Commerce and Industry/Men and Women at Work

Commerce and Industry/Men and Women at Work

Nationalism and Economic Growth Federalist Party - practically over by 1815, but the economic prosperity that it promoted was not. New wave of Democratic-Republicans adopted economic development as a major goal + supported the growing geographic size of the country. Madison recommended the renewal of the national bank s charter in message to Congress in 1815 This was a reflection of how much the Democratic-Republican policies had changed since advocates had fought so bitterly against Hamilton when the first bank was chartered during Washington s time in office. Protective tariff - A tax on goods designed to protect American-made products Was made by Madison to to raise government revenues and promote manufacturing. Tariff of 1816 - raised tariff rates to protect American manufacturers from the flood of British goods that threatened American markets once the British war with France ended and British manufacturing returned to normal.

Nationalism and Economic Growth Madison recognized Jeffersonian republicanism when he denied that the federal government had the constitutional authority to build local roads and canals, but a new gen. of congressional leaders supported federal funds for such projects. Democratic-Republicans John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky both believed that federally financed roads and canals were part of a larger picture of economic health, along with a protective tariff to stimulate industry and a national bank to coordinate the govt s spending. Economic growth, in that time, became a symbol that unified the country and built nationalistic pride, although regional differences remained, with the South generally less supportive of a tariff than were New England and the Middle Atlantic States, since the South benefitted less and was more dependent on overseas markets for its agricultural products.

James Madison Alexander Hamilton John C. Calhoun Henry Clay Thomas Jefferson

Early Industrialization Industrial Revolution - began during the 18th cen. In Britain, and then it spread to the U.S by the early 19th cen. The Industrial Rev. was an economic change in the source of energy for work. Before, energy was provided primarily through human and animal effort. It was basic principle that civilizations had always been organized around, and had built economic, social, and political structures to support it. Agricultural societies used many arrangements: serfs toiled for lords; small farmers labored in their own fields; governments ordered workers to construct public buildings; and plantation owners bought and sold people to work for them. The sub. of human and animal labor with machine power changed basic civilization forever, and although it did not eliminate old forms of work entirely, the relationship of people to work was fundamentally altered. Early inventions that changed the source of energy first used moving water and then steam to operate large machines in mills and factories, and the experimentation began first in Britain. Industrialization consisted of two types of changes: technological innovation and organizational changes. Technological innovations made it possible to produce goods by machines rather than by hand, and organizational changes moved the place of work from homes and farms to factories. Instead of agricultural needs determining the division of labor, work was divided according to what was necessary to make the machinery more complex, and more expensive, large businesses with plenty of capital were encouraged to form.

The Market Revolution in North America British trade stimulated the spread of industrialization across the Atlantic to North America, where natural resources and available land space encouraged economic development. The changes from manual to machine labor combined with new and faster means of transportation and communication to shape the market revolution that emerged in the U.S during the early 19th century. The first American textile mill was built in Rhode Island in 1791 by Samuel Slater, a former worker in an English factory. 1860 - Industry concentrated on processing NA s abundant food and lumber resources. Iron and steel industries rapidly developed during the late 19th cen. Most early industry flourished along the northeastern coast of the U.S, where despite a lack of abundant natural resources, the large populations from Boston in industrial products. New York City became one of the world s largest ports, with a huge skilled and semiskilled labor force, and a fine natural harbor for break-of-bulk from ships to trains and trucks and vice versa. By the middle years of the 19th cen., the U.S had developed the beginnings of a modern capitalist economy had an advanced industrial capacity. Created enormous wealth and changed the face of all areas in the nation, but not equally to each person. Some classes and regions benefited from the economic development far more than others.

William James Bennett, View of South Street, from Maiden Lane, New York City, ca. 1827

The Expansion of Business and the Emergence of the Factory Business grew because of population, transportation revolution, and new practices Retain distribution became more efficient with specialty stores in cities Individual plus small merchant capitalist companies dominated, but some larger businesses gave way to corporations. Combined resources of large number of shareholders. Grew 1830s b/c states passed easy incorporation laws. Limited liability meant stockholder risked only value of investment if corp failed Great demand for capital led businesses to rely on credit, but gold and silver standards of govt led to too little money, led private banks to issue less stable notes Bank failures frequent, insecure deposits. Credit difficulty limited growth Before War of 1812, most manufacturing occurred in private households in small workshops. Technology and demand led to factories. Began in New England textile industry, large water-driven machines increased production 1820s factory system in shoe industry, by 1830s it spread throughout Northeast. By 1860 value of manufactured goods roughly equal to agricultural goods. Largest manufacturers located in the Northeast, and large amount of people were employed.

The Factory System and Social Class Factory system created a strict division between workers and managers, as well as a small group of factory owners who bought the equipment and machinery. As the wealth of the latter group increased, the pay workers generally did not, and the gap between the rich and the poor grew substantially. The managers often became a part of the urban middle class, although they might aspire to factory ownership if they could only raise the substantial amount of capital necessary. New divisions of labor on the factory floor, where each worker performed the same task over and over, was often quite tedious, and workers who had been artisans before now had to place in the factory setting. Jobs were broken down into tasks so small that unskilled workers (or even children) with low wages could perform them. Managers were expected to pressure workers to speed up production, often at the expense of their safety.

