Unit 4 Flashcards
(46 cards)
Lowell girls
First workers were American born young women from farms → worked in textile mills in Massachusetts (familiar with textiles + could be paid for less)
Cause: Mechanization of agriculture → greater productivity → lower need for farm labor → allowed women to work in factories instead of on farms for low wages
Lowell mills provided clean working conditions, housing in company dormitories, food
By 1850, influx of N+ W Europeans during Industrial Revolution pushed out female employees
German vs Irish immigrants
GERMANS
- Germans came with more money and a higher education than their Irish counterparts
- had skills as farmers and artisans; middle class
- skipped working in factories → immediately bought cheap, fertile farmland in the Midwest → established homesteads + started businesses there
- supported public education and opposed slavery
IRISH
- Irish found their jobs in cities & factories
- arrived with limited interest in farming, few special skills, and little money
- worked in coal mines, Erie Canal, other unskilled manual labor jobs for cheap
Nativism
White native-born Americans alarmed by influx of immigrants → hostility & discrimination; aimed to stop immigration & limit rights of immigrants
Economic — immigrants would take their jobs
Social — immigrants would weaken the culture of the Anglo majority (racism, xenophobia)
Religious — nativists were Protestants who distrusted Roman Catholicism practiced by Irish & Germans (long history of Anti-Catholic sentiment in US)
Created an ethno-hostile environment
Internal improvements (definition)
Program for building infrastructure (roads, canals, bridges, RR)
*not necessarily federally subsidized
Examples of internal improvements (list + describe KBAT terms)
Turnpikes = highways that people have to pay a toll to use; connected major cities (northeast) → stimulated trade/business; made travel easier
Erie Canal = tied the East as a consumer to the West as a producer of raw materials; New York surpassed New Orleans as the #1 port in the US
B & O Railroad = first common carrier railroad; linked East (major port city of Baltimore) and Midwest (Ohio); farmers could ship their crops more easily and quickly to distant markets for sale
All these projects improved transportation of people/raw materials/goods, expanded interstate commerce, and opened new markets in the growing factory cities in the East
Cotton gin
South supplied raw cotton fiber to Britain’s textile mills which spun it into finished cloth
Before the cotton gin, slavery was on the decline in the South. This invention allowed cotton to be processed more quickly + cheaply
As demand and profits increased, cotton production increased and spread westward; new land was constantly needed bc high cotton yields quickly depleted the soil
More slaves required to work more acres of cotton fields
Reinvigoration of slavery in South
Samuel Slater
Established the first US factory in 1791
Emigrated from Britain → brought plans of British textile industry (how to build cotton spinning machines) that spread Industrial Revolution to the US
Introduced mass production to factory system
Effects of Market Revolution (5)
- Women no longer worked next to their husbands on family farms; joined workforce by seeking employment in the city (stemmed from Lowell girls)
- Wealth inequality between rich and poor increased
- Reinvigoration of slavery in the South
The invention of the cotton gin caused rapid growth of the cotton industry; spread westward to new states - Improved standard of living
Eased travel; lowered prices of consumer goods → consumer culture - Rise of the factory system + manufacturing/industry
Before, work consisted of small scale production of clothes done at home, largely by women.
Now, factories centralized the workers in one place; growth of urban cities
Internal improvements - who funds what
Federal gov’t = railroads
States = canals
Private enterprise/investors = turnpikes
Market Revolution (definition)
Era in antebellum America characterized by the mechanization of agriculture, shift from subsistence farming to large-scale cash crop farming, growth of cities + factories, and industrial + transportation revolutions
How did the Age of Jackson expand democratic ideals politically?
- Expansion of voting to more people (universal white male suffrage) — state legislatures removed the property requirement, which allowed more white men to participate in government. It expanded democracy by extending more political opportunities to lower, uneducated classes.
- Rotation in office — government officials were limited to one term in office in order to decrease political corruption and expand democracy. Jackson believed all men were equally capable of holding office.
- Caucuses were replaced by nominating conventions — before, candidates for office were nominated by caucuses, which were closed door meetings of the political party’s leaders. As a result, wealthy southern planters and northern merchants dominated the government while common citizens had no opportunity to participate, thus calling it “King Caucus.” However, with the Age of Jackson, nominating conventions were established where politicians and regular voters would gather to nominate candidates together, thus promoting equality and opportunity, both of which are democratic ideals.
How did the Age of Jackson expand democratic ideals economically?
