The Nation Expands
UNIT 6
The Nation Expands
“In entering upon the great work before us… we shall make every effort within our power to secure our object.”
Declaration of Sentiments, Elizabeth Cady Stanton
362
THEME
Crossing Frontiers
"The people who crossed the frontier must have been courageous and strong, since it was such a dangerous trip."
Chris Haynes, Fifth Grade Rumford, ME
A frontier is an unknown territory — unsettled land or unexplored ideas. During the first half of the 1800s, Americans were exploring a number of new frontiers. Some pushed westward into new regions. Others took part in an industrial revolution that led to the rise of factories and cities. Still a third group launched reform movements to make the nation a better place to live. The people who crossed these frontiers were all pioneers, and they would shape the United States well beyond the 19th century.
Theme Project
Journey Across America
The year is 1835, and you are traveling across America to settle in new territory. Make a record of your trip.
· Create a map of a route that you might take. Include at least one city on your journey.
· How far will you travel? How long will it take?
· Draw pictures of the transportation you might use.
· Write letters describing the people you meet.
RESEARCH: Find out about diaries and letters from people who journeyed west. What were they like?
---The Oregon Trail, by Albert Bierstadt, 1869
363
UNIT 6
WHEN & WHERE
ATLAS
In the early 1800s, few people could vote, most Americans lived on farms, and "the West" was the land just past the Appalachian Mountains. By 1850, all that had changed. Rapid industrial growth and political and social reforms shook American society. As the map shows, The United States gained much territory and new industrial and cotton growing areas developed during these years.
In this unit, you will read how the revolution in American politics was accompanied by an industrial revolution. You will also learn about the reforming spirit in the nation and growing divisions between North and South. Finally, you will read how, by the mid-1800s, the United States stretched "from sea to shining sea."
Unit 6 Chapters
Chapter 14 People in a Growing Country
Chapter 15 Moving West
Unit Timeline
Sequoya
Find out which alphabet this man invented. Chapter 14, Lesson 1
Mill Girls
What are these girls making? Chapter 14, Lesson 2
Sojourner Truth
This woman had a mission and a message. What were they? Chapter 14, Lesson 4
The Republic of Texas
Find out why this state had its own president. Chapter 15, Lesson 1
Trails West
Thousands of settlers made the long journey west. Chapter 15, Lesson 2
364
CHAPTER 14
People in a Growing Country
Chapter Preview: People, Places, and Events
Textile Mills
How would you like to work at this machine? Lesson 2, Page 375
The Cotton Gin
Cotton that goes in this box comes out clean. Find out how. Lesson 3, Page 377
Slavery in the South
Enslaved people did the heavy labor on plantations. Lesson 3, Page 378
Andrew Jackson
Barbecues, parties, and parades helped elect this man. Lesson 1, Page 369
The Trail of Tears
Where are these Cherokee going? And why? Lesson 1, Page 370
Susan B. Anthony
Whose rights did this woman stand up for? Lesson 4, Page 387
366
LESSON 1
Jackson: A New Kind of Politics
Main Idea A frontier America elected Andrew Jackson as President. Westward movement forced Native Americans off their lands.
Key Vocabulary
suffrage
candidate
Key Events
1828 Andrew Jackson is first elected
1830 Indian Removal Act is passed
1838 Trail of Tears
"One uninterrupted stream of mud and filth." That is how one Washington, D.C., member of Congress described the excited crowd pouring into the White House. It was March 4, 1829, and nearly 20,000 people had followed Andrew Jackson from the Capitol, where he had taken an oath to become their new President. Inside the White House, they spilled orange punch and broke china dishes. Rugged frontiersmen with muddy boots stood on expensive chairs, hoping to catch a glimpse of their hero. To save the White House from complete destruction, the crowd was moved outdoors on the front lawn. These rowdy people were supporters of a new democracy. Many of them had voted for the first time. Jackson was a new kind of President, and he would begin a new kind of politics.
---This painting is called "Verdict of the People" by George Caleb Bingham.
367
This chart shows the increase in the number of people who could vote and the number of voters during two election years. Chart Skill: How many more people voted in the 1828 presidential election than in the 1824 election? Why?
By 1822, another 11 states had joined the original 13 colonies. Map Skill: How many of the new states were west of the original 13 colonies?
The Growth of Democracy
Focus How did the growth of democracy in the United States help Andrew Jackson?
According to the United States Constitution, each state controls which of its citizens can vote. In the late 1700s, most states said that only those white men who owned private property and paid taxes could vote. African Americans, Native Americans, women, and the poor did not vote. Big changes were happening, however.
