell Offering. Then later, when the Panic of 1837 necessitated a true drop in wages, many Lowell girls were replaced by the cheaper Irish “biddies,” or “Bridgets.” By 1850 the majority of workers at Lowell factories were poor immigrants. One result of this large scale laying-off was that now there were many adult, single women in society, who were used to earning their own money. It was only sensible that they seek other positions

(teaching, etc) in which to make money; and by doing so they further contributed to the birth of the working woman.

Western Farmersand the Breadbasket of the WorldThe mid west was

becoming America’s breadbasket.

Cincinnati was the “porkopolis” of the West

John Deere invented the steel plow and Cyrus McCormick the mechanical mower reaper to harvest grain…these machines drastically increased farm production

Changing Transportationto move goods West to East and South

Lancaster Turnpike (hard surfaced road) brought goods from Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pa.

Federal government built Cumberland or National Road from Maryland to Illinois

Fulton’s FollyRobert Fulton invented the steamboat (Clermont) in 1807. Causes an increase in trade because no longer issues of water currents

Governor Dewitt Clinton’s Big Ditch

The Erie Canal connected Lake Erie to Hudson River. This canal reduced food prices and led to cities to be developed in New York area.

Locomotives• The first railroad was introduced in 1828. It was the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.By 1860 30,000 miles of track laid, mostly in North• Time zones, standardized track , labor organizations and strikes and Pullman Palace cars