5.4: The Industrial Revolution and Nation - Building in the Americas - The USA as an Emerging Power

The Forging of a New Nation 

Few could have predicted in 1846 that the USA would easily defeat Mexico in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). When the USA achieved independence, the colony of New Spain was twice as large and had more people. Both young nations were primarily agrarian, but there were some major differences between these two countries. For the most part, the USA had an incipient industrial base and was fairly stable.

Overall, Americans in the 1790s had a weak sense of national identity.  The states had all been colonies that had their own traditions, histories, and cultures.  Many Americans identified as members of their states first and were loyal to their states before the national government. They were also looking at Europe culturally. For the most part, Americans read European books and attended European plays.  After independence, the north and south were moving in different directions. Slavery died in the north but thrived and spread in the south. Although there were some factories in the north, the USA did not undergo an industrial revolution until Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860.

The United States was established with a political system known as federalism where certain government powers are reserved for the national (or central) government and other powers are reserved for the state governments. Some powers are shared by both such as the power to tax and write laws. During the early Republican era, there was an ideological battle between two government factions. One group, known as the Federalists, wanted to empower the national government to put in place policies to make America a modern urban industrial nation much like Great Britain. They faced opposition from the slave-owning elites in the Republican Party who wanted to keep the national government weak.  They preferred that the USA remain rural and agricultural.  For the first twelve years, the Federalists were in power.  The driving force for Federalism was Alexander Hamilton, who was the Secretary of the Treasury from 1788 until 1795. Hamilton established a national bank and placed protective tariffs on imported manufactured goods.  Although the USA did not undergo an industrial revolution until after 1860, these policies resulted in a substantial number of factories in the more urban northeast.

Changing Occupational Distribution (1820-1860)

Year	1820	1840	1860
Agriculture	78.8%	63.1%	52.9%
Mining	0.4%	0.6%	1.6%
Construction	-	5.1%	4.7%
Manufacturing	2.7%	8.8%	13.8%
Trade	-	6.2%	8.0%
Transport	1.6%	1.8%	2.0%
Service	4.1%	5.0%	6.4%
Other	12.4%	9.4%	10.6%

 

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Changing Occupation Distribution (1820-1860), by Jordan Stanton is licensed CC BY and is modified from US Bureau of Census, US Government, in the Public Domain 

Discussion Question

Based on table 5.4.1, how agrarian was the USA in the early 1800s?

Nation-Building and Racial Exclusion 

Neither Federalists nor their opponents were advocates of racial equality and inclusion. The US was a racially diverse country. However, one of the first acts of Congress was the 1790 Naturalization Act which specified the requirements for citizenship. Only whites and white immigrants were eligible. Although over time the requirements for citizenship would include non-whites, this law would remain in place until 1952.  For the most part, only white men could vote and hold political office.

Ultimately, Hamilton’s vision of a modern urban industrial nation would not be realized until the late 1800s. The USA remained predominantly rural and agricultural. This was in large part due to the policies of Andrew Jackson (1828-1836) who dismantled Hamilton’s program including the national bank. Jackson was more preoccupied with the promotion of export-led growth of primary products than industrial development.  Jackson campaigned for president in 1828 promising to provide more land to white settlement in both the north and south. One of the key raw materials for the industrial revolution was cotton and the USA south was the world’s largest producer.  However, the natives of the south occupied vast tracks of land that could be used for cotton production. Jackson supported the Indian Removal Act in which the national government gave the states the power to remove the natives. Many of the tribes resisted this act including the Cherokee who sought to use the courts to protect their rights. In fact, the Cherokee were able to take their case directly to the US Supreme Court which ruled in their favor. Nevertheless, Jackson became the only US president to ignore a Supreme Court ruling.

However, a national identity was forming and the national government had increased in size and strength since the 1780s. The government funded some infrastructure, expanded the military, and established an impressive postal system. There was also more unity from technological breakthroughs such as the train and the telegraph. Technological improvements all facilitated westward expansion and manifest destiny or westward expansion. More and more artists and writers promoted the idea that Americans were distinctive from Europeans because they lived in a republican society rather than a monarchy. Increasingly, US Independence was glorified in paintings and books.  Public education was increasingly used to create a sense of national identity and loyalty to the national government.

Review Questions

• How did primary product production affect the natives of the USA?
• How was the USA fairly stable at this time?