Charles River Bridge decision — Before, under Jeffersonian Democracy, if people wanted to obtain a corporate charter to start a new business, they had to have a connection with someone in the state legislature. This proved to be elitist, as economic opportunity was dependent on social status and wealth. It also led to the development of monopolies over many industries. However, with the Charles River Bridge Decision, Roger Taney ruled in favor of economic competition, making corporate charters available to all who chose to risk the financial venture. By making access easier, more equality and economic opportunity were granted to the lower and middle classes, which expanded democracy.
Complexity for Age of Jackson + expansion of democracy
Jackson increased his executive power as president and often even abused it, thus establishing himself as a tyrant to many people in the Whig party (King Andrew). For example, Jackson vetoed Congress bills such as the rechartering of the second Bank of the United States and instead distributed federal funds to state pet banks, awarded to political supporters. Additionally, he ignored the ruling of the judicial branch with the Indian Removal Act, which forced them to leave their homelands and settle west of the Mississippi, despite the Supreme Court ruling in Worcester v Georgia, which declared that the Cherokees had a right to their land. Furthermore, Jackson passed the Force Bill in response to opposition to the Tariff of Abominations, which authorized him to deploy the US army to enforce federal laws such as forced tax collection in the states.
Spoils system
Jackson used this to reward federal gov’t offices to political supporters of Democratic party
Jackson’s Indian Policy
Georgia and other states passed laws requiring Cherokees to migrate to the West because they occupied land the white settlers wanted; fertile soil for cash crop plantations
Cherokees challenged Georgia in courts → Worcester v Georgia: Supreme Court ruled that Cherokee had a right to their land
Jackson abused his executive power to pass the Indian Removal Act (1830): forced Indians to leave their homelands & settle west of the MS
Trail of Tears: forced migration of Cherokees westward from Georgia to Oklahoma
Before, the Cherokee were one of the most advanced Indian tribes — had a constitution, written language, high literacy rate, etc. They also adopted American customs (Christianity, English language, farming techniques)
Tariff of 1828 + reactions
Raised prices on imported goods
Enraged South Carolina which put all their money into slavery, not industry → had to pay more; tariff also reduced foreign trade, which harmed their export economy dependent on sale of cash crops + raw materials
John C. Calhoun wrote South Carolina Exposition and Protest against the Tariff of Abominations
Outlined nullification — the idea that states had the right to decide whether to enforce federal laws in their boundaries or declare it null/void
SC legislature declared the tariff unconstitutional; forbid collection of tariffs in their state
Force Bill
Jackson made Congress pass the Force Bill in response to SC’s opposition to Tariff of 1828
Gave the president the power to use US troops to enforce federal laws in any state (in this case forced collection of taxes)
Helped cement Jackson’s reputation as a tyrant among the Whigs
Jackson’s bank veto
Jackson vetoed the rechartering of the second BUS
Believed the bank abused its powers and was unconstitutional; only served the interests of the wealthy; “monopoly of the rich”
Thus, there was no central institution to control federal funds → Jackson withdrew all federal funds and dispersed them to local state banks (aided by Secretary of Treasury Roger Taney)
These so called pet banks were used to reward political supporters
Began to issue large amounts of paper money → inflation → Panic of 1837
Log Cabin Campaign
Whigs had William Henry Harrison as their presidential candidate
War hero — “Tippecanoe (battle he won) and Tyler too”
Whigs used Log Cabin Campaign to symbolize Harrison’s humble origins of being born in a log cabin; put log cabins on wheels and paraded them down the streets of cities and towns
Women also participated in popular campaigning
Political machine
The weaving together of vastly different groups like immigrants, Catholics, and southern planters into one party (Democrats)
Andrew Jackson
- representation of the common man
- illiterate, little form of schooling
- war hero from battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812
- self made man from the western frontier; gained fame as a fighter
Election of 1824
Jackson won more popular & electoral votes than any other candidate (plurality)
But none of them had a majority → sent to House of Representatives; Clay was Speaker of the House and swung votes towards Q. Adams
When Q. Adams won the presidency, he appointed Clay as Secretary of State
Jackson calls this a corrupt bargain — Q. Adams made a secret deal with Clay (Clay would make him president in exchange for the position as Secretary of State)
Whigs (Q. Adams)
- supporters = Northeastern business owners and bankers
- benefited from tariffs
- had money in the national bank, and thus wanted the stability provided by it
- supported American system
- viewed Jackson’s growing power as absolute monarchy — King Andrew
John Quincy Adam’s ideas
Federally financed the construction of roads and canals
Believed that integrating the economies of the north (manufacturing factories) and south/west (raw good industries) would integrate states politically into a more united & cohesive country
All of this would be funded by a high tariff
