Intro: The practices of both the North and South were as different as night and day. Traditonal chivalrous values of the South clashed with the modern work ethic of the North. Northerners were intrigued by invention and industry while the South was steeped in farming tradition and slavery. Southerners fought to protect their rights, property and families while the North fought to restore the union, end the spread of slavery, and end the thought of secession. These differences would blend together to create anarchy which would decimate the union and bring about war.
Thesis: The North and South possessed a wide range of differences including their traditions, economy, and their reasons for fighting.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Antebellum Economy, revised second draft
Patrick Burke
Professor Kerr
EN 101-23
12 September 2011
The Antebellum Economy
The Antebellum period was a time of extensive growth that was the pre-cursor to one of the most brutal wars in the history of American. Extensive economic growth was in full swing during this period which was to lead to a surplus of materials that could be sold at cheaper prices (“Ordeal by Fire”). From 1800 to 1850 the gross national product for America would double in size every fifteen years (“Ordeal by Fire”). This meant that America was growing into an economic power that would rival even that of the powerful British Empire. During this period of prosperity, the Northern states were becoming a largely industrialized area. This would dominate and dwarf that of the Southern states and leave their industrial output diminished by comparison. While the Northern industry may have out produced the South, it was the Southerners agricultural abundance of cotton, hemp, and tobacco that supplied the North with the key raw materials that they required to become so prosperous. The Antebellum period was a time of progress for America as a budding nation and was comprised of three major aspects, cotton, slaves, and industrial production.
In the agricultural South due to farming tradition and fertile land, the Black or Cotton Belt, allowed the Southern economy to be heavily driven by cotton crops. This was noted when James Henry Hammond remarked that, “Cotton is king.” (“Agricultural History”). Cotton plants produce a white fluffy substance called a boll that would be hand-picked in the fields using slave labor. After picking the bolls, the seeds would either have to be removed by hand or through the use of the cotton gin (“Slavery in the U.S.”). As an export, cotton bolls were to become a highly lucrative resource (“Agricultural History”). This was never more evident than from 1800 to 1860 when the cotton output was doubled every decade. From the period of 1815 to 1860, cotton equaled more than half of all American exports (“Ordeal by Fire”). Due to such financial success in an international market, Southerners found that they needed to do four things. They required banks to hold their assets, ships to export their cotton overseas, factories to transform their cotton into textiles, and lastly men to manage the transportation and storage of their cotton. This job was taken on by Northern “factors” who provided these services and infrastructure at the expense of their Southern employers (“Ordeal by Fire”). Northerners dominated the movement of cotton and gained a staggering profit off of the success of the Southern economy. During the late Antebellum period, an estimated 100 to 150 million dollars in profits were drained from Southern planters to support the employment of Northern factors (“Ordeal by Fire”). Cotton may have been king for the South, but it only prospered due to the grueling work of the slaves who served their Southern masters doggedly (“Slavery in the U.S.”).
The South produced seventy-five percent of its cotton and a multitude of its goods through, as Southerners so eloquently put it, the “necessary evil” of slavery (“Ordeal by Fire”). During this period a third of all Southerners may have owned slaves and yet out of those nearly half of them owned less than five slaves per household (“Ordeal by Fire”). In total nearly half of all slaves were owned by less than twelve percent of slave owners (“Ordeal by Fire”). For these owners who had twenty 20 or more slaves as personal property, it gave them the distinction of being considered a plantation versus that of an ordinary farm (”Ordeal by Fire”). Seventy-five percent of slaves worked agriculturally in the South and out of those fifty-five percent (“Ordeal by Fire”). It was slave labor that raised more than half of the tobacco crop, three-quarters of the cotton and nearly all of the sugar, hemp, rice, and food crops for the South (“Ordeal by Fire”). Not only was slavery preserved because of its economic benefits during this era but it was also sustained for its morale boost for the white population (“Slavery in the U.S.”). Northerners and Southerners alike agreed that slavery was wrong but neither wanted it abolished because it allowed the whites to believe that even if they were poor or unsuccessful they were still better off and superior to the slaves. America at this time, was said to be a Herrenvolk democracy based on white supremacy (“Ordeal by Fire”). The South also brought up the argument of wage slaves versus slaves because they believed that Northern industry was more detrimental to its workers than Southern planting was to slaves (“Ordeal by Fire”).
