APUSH Unit 6.1 - The Market Revolution

a period in antebellum America that encompassed the industrial and transportation revolutions, the change from subsistence farming to large-scale cash farming, regional specialization, immigration, western-movement, and growth of cities

largest group of immigrants between 1830 and the Civil War (2 million people arrived) that came to larger Eastern cities but were discriminated against (Catholic, poor) and came to control political machines (Tammany Hall)

a major push force for Irish immigration to America - killed 2 million in the 1840s

NYC political machine that dominated city politics, especially the democratic party in the north. eventually controlled by Irish immigrants

largest group of immigrants by 1900 - 1.5 million immigrants from 1830 to 1860; many were farmers that moved west (more scattered than Irish) and were better educated than frontier Americans - introduced kindergarten and beer

the hatred of foreigners; emerged in the U.S. with the "Old Immigration" of Irish and Germans - hatred usually stemmed from religious differences (Catholic vs. Protestant)

(est. 1849) a political party built around nativist beliefs that sought restrictions on immigration and wanted to deport poor aliens; very influential during the 1850s

a period in America characterized by intense economic growth due to inventions that stimulated the rise of industry - including spinning jenny, cotton gin, interchangeable parts, telegraph

invented the cotton gin in 1793, which made cotton harvesting 50x more productive and saw a dramatic increase in slavery, as well as the concept of interchangeable parts

a principle created by Eli Whitney that allowed for the basis of modern mass-production (assembly line methods)

invented in 1846 by Elias Howe and improved by Isaac Singer, led to the transition of clothing manufacturing from the home to the factory, as well as decreased the price of clothes

invented in 1844 by Samuel F.B. Morse, allowed for instant communication across large distances & had large impacts on businesses in the coming years

built the first dual-purpose (both spun fiber and wove the finished cloth) textile plant in Waltham, Mass. in 1814

local farmers' daughters hired to work in the Lowell factories, organized one of the first strikes in U.S. history in 1836, eventually replaced by Irish/german immigrants

invented by John Deere, broke the thickly matted soil of the West and allowed for proper, economically viable farming to occur

invented by Cyprus McCormick in the 1830s - could do the work of five men, became the most significant technology on the frontier

an antebellum period motivated by the desire of the East to tap into the resources of the West, which created a national market economy, regional specialization, and facilitated movement of America's population westward

(est. 1852) 591 mile road supported by state and federal funds that became the vital highway to the west (cheaper freight, western immigration, decreased land values)

a major mode of transportation westward that could serve as wagons, sleds, and boats

(est. 1860) a system of express mail carried by riders on horseback from MO to CA, but was quickly replaced by telegrams

(1807) Robert Fulton employed a steam engine on the Hudson, changed all of America's streams into 2-way arteries, populations gathered around rivers

(est. 1825) 363-mile canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Hudson River - cost to ship decreased by 95%, shipping time reduced, land values skyrocketed, new cities formed

1. East - industrial (machines, textiles) 2. South - cotton, slavery, resisted change 3. West - grain, livestock, fast growing population

"Father of the Factory System" who invented the spinning jenny in 1791, which led to manufactured goods becoming cheaper (part of the Industrial revolution)