The United States & Texas in 1850

The Geography of Natural Resources led to:

Regional Industries and Sectionalism Immigration Governmental Regulation Transportation Systems

The U.S. Develops Economically  The Development of Natural Resources lead to regional enterprise

 As in the Hunger Games each district had its own economy and natural resource, so did the U.S. Sometimes industry overlapped, but mostly they developed into sectional enterprise

 The U.S. Government had to set policies for all of the U.S.-much of it diverse

Development of the South  Land was abundant- but not population because land was used for agriculture instead of cities; families owned large plantations

 Cotton- the invention of the Cotton Gin increases cotton processing; Demand for labor at all-time high in the South

 Cattle Ranching had roots in the Spanish and Mexican culture, and they brought it to Texas in its earliest settlement

 Timber is EVERYWHERE!

Resources of the South Natural Resources and associative Enterprise  Land (see agriculture below)  Timber - Lumber and Sawmills  Coast - Fishermen Wharf; Sea Ports for trade, transport, and military Agricultural Resources  Cotton  Cattle (and other livestock)  Corn (and other grain products)

Development of the North (IL, IN, OH, PE, NY, NJ, etc.)  Population: Land was not as abundant or good for agriculture; so people came to cities  Industries developed in urban centers because of their need for people to serve as laborers.

 Many immigrants came to the U.S.

 Shipbuilding: water ways the main freight transportation before railroads

 Textile Factories (woven materials)

 Steel Factories

Resources of the North Natural Resources and associative Enterprise

 Population; large population sources are needed for laborers in factories and natural resource harvesting

 Coal - Mining (mining camps); fueled factories

 Iron Ore – steel; railroad; machinery

 Coast - Fishermen Wharf; whaling; Sea Ports for trade, transport, and military

 Oil (first strike in Pennsylvania; not much today)

Financial Resources-

 Treasuries of gold and silver; Money and banking found in urban centers; circulated by people, enterprise, and government.

Development of the West (Unorganized Territories)  Land was abundant- but no population!

 How would it be governed?  would the Federal Government (congress) decide or the States themselves (Popular Sovereignty)  Gold & Silver discovery attracted people from all over the world, so governing settlement was very important

 Needed to extend transportation systems

 Natural Resources such as timber, that were diminishing in the North are revitalized in west

Resources of the West Natural Resources and associative Enterprise  Land; most of it mountainous. Agriculture in pockets around the river valleys  Gold & Silver - Mining (mining camps);  Granite & Bauxite- Pit mining

 Salt - Salt and other mineral mining- Great Salt Flats-Morton Salt factories

 Timber- in Pacific NW; Logging camps

 Military Bases- Mountains created natural defense bases. Started with defending the frontier from Indians but evolved into Continental and aerospace-monitoring in the Rocky Mountains like NORAD

Compromise of 1850  U.S. had to decide how Western Territory would be organized and governed

 Slavery was the most controversial political issue

 Battle over the balance of free and slave states admitted into the union (Representation)

 Abolitionists wanted to outlaw slavery at least in Washington D.C.

 Dispute of Texas borders added to the controversy of slavery.

Provisions of 1850 Compromise  California comes in as a free-state. It offsets Texas slave state (representatives)

 DC abolishes slave trade

 Texas boundaries are established

 Fugitive Slave Act- Northern states had to enforce the return of run-away-slaves

 Popular Sovereignty- slavery in the Mexican Cession lands is decided by popular sovereignty

Texas has a little of everything!  The Geography of Texas gives it diversity

 Resources of 1850s much like the South & West. Natural Resources:

 Timber  Low-grade coal  Granite  Oil  Agricultural Resources:

 Cotton  Cattle  Corn & Grain Sectionalism The cotton gin caused the South to develop differently than the North. The South’s economy was based on Agriculture and relied on slave labor. The North’s economy was based on manufacturing of diversified industries. Because of immigration and their population explosion, the north had plenty of cheap immigrant labor. Both labor practices were oppressive, however the South didn’t view their laborers (slaves) as human; they treated them like livestock (property).

These differences in resources and enterprise resulted in people to feel more loyal to their region than to their nation (sectionalism). Texas was loyal to the South. African-American slaves became the fastest growing population group in 1850s (Texas). Native Americans were driven off land known as Indian Removal policy; they moved west, or were relocated to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Eventually they were driven even further west or exterminated altogether.

Immigrant Populations The typical immigrant experience included:  Left due to problems in their homeland

 Different languages and culture

 Practiced different religions

 Worked for lower wages than natural born citizens of the U.S.

 “Nativists” (those born in the U.S.) resented immigrants for their differences

Texas Immigration Texas enjoyed several waves of immigration, like that of the U.S. It’s largest European immigrant group in the 1850s was German. They settled in several different towns:

 Gruene  Fredricksburg

 Schulenburg  Elgin

 New Braunfels  Brenham

 Pflugerville  Tomball/Spring/Klein

 La Grange

 New Braunfels was the largest German settlement.

 The second largest European immigrant group was Irish. The Irish came to escape the potato famine of their island. The potato was Ireland’s main food source and a disease thought to be potato blight wiped out their nation’s crops and caused widespread famine. Most Irish settled around San Patricio and Refugio . Transportation  Access to water transportation shaped the geography of early settlements  Canals were built to facilitate water transportation where there were gaps in river systems  Steamboats provided both passenger and freight transportation on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri Rivers  Rapid expansion of railroads brought the canal system to a sudden end  In 1835, only a few sporadic railroads existed to facilitate freight of resources, and mainly in the northeast.

  By 1850 railroads had expanded through Nationalism and the American System. After the U.S. acquired their western lands, many different plans for transcontinental rail systems were proposed.

. Regulating Western Land for Public Use  Both the U.S. Government and Texas Government began to regulate their public lands

 U.S. set up the Bureau of Land Management

 Texas set up the Texas Land Office

 These agencies managed public land for railroads and other infrastructure

 The military were stationed at forts to protect settlements and railroad workers from Indian attacks