AP US History Chapter 11: Technology, Culture, and Everyday Life, 1840-1860

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AP US HistoryChapter 11 Technology, Culture,
and Everyday Life,1840-1860
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Eli Whitney

• The Cotton Gin
• Made it easier and faster to remove cotton seeds

• Increased profitability caused plantation owners
  to plant more cotton and increase production
• Stimulated the Souths economy
• Stabilized the system of slavery by making it
  more profitable

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John Deere

• Steel-tipped Plow
• Could cut through matted prairie sod and clay
  soil with half the labor
• Sped up the planting of wheat in the Northwest

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Cyrus McCormick

• Mechanical Reaper
• Harvested wheat and other grains 7 times faster
  with half the labor
• Made wheat production the most prominent form of
  agriculture in the Midwest

• McCormick produced his reapers with mass
  production and sold over 80,000 by 1860

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Technology and Industrial Progress

• American System of manufacture The production
  of goods with interchangeable parts.
• Advantages of the American System
• With the development of machine-made,
  standardized, interchangeable parts, replacement
  parts could be obtained.
• With improved machine tools, entrepreneurs were
  able to push inventions into mass production,
  lowering prices for consumers.
• Examples By the 1850s sewing machines and
  pistols were mass produced at dramatically lower
  prices to consumers.

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Technology and Industrial Progress

• Invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. B.. Soon
  extensive telegraph lines linked major cities, as
  well as rail lines, improving communication.
• Telegraph lines usually transmitted political and
  commercial messages but were later used to report
  fires.

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The Railroad Boom

• Vast improvements in railroad technology
  encouraged its popularity in the 1840s.
• Kerosene lamps allowed night travel
• More powerful engines
• Communication through telegraph
• More tracks led to more places to go

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Westward Expansion

• Separate rail lines were consolidated and
  standardized
• This allowed people to travel greater distances
• Station towns
• RR companies bought land for stations, and then
  resold the land around the station to encourage
  settlement.
• Towns sprung up quickly, and population grew
• Agricultural Boom
• Lower transportation costs of wheat from western
  states, such as Wisconsin and Indiana, gave
  farmers larger markets
• Industrial Boom and Urbanization
• The growth of industrial cities such as Chicago,
  which linked rail and water lines, provided
  lumber for farms, and produced flour from the
  wheat the western farms produced.

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Rising Prosperity
WAGES THROUGH THE AGES (annual)

• From the 1830s to the 1860s, wages increased
  dramatically

1830 1849 1859
163 176 201
Annual wages of cotton textile workers

• Technological advancements improved the lives of
  ordinary consumers by reducing the price of many
  commodities e.g., clocks that cost 50 to make
  by hand in 1800 cost 50 cents to make by machine
  in 1850.
• The steam engine eliminated the need for
  factories to be near sources of running water and
  also the inconvenience of the wheels stopping
  when the source of water froze. The steam engine
  allowed factories to stay open longer and produce
  more goods. It also contributed to a 25 increase
  in the average workers real income between 1840
  and 1860.

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Urban Growth andthe Labor Force

• The growth of cities increased explosively in the
  mid-19th century. The seasonal fluctuations of
  agricultural labor, as well as erratic grain
  prices, caused many farm workers to seek the
  expanding opportunities for year-round labor
  available in the industrial cities.
• The cost living for working-class families in
  cities like NYC and Philadelphia in the early
  1850s was more than what the average male laborer
  could earn. As a result, female and child labor
  became an integral part of the 19th century
  American labor force.

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Distribution of Wealth

• The middle class became more prosperous, but the
  gap between the rich and the poor widened
  considerably.
• Urban middle class homes became lavish, but the
  urban poor lived in crowded tenements.

