Chapter 11 Section 4
“The Challenges of Growth”
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Focus Question: How did Americans move west, and how did this intensify the debate over slavery?
Remember, after the invention of the cotton gin, there was a dramatic increase in cotton production. Settlers moved west from the southern states to find new land for cotton. From the north, settlers headed west seeking land for other crops.
Moving West
*1775 – Daniel Boone and 30 men cleared new route to West called the Wilderness Road. It crossed the Appalachian Mountains through the Cumberland Gap into KY. It became the main route across the Appalachians.
A Growing Population
*Early 1800s – many immigrants moved to West.
*Eight states joined the US:
Kentucky (1792), Tennessee (1796), Ohio (1803 – know this date!), Louisiana (1812), Indiana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), and Alabama (1819).
*Roads to the west started off as paths for deer or bison. White settlers drove their wagons over these paths that were unpaved, dotted with tree stumps, and washed out by rain.
Roads and Turnpikes
*Farmers and merchants needed a way to move their goods to market quickly and cheaply.
*Private companies began to build turnpikes (toll roads). A bar on a hinge swung across the road and travelers would have to stop and pay a toll in order to pass.
*1795 - Lancaster Turnpike was first long-distance stone road in US.
*In marshy areas, wagons traveled on corduroy roads (roads made of sawed-off logs, laid side by side). This was a bumpy ride and dangerous for horses if they slipped through the logs.
*National Road was the first federally funded road. It went from Cumberland, MD (1811) to Wheeling, western VA (now WV) by 1818 and Vandalia, IL in 1850. It covered different types of terrain and went over bridges crossing rivers and streams.
Canals
*The fastest, cheapest way to ship goods from western farmers to eastern markets was by water, but major rivers ran north and south. Canals (channels that are dug across land and filled with water) were built from east to west.
*1816 – NY Governor DeWitt Clinton proposed a canal from Hudson River to Lake Erie. Building a canal was a challenge for canal engineers, and most workers were Irish immigrants.
*Since the land in upstate NY is uneven, a system of locks was built to raise and lower the boats through various chambers. It opened in 1825.
*Produce from Midwest came across Lake Erie, passed through the Erie Canal, and was carried down the Hudson River to New York City.
Since NYC was at the end of the canal, it became the richest city in the US.
*The success of Erie Canal started a trend and canals were soon being built in DE, VA, PA, OH, IN, and IL.
The Extension of Slavery
Slave and Free States
*1819 – US had 11 slave states and 11 free states. Missouri wanted to become a slave state.
*Northerners argued that admitting Missouri as a slave state would upset the balance in Senate where there was equal representation. This would make the South more powerful.
Missouri Compromise
*Maine (previously part of Massachusetts) applied for admission as a free state.
*1820 – Henry Clay persuaded Congress to adopt the Missouri Compromise.
1. It permitted Maine to be admitted as a free state and Missouri to be a slave state.
2. The compromise also provided that the Louisiana Territory north of the southern border of Missouri would be free of slavery.
3. It also gave slave owners a clear right to pursue escaped fugitives into “free” regions and return them to slavery.
A Continuing Problem
*Although the compromise seemed to balance the interests of the North and the South, white southerners were not happy that Congress had given itself the power to make laws about slavery. Northerners were angry that Congress had allowed slavery to expand into another state.
*Jefferson was alarmed about the debate over the Missouri Compromise because he saw that slavery could cause a threat to national unity and cause the nation to split apart.
Review Questions
*How did American settlers heading west reach their new homes?
On backcountry paths and trails
*What was the National Road?
The National Road was the first federally funded road. It went from Maryland through Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana to Illinois.
*How did the building of the Erie Canal help farmers in the interior of the country?
The Erie Canal enabled them to get their produce to eastern markets more easily.
*Why was Jefferson alarmed at the bitterness of the debate over the extension of slavery?
Jefferson was alarmed. He saw that slavery could cause the nation to split apart.