Northern industrial supremacy was chiefly achieved due to the education of workers, advancements in technology, and inventive nature of its workers. Northern workers may have done incredibly repetitive work, but were given subsistent pay unlike Southern slaves (“Ordeal by Fire”). Northern workers achieved this level of pay by attending new public schools. This new form of schooling was created by Horace Mann and allowed education up to the eighth grade (“Ordeal by Fire”). This fostered a new generation of workers who went above and beyond their job requirements and became creative innovators. For example former workers such as Cyrus McCormick and Obed Hussey would go on to create the horse-drawn reaper (“Ordeal by Fire”). John and Hiram Pitts left their paying jobs and pursued the invention of the horse-drawn thresher (“Ordeal by Fire”). These inventors worked in conjunction with a new age of transportation which helped to turn the North into an industrial power. From 1810 to 1860 the steam boat, canal, and railroad eras were at their peak. This in turn led to the lowering of the price index by forty percent and cost of living by fifteen percent (“Ordeal by Fire”). This was to bring about an age of prosperity and technological advancement that greatly influenced the period.
The Antebellum period was a prosperous, uneasy, and unequal time in American history. Due to the North’s strong controls over the South through industrial dominance and factoring. Over time the South would grow to despise the North for their control and this would contribute to the slow splintering of the country. Ultimately this lead to civil strife and the end of what was known as the Antebellum period.
Works Cited
McPherson, James and Hogue, James “Ordeal by Fire” Ordeal by Fire Civil War and Reconstruction Fourth Edition
Oyangen, Knut “Agricultural History” Iowa State University Center for Agricultural History and Rural Studies
Wahl, Jenny “Slavery in the U.S.” Slavery in the United States. 2010, 02 Jan.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Antebellum Economy, rough draft and citation
Patrick Burke
Professor Kerr
EN 101-23
5 September 2011
The Antebellum Economy
The Antebellum period was a time of extensive growth that was the pre-cursor to one of the most brutal wars in American history. Extensive economic growth was in full swing during this period which led to a surplus of materials which could be sold at cheaper prices (“Ordeal by Fire”). From 1800 to 1850 the gross national product of the United States doubled every fifteen years (“Ordeal by Fire”). This means that the United States was growing into an economic power that would rival even that of Britain. During this period of economic rise, the North was becoming a largely industrial area that dwarfed that of Southern industrial output. While the North industrially dominated the South, Southerners agricultural output of cotton, rice, hemp, and tobacco supplied the North with key raw resources. The Antebellum period was a time of progress for the United States as a budding nation and consisted of three major aspects: cotton, slaves, and industry.
Due to tradition and fertile land, the Black or Cotton Belt, the Southern economy was heavily driven by cotton because as said by James Henry Hammond, “Cotton is king.” (“Agricultural History”) Cotton is a white fluffy substance that is grown from cotton plants. Bolls are picked from the cotton and seeds are then sorted from the bolls by slaves or a cotton gin (“Slavery in the U.S.”). As an export, cotton bolls became highly lucrative resources (“Agricultural History”). This was made manifest from 1800 to 1860 when cottons output was doubled every decade and from 1815 to 1860 when cotton equaled more than half of all American exports (“Ordeal by Fire”). Due to such success in an international market, Southerners needed banks to hold their assets, ships to export their cotton overseas, factories to transform their cotton into textiles, and men to manage the transport and store their cotton. This job was taken on by Northern “factors” who provided these services at the expense of their Southern employers (“Ordeal by Fire”). Northerners dominated the movement of cotton and gained a staggering profit off of the success of the Southern economy. During the late Antebellum period, 100 to 150 million dollars was drained from Southern planters to support the employment of Northern factors (“Ordeal by Fire”). Cotton was king for the South, but it only prospered due to the grueling work of the slaves who served them doggedly (“Slavery in the U.S.”).
The South produced seventy five percent of its cotton and a multitude of its goods through, as Southerners so eloquently put it, the “necessary evil” of slavery (“Ordeal by Fire”). A third of all Southerners owned slaves and nearly half of those owned less than 5 slaves (“Ordeal by Fire”). More than half of all slaves were owned by 12 percent of owners (“Ordeal by Fire”). These owners had 20 or more slaves, which distinguishes a plantation from a farm (”Ordeal by Fire”). 75 percent of slaves worked agriculturally in the South and 55 percent of those raised cotton (“Ordeal by Fire’). Slaves raised more than half of the tobacco, three-quarters of the cotton and nearly all of the sugar, hemp, rice, and food crops of the South (“Ordeal by Fire”). Not only was slavery preserved because of its economic benefits it was also sustained for its morale boost for whites (“Slavery in the U.S.”). Northerners and Southerners alike agreed that slavery was wrong but neither wanted it abolished because it allowed all whites to believe that even if they were poor or unsuccessful they were still better than the slaves. America at the time was said to be a Herrenvolk democracy based on white supremacy (“Ordeal by Fire”). The South also brought up the argument of wage slaves versus slaves because they believed that Northern industry was more detrimental to its workers than Southern planting was to slaves (“Ordeal by Fire”).