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Gap Increases BetweenRich and Poor

• Rich and middle class houses became increasingly
  lavish
• Machine-made furniture transformed interiors of
  houses
• Stoves revolutionized heating and cooking
• The urban poor lived in cramped tenements

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Coal Heating and Cooking Conveniences
The Quality of LifeConveniences and
Inconveniences

• Coal burns longer and hotter than wood, reducing
  the time and expense previously devoted to
  acquiring fuel.
• Stoves provided a safer, more convenient way to
  cook and could also handle more dishes at once.
• Pennsylvania had a superior variety of coal,
  called anthracite, and guaranteed a steady
  supply.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables available due to the
  railroad revolution meant the potential for
  healthier diets for Americans

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Coal Heating and Cooking Inconveniences
The Quality of LifeConveniences and
Inconveniences

• An improperly working coal burning stove could
  fill a room with poisonous carbon monoxide.
• Coal left a sooty residue that polluted the air
  and blackened the snow.
• The lack of widespread refrigeration and good
  preservatives meant that the dietary gap between
  rich and poor increased, as only the wealthy
  could afford fresh fruits and vegetables out of
  season

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Urban Waterworks and Sanitation
The Quality of LifeConveniences and
Inconveniences

• In 1823 Philadelphia created the first system
  that brought fresh water along aqueducts through
  pipes to street hydrants
• Most incoming water ended at street hydrants -
  indoor plumbing was still rare
• Bathing was infrequent, because of the lack of
  indoor plumbing and the lack of water heaters
• City waste removal was so rare that many cities
  relied on free-roaming hogs to eat discarded
  garbage
• Flush toilets and sewer systems were rare and
  confined to only the largest cities

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Medical AdvancesCholera and Yellow Fever

• 1832-1833 Cholera and Yellow fever killed
  one-fifth of the population of New Orleans
• The transportation revolution quickened spread of
  infectious diseases
• Cholera traveled along the newly made routes of
  transportation, becoming Americas first national
  epidemic
• The inability of physicians to come up with an
  explanation or cure created widespread mistrust
  of the medical profession.
• Disease outbreaks encouraged the establishment of
  municipal health boards, but public health
  remained a relatively low priority during the
  19th century

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Anesthetics

• Ether introduced in 1890s as the first safe and
  reliable anesthetic
• This made longer operations possible and
  encouraged surgeons to take greater care and work
  with better precision
• Doctors still did not understand the importance
  of antiseptic hands and disinfecting instruments,
  which partially offset the benefits of anesthesia
• Operations remained as dangerous as the diseases
  and wounds that they were meant to heal.

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Mass Media Newspapers

• Before this era, newspapers were supported by
  political parties wanting their news circulated.
  They did not have to be popular in order to make
  money, so they were very short and boring to many
  common people.
• Improvements in printing technology made it much
  cheaper to produce newspapers and the penny press
  was born. The stories in the penny press changed
  from a boring bulletin board style to gripping
  stories about rape, murder, political scandal,
  and more as papers fought for circulation.
• This revolutionized the news to a style more in
  common with modern journalism - reporting in a
  human interest style designed to capture
  peoples attention rather than just stating the
  facts straight.

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Early newspapers were heavy on advertisements -
the revenue source -rather than popular
circulation.
The NY Sun - one of Americas 1st mass
circulation newspapers
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Theater, baby!

• The 19th century saw a significant increase in
  the popularity of theater, attracting all classes
  and ages
• Theater audiences were notoriously rowdy, showing
  their feelings by whistling, hooting, and
  throwing potatoes and garbage at the stage
• The public displayed as much interest in the
  actors as they did in the plays, in fact, feuds
  between characters led to fights among fans
• A feud between leading American actor Edwin
  Forrest (above left) and popular British actor
  William Macready (below left) ended in a riot at
  New York Citys Astor Place and left 20 people
  dead

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Minstrel Shows

• Originated in the 1840s in Northern cities
• The shows were performed by white men in
• Blackface, or black makeup, and costume
• Shows included dancing, songs, comic skits,
• and variety acts

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The Effects of Minstrel Shows

• The shows encouraged stereotypes and prejudice
  against blacks
• Demonstrated blacks as stupid, clumsy, and overly
  enthusiastic in their music

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The Effects of Minstrel Shows

• The shows depicted blacks in several different
  roles
• Docile slaves
• Free urban blacks who ruined society
• Provocative mulatto wenches
• Black soldiers
• These characters increased hatred toward blacks
  and soon whites saw real African-Americans only
  in these roles

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Roots of the American Renaissance Development of
an American style of art

• Two major causes
• Economic Transportation Revolution and advances
  in printing technology reduced prices and
  increased market for books, especially fiction.
• Philosophical Romanticism, a focus on revealing
  the longings of ones soul through works of
  literature.