As Americans moved west, where land was cheap and plentiful, the number of states increased (see map below). Frontier people wanted more democracy. They believed that they and their neighbors were equals and that rights should not be based on wealth. The new states wrote constitutions that fit that democratic spirit. They were the first to give suffrage to all white men. Suffrage is the right to vote. Gradually, the eastern states followed. The growth of democracy went only so far; most free African Americans, women, and Native Americans still could not vote.
Jackson — The Common Man's President
Now that poor farmers and workers could vote, they wanted a President who would represent them. To achieve that goal, people
368
joined the Democratic-Republican Party. The Democrats, as they were called, urged every man to vote. They held barbecues, parties, and parades to stir up support for their candidate, Andrew Jackson. A candidate is a person running for political office.
Like many westerners, Jackson was a "self-made man." Born on the frontier, he grew up poor and lost both of his parents by age 15. As you learned in Chapter 13, he became a hero in the War of 1812 as a general in the Battle of New Orleans.
Jackson won the 1828 election, largely because of his many thousands of supporters from America's western states. Not all Americans, however, looked forward to his presidency. Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts wrote:
“My opinion is that when he comes he will bring a breeze with him. Which way it will blow, I cannot tell. . . . My fear is stronger than my hope.”
As President, Jackson worked to limit the power of wealthy men, whom he believed controlled the country's government and economy. He closed the private Bank of the United States, believing that it helped the rich grow richer. He supported laws that helped farmers and working people. Jackson believed it was the President's duty to "protect the liberty and rights of the people." Sadly, while protecting the rights of some people, he trampled on others.
George Caleb Bingham, an American painter and a politician, often painted scenes related to politics. In this painting, Country Politician, three men discuss politics Citizenship: How does this painting suggest an increase in political participation by the common man?
In the War of 1812, Jackson earned the nickname "Old Hickory," after one of the hardest kinds of wood. Democrats stuck hickory poles in the ground and hung posters like the one above, to rally for Jackson. Citizenship: How does this poster show what was important to voters in the election of 1828?
369
The Trail of Tears
1. October 1-November, 1838 13,000 Cherokees begin the journey to Indian Territory.
2. The trails turn to mud during heavy rains. Farmers charge high prices for food.
3. Due to hunger and exposure, 10-20 Cherokees die each day.
4. The Mississippi clogs with loose ice, delaying some groups for up to a month. Winter storms cause many more deaths.
5. January 4-March 25, 1839 9,000 Cherokees arrive in Indian Territory.
The removal of the Cherokee was called the Trail of Tears. Map Skill: Through which states did the Trail of Tears pass?
Native American Removal
Focus How were Native Americans removed from the Southeast?
As American settlers crossed the Appalachians, they entered territory controlled by five Native American nations: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole.
Settlers wanted this rich land and pressured Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act in 1830. It required Native Americans to sell their land to the United States government and move to a territory west of the Mississippi River, in present-day Oklahoma.
While some Native Americans left their homelands peacefully, many refused to go. The Seminoles, led by Chief Osceola, fought a seven-year war with the United States Army, from 1835 to 1842. In the end, Osceola was captured, and the Seminoles were forced to leave their homeland.
Native Americans who resisted removal were rounded up by the U.S. army, and forced to march west. A Creek woman tells the story of a seven-year-old Creek girl on the long journey:
370
“Her grandmother held her very close by the campfire and told her that they had come far far away from home and they would never see their homeland and advised her to be brave and never cry.”
When Georgia state officials tried to push the Cherokee out of their homes, the Cherokee took the state of Georgia to court. In 1832, the Supreme Court ruled that Georgia officials could not enter Cherokee lands. Although it was Jackson's job to enforce the Supreme Court ruling, he ignored it and did not stop the removal of the Cherokee from their lands.
For each of the Native American groups, the forced move west was a long and harsh journey. Around 15,000 Cherokee made the trip. As many as 4,000 of them died on the way. Because the removal of the Cherokee in 1838 caused so much suffering, the journey is known as the "Trail of Tears" (see map at left).
For many American settlers the West offered new opportunities. But for Native Americans, heading west meant the loss of their lands and change in their way of life.
Biography
Sequoya
Before 1822, the Cherokee told stories and sang songs to pass on their history. They didn't have a written language. A Cherokee named Sequoya worked for 12 years to create the first Cherokee writing system. Soon, many Cherokee learned to read and write their language. In 1828, the tribe published their first newspaper called the Cherokee Phoenix.
Lesson Review
1. Key Vocabulary: Write a paragraph about Andrew Jackson's election using suffrage and candidate.
2. Focus: How did the growth of democracy in the United States help Andrew Jackson?
3. Focus: How were Native Americans removed from the Southeast?
4. Critical Thinking: Generalize Compare the experience of the settlers who moved west with the experience of Native Americans after the Indian Removal Act.
5. Theme: Crossing Frontiers A frontier can be an unsettled place or a new area of knowledge. Are there any frontiers that exist today?
