I. Sectional Specialization following War of 1812 (Era of Good Feelings)

A. Industrialization of the Northeast
1) Factory system expanded quickly after Embargo Act and War of 1812 cut off competition from England. Factors assisting expansion:
a) Water power from streams and rivers

b) Capital accumulated by merchants and shipbuilders

c) Plentiful labor supply

d) Poor agricultural conditions

e) Lowell (or Waltham ) system brought girls to factories for a few years. No permanent working class. Strike in 1834 to protest 25% wage cut

2) New England became center of textile mills, while Pennsylvania led in production of iron.

3) Inventions

a) Oliver Evans completely mechanized a flour mill

b) Eli Whitney

i) Cotton gin to remove seeds from fiber

ii) Interchangeable parts in production of rifles

4) Goals of Northeast section

a) protective tariffs

b) high-priced public lands to keep workers from migrating

c) federally built internal improvements to expand home markets

B. Plantation agriculture of South

1) Cotton gin's invention increased productivity (in 10 years production increased 800%)

2) Removal of Indians from Southeastern US allowed expansion

3) Success of cotton led to one-crop economy

4) Goals of Southern section

a) low tariffs to encourage exchange with England

b) no internal improvements

c) public lands available for sale in large chunks

C. Diversified farming in the West

1) Small farms slowly gave way to specialized farms:
a) Wheat in northern plains

b) Corn and livestock in Ohio Valley

c) Tobacco in Kentucky

2) Improved transportation allowed for marketing of surpluses

3) Goals of the Western section

a) low-priced public lands to encourage settlement

b) protective tariffs to stimulate growth of a home market

c) federally built internal improvements

II. Improvements in Transportation

A. Demands were created for better roads and canals:
1) Northeast needed Southern cotton, western food

2) South and West needed manufactured goods

3) South needed food from the West

B. Many turnpikes (toll roads) built by private companies from 1800-1825. Most famous: Cumberland Road which allowed wagon traffic from the seaboard and the Ohio River.

C. Canal Era(1825-35)--need for cheaper, faster freight transportation

1) Erie Canal--350 miles and 88 locks--linked New York City (eventually) with New Orleans. Paid for itself in 7 years.

2) Numerous other canals were constructed by private companies.

D. Steamboat traffic along the Hudson, Mississippi and Ohio Rivers became extensive in the 1820s and 30s.

1) New York City to Albany--150 miles in 32 hours

2) Stimulated agricultural economy of West by providing better access to markets at lower cost.

III. Missouri Compromise (1820)

A. Missouri, populated mainly by Southerners, applied for statehood in 1819.

B. Northern states opposed adding a new slave state to the Union, which would upset the balance of 11 free and 11 slaves in the Senate

C. Compromise reached which stated

1) Missouri would enter Union as slave state

2) Maine would enter as free state

3) Line drawn at 36 º30' with slavery banned in the portion of the Louisiana Purchase north of that line.

IV. Monroe Doctrine (1823)

A. Statement of foreign policy, not a treaty or law

B. Problems leading to development of doctrine

1) Recognition of Latin American republics

2) European interference (Metternich's principle of intervention)

C. Elements of doctrine

1) Western hemisphere not open to colonization by any European power

2) U.S. would not intervene in European wars

D. Impact of doctrine not immediate, but it signalled America's emergence as a power strong enough to prevent European meddling in western hemisphere's affairs

Feldmeth, Greg D. "Sectionalism & National Growth," U.S. History Resources <http://www.polytechnic.org/faculty/gfeldmeth/lec.sect.html (Revised 28 June 2004).