The Factory System and Social Class The lower class in urban areas were the laborers who worked in the factories, and a substantial number also worked in mines owned by the elite. Most had fewer skills than artisans of earlier periods, and they generally worked for low wages and lived in crowded urban housing or in company-towns in mining areas. Factory work was dirty and tedious, and few factory owners protected their workers against dangerous substances or circumstances. Without safety provisions, the workers were prone to accidents. Incomes were so low that workers normally spent between two-thirds and three-fourths of their budget on food. Work hours were long, and usually all able-bodied family members worked outside their homes (including women and children). Massachusetts 1825, the daily wage of an unskilled worker was about ⅔ that of a mechanic; two decades later it was less than half as much. Immigrants who worked in the clothing industry in New York City in the 1850s earned less than $80 a year.

The Textile Industry Textile Industry experimented with more efficient, less expensive ways to produce goods, particularly cotton. Coton had been produced by hand in China, India, and the Middle East for many years, but like porcelain, it was expensive for Europeans to import, though wealthy people often preferred it to wool. Beginning in the 1760s, a series of innovations made it possible to produce cotton cloth in Britain, although the climate wasn t adequate to grow the plant since it was too cold. The first was the spinning jenny that twisted cotton fibers into thread. Once thread production speeded up, inventors were inspired to come up with machines to weave the cloth produced. By the 1830s, large English textile mills were performing the entire process of transforming raw cotton into printed cloth at lower prices for the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 increased the amount of cotton that farms in the American South were able to produce, so America became a major supplier to the British textile mills. Cotton gin: a device that separated the cotton fibers from the boll, or seed.

The Spinning Jenny

Transformation of the Shoe Industry Shoe industry was concentrated in eastern Massachusetts. Shoes were still largely handmade, but manufacturers were beginning to employ people who specialized in one or another of the various tasks involved in production. Some factories began producing large numbers of identical shoes in ungraded sizes and without distinction as to rights and lefts. By 1830s, factory production was spreading from textiles and shoes into other industries and from New England to other areas of the Northeast.

The Industrial Northeast There were approx. 140,000 manufacturing establishments in the country in 1860 throughout the country, and only 74,000 were located in the Northeast. Northeast plants were so large that the region produced more than two-thirds of the nation s manufactured goods. Of the 1,311,000 workers in manufacturing in the U.S, about 938,000 were employed in the mills and factories of New England and the mid-atlantic states.

Advances in Technology Developed industries relatively immature, and fine items came from England. By the 1840s there were rapid machine technology advances, and sophisticated textile industry. Manufacture of machine tools improved by the government supported research for military (at Springfield Armory, MA)- turret lathe and universal milling machine in early 19th century. Later came the precision grinder. Better machine tools allowed for wide use of interchangeable parts, new uses: Industrialization aided by new energy sources: coal replacing wood + water in factories. Allowed mills to be located away from streams, easier expansion Technological advances due to American inventors, increasing number of patents. Included Howe-Singer sewing machine and the Goodyear vulcanized rubber.

Eastern Manufacturing Cities and Towns The old Atlantic seaports (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston) continued to be centers for foreign trade, and as the market economy grew, they also became centers of finance and manufacturing. New York grew especially fast, with its population quadrupling between 1820 and 1860 to more that 800,000. Part of its growth is explained by a massive increase in German and Irish immigrants, who poured into the city to provide labor for small-scale manufacturing and the clothing industry. New York s fine harbor and its access to the interior via the Erie Canal made it an ideal outlet for shipments of western grain, as well as an entrance for manufactured goods to make their way out west. By 1840 almost ⅔ of foreign imports to the U.S came into the port of New York. Urbanization in the east was also promoted by the development of the factory system, which resulted in the growth of factory towns. The Industrial Rev. was fueled by technological innovations, but new ways of organizing work were equally important in the transformation of economies. Most of the new machinery was too big and costly to be used at home according to the old putting out system, so it made sense to centralize it close to the areas where it was produced. The workers were brought to the machines, each doing a specialized task in a highly coordinated production process. Managers now could directly supervise and demand discipline from workers in ways that were not possible under the earlier arrangement.

Links Between the West and Northeast Between 1815-1860, railroads and canals linked in the Northeast and the Midwest, with railroads becoming more important than canals by the end of the era. Erie Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad connected the Atlantic ports New York, Philadelphia, and Boston- with the Great Lakes cities of Cleveland and Ohio. During the 1850s, a railroad boom extended lines into the countryside and lowered the cost of shipping farm products to market. New farms popped up on prairie lands of the Midwestern states as transportation connections improved. In contrast to the rural South, the Midwest began producing its own manufactured goods as early as the 1830s. Example: John Deere, a blacksmith in a small Illinois town, made his first steel plow in 1837 and opened a factory ten years later. Deere s steel plows were stronger than the earlier cast-iron models, and the industry grew rapidly. Other midwestern companies mass-produced reapers that hastened the harvesting process, and soon wheat from the Midwest flowed into eastern and European markets.

