342 Chapter 12 The Sections Go Their Own Ways
Inevitably, this growth caused dislocations that
were aggravated by the boom psychology that once
again infected the popular mind. In 1857 there was a
serious collapse. The return of Russian wheat to the
world market after the Crimean War caused grain
prices to fall. This checked agricultural expansion,
which hurt the railroads and cut down on the
demand for manufactures. Unemployment increased.
Frightened depositors started runs on banks, most of
which had to suspend specie payments.
People called this abrupt downturn the Panic of
- Yet the vigor of the economy was such that the
bad times did not last long. The upper Mississippi Valley
suffered most, for so much new land had been opened
up that supplies of farm produce greatly exceeded
demand. Elsewhere conditions improved rapidly.
The South, somewhat out of the hectic rush to
begin with, was affected very little by the collapse
of 1857, for cotton prices continued high. This
gave planters the false impression that their econ-
omy was immune to such violent downturns. Some
began to argue that the South would be better off
out of the Union.
Before a new national upward swing could
become well established, however, the sectional crisis
between North and South shook people’s confidence
in the future. Then the war came, and a new set of
forces shaped economic development.1808 Congress bans further importation of slaves
1822 Thirty-seven slaves are executed when Denmark
Vesey’s “conspiracy” is exposed
1825 Erie Canal is completed, connecting the East and
the Midwest
1830 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad begins operation
1831 Nat Turner’s slave uprising kills fifty-seven whites
1837 Cyrus Hall McCormick invents reaper to
harvest wheat
1839 John Deere begins manufacturing steel plows
1840– Economy surges during boom in manufacturing,
1857 railroad construction, and foreign commerce
1842 Massachusetts declares unions legal in
Commonwealth v. Hunt
1846 Elias Howe invents sewing machine
1850 Congress grants land to aid construction of Illinois
Central Railroad
1854 Clipper shipFlying Cloudsails from New York to
San Francisco in eighty-nine days
1857 Brief economic depression (Panic of 1857)
collapses economyMilestones
Chapter Review
Review Questions
1.This chapter explores two tendencies: an increas-
ing economic and cultural gap between the South
and the rest of the country; and a tighter integra-
tion of the nation through spreading transporta-
tion systems. In 1860, was the United States
breaking into different economic and cultural sys-
tems, or did politicians exaggerate the significance
of regional variations?
2.The harshness of the slave system was everywhere
apparent. In what ways did slaves succeed in fash-
ioning their own culture?
3.Southerners often insisted that immigrants who
toiled in northern factories were subjected to far
worse conditions than southern slaves. What argu-
ments can be used to support and reject this thesis?
4.During these decades, southern cities sought mili-
tia units and armories to help defend against slave
insurrections. Northern cities sought such protec-
tions to defend against industrial worker insurrec-
tions. Which was the greater threat?