Northern industrial supremacy was chiefly achieved due to the education of workers, advancements in technology, and inventive nature of its workers. Northern workers may have done incredibly repetitive work, but were given subsistent pay unlike Southern slaves (“Ordeal by Fire”). Northern workers achieved this level of pay by attending new public schools. This new form of schooling was created by Horace Mann and allowed education up to the eighth grade (“Ordeal by Fire”). This bred a new generation of workers who went above and beyond their job requirements and became inventors. Former workers such as Cyrus McCormick and Obed Hussey created the horse-drawn reaper (“Ordeal by Fire”). John and Hiram Pitts left their jobs and invented the horse-drawn thresher (“Ordeal by Fire”). These inventors worked in conjunction with a new age of transportation which turned the North into an industrial power. From 1810 to 1860 the steam boat, canal and railroad eras had peaked this lowered the price index by 40 percent and cost of living by 15 percent (“Ordeal by Fire”). This brought about an age of prosperity and technological advancement.
The Antebellum period was a prosperous yet uneasy time in American history. The North dominated the South through industrial dominance and factoring. The South despised the North for their control and this created a time of a slowly splitting union called the Antebellum period.
Works Cited
McPherson, James and Hogue, James “Ordeal by Fire” Ordeal by Fire Civil War and Reconstruction Fourth Edition
Oyangen, Knut “Agricultural History” Iowa State University Center for Agricultural History and Rural Studies
Wahl, Jenny “Slavery in the U.S.” Slavery in the United States. 2010, 02 Jan.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Antebellum Economy, Are these sources credible?
http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/wahl.slavery.us%20This This site seems highly credible due to the large amounts of references and it's logical view point. The site is also owned by the Economic History Association. It was also written by Jenny B. Wahl of Carleton College. The site also provides substantial information and detailed charts to provide support for the information. Robert Whaples is the editor of the site and his name is displayed directly on the web page.
http://www.history.iastate.edu/agprimer/Page28.html This site is fairly credible because it is from Iowa State University but it was posted by Knut Oyangen who may not be credible due to a lack of title. One may also contact the web master but this doesn't say when this information was posted. This site also has many references and is quite logical.
http://www.history.iastate.edu/agprimer/Page28.html This site is fairly credible because it is from Iowa State University but it was posted by Knut Oyangen who may not be credible due to a lack of title. One may also contact the web master but this doesn't say when this information was posted. This site also has many references and is quite logical.
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Antebellum Economy, Topic sentences for each paragraph
Opening: The Antebellum period was a time of extensive growth that was the pre-cursor to one of the most brutal wars in American history.
Cotton: Due to tradition and fertile land, the Southern economy was heavily driven by the production of cotton because "Cotton is king."(James Henry Hammond)
Slaves: The South produced 55% of it's cotton and a multitude of it's goods through the "necessary evil" of slavery.
Industry: Northern industrial supremacy was chiefly derived from the advancements of technology and inventive nature of Northern intellectuals.
Conclusion: Though this was a prosporous period the seeds of unrest were being sown throughout the South and war was on the horizon.
Cotton: Due to tradition and fertile land, the Southern economy was heavily driven by the production of cotton because "Cotton is king."(James Henry Hammond)
Slaves: The South produced 55% of it's cotton and a multitude of it's goods through the "necessary evil" of slavery.
Industry: Northern industrial supremacy was chiefly derived from the advancements of technology and inventive nature of Northern intellectuals.
Conclusion: Though this was a prosporous period the seeds of unrest were being sown throughout the South and war was on the horizon.
The Antebellum Economy, What is my focus and my outline?
I will focus my paper on what the Antebellum (Pre-Civil War) economy was instead of my original topic (The Economy and it's Contribution to the Civil War) because this focus better fits a descriptive essay.
Thesis: The Antebellum economy was a time of progress for America as a budding nation and conisited of three major aspects: cotton, slaves, and industry.