Western Cities and Commercial Farmers Western cities at the crossroads of interregional trade like Cincinnati, Detroit, and St. Louis grew at phenomenal rates. As the overall midwestern population grew during the 1830s and 1840s, St. Louis and Detroit emerged as centers of commerce where merchants and bankers provided essential services to farmers and small-town merchants in the surrounding countryside. The largest of the western cities was Chicago, which became a rail hub for farm products from the Northwest to gather for shipment to the East. Western cities were crucial links between western farmers and eastern markets. As a web of transportation expanded across the Northwest, farmers were brought into the new market economy, and they increasingly concentrated on growing crops and raising farm animals for sale. As the incomes of these commercial farmers grew, they began to purchase goods that they previously produced at home, and so they created a market for manufactured goods from the East. By the mid-cen., manufacturing centers opened in cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chicago, providing jobs for hundreds of artisans and factory laborers.

Recruiting a Native Workforce In the factory system s early years, recruiting labor difficult because of farms and small cities. New farmlands in Midwest + new farm machinery and techniques increased food production and decreased need for labor. Transport allowed importation of food from other regions people in New Eng left for factories. Some recruitment brought whole families from the farm to the mill with parents and children, but the Lowell/Waltham system enlisted young women. Labor conditions were relatively good in early years of system, better than Europe. Lowell system used young, unmarried women but had good housing and food. Even well-treated workers found transition from their life on the farm to a factory difficultregimented env t, repetitive tasks. Women had little other choice because they were barred from manual labor,and it was unthinkable to travel in search of opportunity. Competitive textile market of 1830s and 1840s manufactures had difficulty maintaining high standards and conditions, and wages fell. Union of Factory Girls Association struck twice, but both failed. Eventually immigrants filled jobs.

Transformation of American Agriculture In the factory system s early years, recruiting labor difficult because of farms and small cities. New farmlands in Midwest + new farm machinery and techniques increased food production and decreased need for labor. Transport allowed importation of food from other regions people in New Eng left for factories. Some recruitment brought whole families from the farm to the mill with parents and children, but the Lowell/Waltham system enlisted young women. Labor conditions were relatively good in early years of system, better than Europe. Lowell system used young, unmarried women but had good housing and food. Even well-treated workers found transition from their life on the farm to a factory difficultregimented env t, repetitive tasks. Women had little other choice because they were barred from manual labor,and it was unthinkable to travel in search of opportunity. Competitive textile market of 1830s and 1840s manufactures had difficulty maintaining high standards and conditions, and wages fell. Union of Factory Girls Association struck twice, but both failed. Eventually immigrants filled jobs.

The Lowell System The Lowell System is very different than systems in England. Mostly recruits young unmarried women. In England, the working conditions for women were often horrifyingly bad. Women workers in the coal mines endured unimaginably wretched conditions Visitors from England visiting America considered the Lowell mill a female paradies by contrast. In America, the work conditions were great. Many New Englanders considered the employment of women to be vaguely immoral, thus emphasizing a proper environment for their employees Payment was reasonable at the time. The women even wrote and published a monthly magazine, the Lowell Offering. Many women found it hard to transition from farm life to factory life Many women did not like it because it was very tedious and schedules really didn t change. They also experienced extreme loneliness and disorientation Women were not limited to working only in the factories. They could have done more manual work, but it wasn t looked kindly upon it because society did not believe women should embark on the journey as men do (to search for job opportunities).

Women Workers

Handbook to Lowell (Hamilton Manufacturing Company) Factory Rules Seems like there are early versions of health insurance. 2 weeks needed to quit. Must be engaged in work for twelve to not be discharged. Religion is important. Must attend church regularly (Without church, they are seen as guilty and immoral Pay checks monthly Boarding House Rules Similar to rules in apartments Must be a community to work together Simpson Manufacturing Code of Conduct - 2011 Very similar to the Handbook to Lowell, but more detailed Religion is not required

Decline of the Lowell System Rivaling textile markets need better products so Wages declined and work became more intense and worse (1830s and 1840s) In 1834, a union under the Lowell workers called the Factory Girl Association protested a 25% wage cut. Two years later, call another protest against a rent increase in the boarding houses Both protests failed, but ultimately destroyed the organization Sarah Bagley created the Female Labor Reform Association and began demanding for improvements in the conditions in mills They made demands of management and also turned to state government and asked for legislative investigation of conditions in the mills The workforce changed after their demands (They went into more teaching and domestic services and or got married) The Labor force began to turn into immigrants

Immigrant Workforce The Workforce was filled with plenty immigrants after the 1840. They were less efficient than women at that time making the owners give them worse working conditions Many of the workers were unskilled giving the bossed the opportunity to give them low wages. Low enough wages that it wasn t enough to support their family Irish workers were predominated 1840s textile industry. This led to the deterioration of the working conditions. Less social pressure on owners to maintain decent environment for workers. Employers pay piece rates instead of daily wages to speed production Harsh Work Conditions Factories were becoming large, noisy, and unsanitary. It became a dangerous place to work. Hours were long, wages were declining. However, America still had better conditions than those of England and Europe as a whole.