6. Citizenship/Math Activity: Find out how many people voted in the last election for President. How does that compare to the number of voters in Andrew Jackon's election in 1828?
371
LESSON 2
The Industrial Revolution
Main Idea New inventions led to new kinds of transportation and the growth of factories.
Key Vocabulary
Industrial Revolution
canal
interchangeable parts
mass production
Key Events
1790 First spinning mill
1807 Fulton builds a steamboat
1825 Erie Canal opens
One day in 1830, Peter Cooper stood in front of an odd-, looking vehicle he called "Tom Thumb." It was a steam engine placed on a wooden platform with four wheels. The steam engine powered the platform forward.
Until then, horses were the fastest transportation over land. The first American railroads were horse-pulled wagons on wooden tracks. Soon, the horse was replaced by imported trains from England. America did not yet have its own steam-engine industry.
Tom Thumb was ready for its first trip. Starting slowly, it steadily gained speed, reaching an incredible 15 miles per hour! America's first public steam-engine railroad was under way. Who could have guessed that 30 years later, railroads would link most of the country's major cities? Tom Thumb was a sign that the Industrial Revolution had come to America.
The first trains burned wood for fuel and had tall, funnel-shaped smokestacks. Later, as coal replaced wood, the stacks became straight — as in this illustration of an 1850s steam-engine train.
The public railroad allowed people to travel long distances over land much more easily. As a result, more people moved west.
With railroads, goods and cattle could be transported. This greatly increased trade.
372
This graph shows the increase in miles of tracks in the United States during the 1800s. Graph Skill: Was the increase in railroad tracks greater between 1840 and 1850 or between 1850 and 1860?
---Refer to graph on page 373
A Nation on the Move
Focus What impact did steamboats, canals, and railroads have on the nation?
The Industrial Revolution is the name given to the great changes that began in England with a series of inventions in the middle and late 1700s. As new machines led to the growth of factories, people started working in factories instead of in their homes or small shops. By the early 1800s, the Industrial Revolution was beginning to change America, too. It was helped by a revolution in transportation — the way people and goods moved across the country.
Steamboats, Canals, and Railroads
In the late 1700s, traveling by water was the quickest and cheapest way to carry people and goods over long distances. The problem with rivers, though, was that boats or barges had a hard time moving upstream against the current. American inventors solved that problem by creating steam engines to power boats.
A man named Robert Fulton was the first person to build a steamboat that was a financial success. On August 17, 1807, Fulton's boat made a 150-mile trip on the Hudson River in 30 hours, averaging five miles per hour. So effective was the steamboat that people wanted to use boats where rivers didn't exist.
Coal is burned to heat water, turning it into steam, which powers the train. The tender, a small car behind the engine, holds the water and coal.
Smoke from the burning coal escapes through the smokestack.
373
They did — by building canals. A canal is a waterway that is made by people. Canals can link a river and a lake or make shortcuts on a winding river. The greatest canal of all, the Erie Canal, opened in 1825. It stretched 363 miles, from Albany to Buffalo, New York.
Farmers in Indiana could now load their crops onto canal boats and sell them in New York. With this greater movement of goods, the economy grew in the new western states.
Not everyone could transport their goods, or themselves, along rivers or canals. Many parts of the country didn't have waterways. In those places, people turned to the railroad.
New England and New York took the lead in building railroads. They were soon joined by the rest of the country. Rail transportation made it easier for settlers to move west and move their products back east. Railroads proved more dependable than canals and could be built anywhere. The railroads helped spread the Industrial Revolution across the United States.
The Growth of Factories
Focus How did inventions lead to the growth of industry?
In 1789, Samuel Slater left England for America. His pockets were empty, but in his head he carried something more valuable than money. He had memorized the plans for building cotton mills.
England's economy depended on the cotton industry. To prevent competition, England did not allow designs for mills out of the country. Slater had worked in mills since he was 14. He knew all about spinning machines. A year after he arrived in America, Slater used his knowledge to build a mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Spinning Mills
Before the Industrial Revolution, turning raw cotton into cotton yarn was a long, hard task usually done in the home. New machines made the process faster and easier. These spinning machines were put in large buildings, called mills.
Spinning machines needed a lot of water power to run. New England had many fast rivers with waterfalls — the perfect spot for mills. By 1815, nearly 165 mills dotted river banks in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
The above engraving, which was owned by Samuel Slater, shows young women operating machines in a mill.
A bobbin (below) held cotton yarn, and a spindle (bottom) guided the yarn through looms that were used in spinning mills.