Introduction: Extensive economic growth
1830-1850: Economic boom GNP doubles every 15-years
South agriculturally based
North Industrially based
Northern dominance over Southern economy
Cotton: 1800-1860: Doubled output each decade
1815-1860: cotton equals more than half of American exports
"Factors"
Drained $100 to $150 million annually during the late Antebellum period
Picked in bolls seeds harvested by slaves or cotton gin
Dates of agricultural technological advances
"Cotton is king"
Processed by Northern factories
Slaves: 75% of slaves worked agriculturally and 55% of those raised cotton
Slaves raised more than half of the tobacco, three-quarters of the cotton and nearly all of the rice, sugar, hemp, and food crops
One-third of all Southerners owned slaves
Nearly half of all owners held less than five slaves
More than half of all slaves belonged to the 12% of owners
Twenty or more slaves distinguishes a plantation from a farm
"Necessary evil"
Slave vs. wage slave
Necessary to Southern economy and white supremacy (Herrenvolk)
Industry: All dates consisting of industrial advancements
Advanced forms of transportation which lowered prices on goods dramatically
Lowered the wholesale price index by 40% and the cost of living index by 15%
Education, Horace Mann, and literacy
Machinery out of wood instead of steel
Repetative work but subsistent pay
Northern power over the South by dominating transportation, industry, education and through factoring
Conclusion: Northern dominance over the South
Southern unrest due to Northern advancement
A prosperous yet uneasy period in American history
Thesis: The Antebellum economy was a time of progress for America as a budding nation and conisited of three major aspects: cotton, slaves, and industry.
Introduction: Extensive economic growth
1830-1850: Economic boom GNP doubles every 15-years
South agriculturally based
North Industrially based
Northern dominance over Southern economy
Cotton: 1800-1860: Doubled output each decade
1815-1860: cotton equals more than half of American exports
"Factors"
Drained $100 to $150 million annually during the late Antebellum period
Picked in bolls seeds harvested by slaves or cotton gin
Dates of agricultural technological advances
"Cotton is king"
Processed by Northern factories
Slaves: 75% of slaves worked agriculturally and 55% of those raised cotton
Slaves raised more than half of the tobacco, three-quarters of the cotton and nearly all of the rice, sugar, hemp, and food crops
One-third of all Southerners owned slaves
Nearly half of all owners held less than five slaves
More than half of all slaves belonged to the 12% of owners
Twenty or more slaves distinguishes a plantation from a farm
"Necessary evil"
Slave vs. wage slave
Necessary to Southern economy and white supremacy (Herrenvolk)
Industry: All dates consisting of industrial advancements
Advanced forms of transportation which lowered prices on goods dramatically
Lowered the wholesale price index by 40% and the cost of living index by 15%
Education, Horace Mann, and literacy
Machinery out of wood instead of steel
Repetative work but subsistent pay
Northern power over the South by dominating transportation, industry, education and through factoring
Conclusion: Northern dominance over the South
Southern unrest due to Northern advancement
A prosperous yet uneasy period in American history
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The Economy and it's Contribution to the Civil War, What did my research tell me?
1.Industry created advanced forms of transportation which lowered prices on goods dramatically. Western pork in Cincinnati and New York declined from $9.53 a barrel to $1.18 a barrel. Western flour also declined from $2.48 a barrel to $0.28 a barrel. This lowered the wholesale price index by 40% and the cost of living index by 15%.
The cotton output on plantations doubled each decade from 1800-1860 due to high demand. Cotton provided more than half of all American exports from 1815-1860. "Factors" provided storage, transportation and would sell cotton to perspective buyers. The majority of which were Northerners this led to Southern frustration because factoring drained the South $100 to $150 million annually during the late antebellum period.
75% of slaves worked agriculturally and 55% of those raised cotton. Slaves raised more than half of the tabacco, three-quarters of the cotton and nearly all of the rice, sugar, hemp and food crops.one-third of all Southerners owned slaves. Nearly half of all owners held less than five slaves, but more than half of all slaves belonged to the 12% of owners who held twenty or more slaves which distinguishes a plantation from a farm.
2.After the war of 1812 extensive economic growth which is the increase of wealth and output beyond population growth
1800-1830: Turnpike Era 1807: steamboat 1810-1830: advancements in plows 1815-1860: market revolution 1820: seed drills,harrows and cultivators 1825: Canal Era 1830: Railroad Era 1830's: horse-drawn reapers 1830-1850: economic boom GNP doubles every 15 years 1834: horse-powered thresher and fanner 1840's: sewing machine 1850: 3,700 miles of canals
3.Cyrus McCormick and Obed Hussey (reaper) John and Haram Pitts (thresher) Robert Fulton (steamboat) John Durr (steel plow) Elias Howe (sewing machine)
4. Education led to the advent of educated workers which made factories king of the North. Horace Mann pioneered the idea of mandatory public schooling up to the eigth grade which created an influx of educated workers. This led to a dramatic increase of newspaper and magazine sales because 89% of Americans were now literate. These educated workers would leave their jobs as factory workers and bscome the inventors of some of the most useful devices for the American economy.
