American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 10: AMERICA'S ECONOMIC REVOLUTION

Main themes of Chapter Ten:

• The nature of the rapid immigration and urban growth between 1820 and 1840, and its effect on the nation's economic, social, and political systems



• The pronounced effect of the transportation and communications revolutions of the 1820s and 1830s on the American economy



• The transformation in women's social and economic roles as a consequence of the factory system



• The social changes wrought by America's economic revolution in the fields of public leisure and northern agriculture

• The significant changes taking place within the nation in terms of population growth, population movement, urbanization, and immigration



• The reasons for the appearance of the nativist movement in the 1850s



• The importance of the Erie Canal for the development of both the West and New York City



• The influence of burgeoning railroad and telegraph networks on the economic development of the United States



• The transformations taking place in business, industry, labor, and commerce as the full impact of the industrial revolution was felt in the United States



• The vast changes taking place in the Northeast as agriculture declined while urbanization and industrialization progressed at a rapid rate



• The patterns of society, including social inequality, familial relationships, and leisure activities, that characterize early nineteenth-century American life



• The living and working conditions of both men and women in the northern factory towns and on the northwestern farms