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Popular Fiction Price Changes, and the Effect on
the Masses

• Before the 1830s, books could cost upwards of 30
  or more.
• New printing technologies dropped the average
  cost of a novel to 7 cents, allowing the working
  class people to read and become better educated.

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Growth of Popular Literature

• Romanticism a new philosophical system, stated
  that literature should reflect the inner longings
  of the authors soul (subjective and
  individualistic).
• Romanticism challenged the earlier 18th century
  school known as classicism, which proposed that
  standards of beauty were objective and universal.

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Democratization of Literature

• Classical literature was elitist
• written for the educated, upper-class minority.
• Written to share ideas, not for profit.
• Romanticism turned literature into a mass market
• Romantic fiction did not require knowledge of
  ancient Greek or Roman History
• Appeal to emotion widened popular audience
• Women were a new audience, as well as,
  increasingly, predominant authors
• E.g., Uncle Toms Cabin, written by Harriet
  Beecher Stowe

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The New American LiteratureJames Fenimore

• James Fenimore Cooper With the use of his
  popular character Natty Bumppo, Cooper was one of
  the first American authors to develop a
  distinctly American literature as a model for
  future writers.

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The New American LiteratureRalph Waldo Emerson
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism a new school of thought which influenced literature, religion, culture, and philosophy. It claimed that Truth could be directly perceived through emotion.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson Leader of the
  transcendentalist movement.
• Emerson rejected the primacy of education and
  reason in seeking truth.
• Asserted that every individual is capable of
  knowing God, truth, and beauty by following his
  feelings.
• Asserted that America could produce its own
  uniquely American art and literature without
  European influence.

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The New American LiteratureHenry David Thoreau

• His philosophy of nonviolent resistance
  influenced many future political leaders.
• He refused unfair government policies and chose
  to go to jail instead.

I became convinced that noncooperation with evil
is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation
with good. No other person has been more eloquent
and passionate in getting this idea across than
Henry David Thoreau. As a result of his writings
and personal witness, we are the heirs of a
legacy of creative protest. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
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The New American LiteratureMargaret Fuller

• One of the leaders of the transcendentalism
  movement
• Combined transcendentalism with feminism in her
  book Women and the Nineteenth Century

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The New American LiteratureWalt Whitman

• Celebrated the common man of America in his bold
  free verse poetry collection Leaves of Grass.

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Hawthorne, Melville, and Poevs.
Transcendentalists

• Transcendentalists had an optimistic view of
  human nature conflicts could be resolved if
  individuals followed the promptings of their
  better selves
• In contrast, Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe had a
  pessimistic view of human nature they saw
  individuals as bundles of conflicting forces
  that, even with good intentions, they might never
  reconcile
• Their stories featured characters obsessed by
  pride, guilt, revenge, and moral conflict

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Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Herman Melville
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Edgar Allan Poe
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American Landscape Painting

• The Hudson River school
• Based around the Hudson, but their paintings
  depicted many different beautiful sights from the
  West as well
• Sought to develop a national identity in art
• Wanted to promote nature due to wide-spread fear
  that its beauty would soon be destroyed.
• Recognized that the American landscape differed
  immensely from the European landscape. Depicted
  lush, fresh, and relatively untouched landscapes

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Schroon Mountain, Adirondacks, Thomas Cole, 1838
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Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, George
Cabel Bingham, 1848
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Kindred Spirits, Asher Durand, 1849
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The Course of Empire, The Savage State, Thomas
Cole, 1834
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The Course of Empire, The Arcadian or Pastoral
State, Thomas Cole, 1834
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The Course of Empire, The Consummation of
Empire, Thomas Cole, 1835-36
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The Course of Empire, Destruction, Thomas Cole,
1837
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The Course of Empire, Desolation, Thomas Cole,
1837
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George Catlin

• Like Hudson River School, Catlin wanted to
  preserve a vanishing America
• His goal was to paint as many Native Americans as
  possible - to capture their images in their
  pure and savage state

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George Catlin

• Catlins paintings depicted a highly romanticized
  view of Indians
• Catlin and his admirers shared the belief that,
  although a dignified and noble population, Native
  Americans were doomed to extinction