5. Protestants preached that factory work was beneficial because not only did it improve your success in life but god would favor workers because they were successes in life. The Second Great Awakening preached these ideas of hard work elavating one in gods eyes and how this could only be achieved through labor. The Catholics did not approve of this and created secondary schools. They fought the Protestants tooth and nail every step of the way creating unrest among Americans
6. Slaves were treated very poorly compared to workers. The South preached that a slaves life was far superior to a wage slave beacause they were under the care of wealthy masters and were given some freedoms. The North argue that wage laborers have a choice of what they want to be and do which leads to better lives because they are there own masters.
7. Factories conditions were quite favorable compared to slave labor. Americans made their machinery out of wood instead of steel like the British this created a safer work environment. Though the work was quite repetative the pay was substantial enough to support more comfortable living habits for workers.
8. Slavery was not ended sooner because the South fought incredibly hard to retain it and the fore-fathers knew that war could ensue even then. Southerners described it as a "necessary evil" because without it the southern economy would collapse. Some Northerners and Southerners agreed that slavery was wrong but without it being white would become meaning less and they did not want equality with blacks. The thought process was I may be poor but at least I'm not black.
9. The North held power over the South by dominating transportation, industry, education and through factoring. The South was only dominant by having twice the military academies as the North and more Southern presidents.
10. The war itself was sparked over slavery and states rights which intertwine in many aspects. The South was also jealous of the North's dominance in so many economic aspects.
The cotton output on plantations doubled each decade from 1800-1860 due to high demand. Cotton provided more than half of all American exports from 1815-1860. "Factors" provided storage, transportation and would sell cotton to perspective buyers. The majority of which were Northerners this led to Southern frustration because factoring drained the South $100 to $150 million annually during the late antebellum period.
75% of slaves worked agriculturally and 55% of those raised cotton. Slaves raised more than half of the tabacco, three-quarters of the cotton and nearly all of the rice, sugar, hemp and food crops.one-third of all Southerners owned slaves. Nearly half of all owners held less than five slaves, but more than half of all slaves belonged to the 12% of owners who held twenty or more slaves which distinguishes a plantation from a farm.
2.After the war of 1812 extensive economic growth which is the increase of wealth and output beyond population growth
1800-1830: Turnpike Era 1807: steamboat 1810-1830: advancements in plows 1815-1860: market revolution 1820: seed drills,harrows and cultivators 1825: Canal Era 1830: Railroad Era 1830's: horse-drawn reapers 1830-1850: economic boom GNP doubles every 15 years 1834: horse-powered thresher and fanner 1840's: sewing machine 1850: 3,700 miles of canals
3.Cyrus McCormick and Obed Hussey (reaper) John and Haram Pitts (thresher) Robert Fulton (steamboat) John Durr (steel plow) Elias Howe (sewing machine)
4. Education led to the advent of educated workers which made factories king of the North. Horace Mann pioneered the idea of mandatory public schooling up to the eigth grade which created an influx of educated workers. This led to a dramatic increase of newspaper and magazine sales because 89% of Americans were now literate. These educated workers would leave their jobs as factory workers and bscome the inventors of some of the most useful devices for the American economy.
5. Protestants preached that factory work was beneficial because not only did it improve your success in life but god would favor workers because they were successes in life. The Second Great Awakening preached these ideas of hard work elavating one in gods eyes and how this could only be achieved through labor. The Catholics did not approve of this and created secondary schools. They fought the Protestants tooth and nail every step of the way creating unrest among Americans
6. Slaves were treated very poorly compared to workers. The South preached that a slaves life was far superior to a wage slave beacause they were under the care of wealthy masters and were given some freedoms. The North argue that wage laborers have a choice of what they want to be and do which leads to better lives because they are there own masters.
7. Factories conditions were quite favorable compared to slave labor. Americans made their machinery out of wood instead of steel like the British this created a safer work environment. Though the work was quite repetative the pay was substantial enough to support more comfortable living habits for workers.
8. Slavery was not ended sooner because the South fought incredibly hard to retain it and the fore-fathers knew that war could ensue even then. Southerners described it as a "necessary evil" because without it the southern economy would collapse. Some Northerners and Southerners agreed that slavery was wrong but without it being white would become meaning less and they did not want equality with blacks. The thought process was I may be poor but at least I'm not black.
9. The North held power over the South by dominating transportation, industry, education and through factoring. The South was only dominant by having twice the military academies as the North and more Southern presidents.
10. The war itself was sparked over slavery and states rights which intertwine in many aspects. The South was also jealous of the North's dominance in so many economic aspects.
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