374
In 1814, Francis Cabot Lowell built a factory in Waltham, Massachusetts. His was the first mill to contain the entire process for turning raw cotton into printed cloth. He recruited young New England farm girls to work in the mill. Many girls already knew how to spin and weave, and he paid them less than he would have to pay men. Soon, "mill girls" became a common sight in cotton mills everywhere. Mary Paul, a worker at a cotton mill, described the daily routine in a letter to her family:
"At half past six (the bell) rings for the girls to get up and at seven they are called into the mill. At half past 12 we have dinner, are called back again at one and stay, till half past seven.”
Despite the hard conditions, the mills gave many young women their first taste of independence and money to send home.
Tell Me More
The Life of a Mill Girl
As cotton mills sprung up across New England, ads like the one at right attracted young girls from their farms. Packing their belongings in trunks, they set out for the mills.
Mill girls faced long, hard days working in cotton mills. They worked side by side for hours, then lived together in boarding houses, sometimes with six girls in a room. Throughout the day, bells rang to tell the girls what to do. Inside the mills, the girls worked in steamy, noisy rooms filled with up to 1,200 machines. Tiny pieces of cotton filled the air — and the girls' lungs. Despite the hardships of mill life, young women continued to leave home.
This trunk held the personal belongings of a mill worker named Eliza Adams. In it are scissors, a pair of gloves, her journal, a book, and a framed silhouette — perhaps of someone she missed.
375
Above is a photograph of the first clock made with interchangeable parts. This meant that each part of this clock was mass-produced separately by a different machine.
Mass Production
Mill owners like Samuel Slater and Francis Cabot Lowell developed a faster way of making goods. Another businessman and inventor, Eli Whitney, also helped create a modern manufacturing system.
In 1798, the United States government ordered 10,000 muskets from Whitney. He had never made a gun in his life, and 10,000 muskets was a huge number. Why was Whitney so sure he could make the guns? Because he had a new plan.
At his gun factory outside New Haven, Connecticut, Whitney built machines that could quickly stamp out identical parts of a gun. The parts were interchangeable, meaning a part from one gun could be used on another. Before Whitney's system, guns were made separately by hand. With interchangeable parts, fewer workers could make more guns. This is known as mass production —making large amounts of goods in a short time.
Whitney's system quickly caught on. Other American manufacturers used interchangeable parts and mass production to make items such as clocks, watches, and sewing machines. With mass production, workers with fewer skills could make more goods. At the same time, many crafts people who took pride in their work lost their jobs. Those who could find jobs now had to stand and work at a machine. The Industrial Revolution changed people's lives and began a new age of American manufacturing.
Lesson Review
1. Key Vocabulary: Write a paragraph about the U.S. economy using Industrial Revolution, interchangeable parts, and mass production.
2. Focus: What impact did steamboats, canals, and railroads have on the nation?
3. Focus: How did inventions lead to the growth of industry?
4. Critical Thinking: Cause and Effect How did mass production affect workers?
5. Theme: Crossing Frontiers Name at least three ways that the railroad affected the United States.
6. Geography/Math Activity: Using an atlas, choose a city you would like to visit. Estimate how long it would take you to get there on foot. In a car. By train. Could you get there by boat?
376
LESSON 3
North and South: Worlds Apart
Main Idea The North and South developed increasingly different economies and ways of life in the early 1800s.
Key Vocabulary
overseer
tenement
Key Events
1793 Invention of cotton gin
1808 Closing of Atlantic slave trade
1831 Nat Turner's rebellion
America's Industrial Revolution changed both the North and South, but in very different ways. In 1793, five years before building his gun factory, New Englander Eli Whitney visited the Georgia plantation of Catherine Greene. Whitney learned of a dilemma in the South: While demand for the South's cotton crop was high, cleaning and producing cotton was a slow process. He wrote to his father,
“If a machine could be invented which would clean the cotton [easily] . . . it would be a great thing both to the, country and the inventor.”
Within ten days Whitney created that machine: the cotton gin.
The soft fiber of the cotton boll must be separated from the sharp stem. Enslaved workers cut their hands while picking cotton.
To clean the cotton, the small seeds hidden inside must be removed. Before the cotton gin, it took one worker an entire day to clean one pound of cotton.
When the handle of this cotton gin is turned, wire teeth separate the seeds from the cotton.
377
Cotton and Slavery
Focus How did the rise of the cotton kingdom and the spread of slavery change the South?
Only a few southern states grew cotton before the invention of the cotton gin. With Whitney's machine, however, planters could plant more cotton, clean it faster, and sell more. Soon cotton was grown throughout the South. Southerners still grew other crops, but as one southern senator said, "cotton is king."
Slavery
In 1808, the United States halted the entry of enslaved Africans into the country. As cotton farming boomed, the demand for enslaved workers increased. Most African Americans in the region were forced to work on plantations. Solomon Northrup, a free black from New York who was captured and sold into slavery, described the hard life he encountered: