schmitz...
here are my "notes" for 4-2...
Classification task
Textile Category:
Samuel Slater- Davidson, 211
Slater was a British man who had been an apprentice in a British cotton spinning factory. He brought the British textile secrets to America. Moses Brown hired Slater to rebuild the machinery of the British textile mills and set up a factory. In a year he had a factory making thread. By 1815 there were 213 such factories in operation.
-related to the industrialization by making textile factories more efficient by introducing the better British machinery to the Americans
Francis C. Lowell- Davidson, 211
C is for Cabot. In 1813 he led a group of merchants into forming the Boston Manufacturing Company. These men (the Boston associates) established the first textile factory that combined all the tasks needed to turn raw cotton into finished cloth. They relied heavily on the British technology that Lowell had smuggled in.
-related to the industrialization by making textile factories more efficient by eliminating the need to move the cotton from factory to factory
Eli Whitney- Davidson, 210-11
Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793. He also invented the idea of interchangeable parts.
- Related to the industrialization by making textile factories more efficient by making it quicker and easier to separate the cotton from the seeds
Elias Howe-
Elias Howe was the inventor of the first American-patented sewing machine. At 250 stitches a minute, his lockstitch mechanism out stitched the output of five hand sewers with a reputation for speed. Elias Howe patented his lockstitch sewing machine on September 10, 1846 in New Hartford, Connecticut.
-related to the industrialization by making textile factories more efficient by making sewing quicker and easier to do
Plow Category:
Charles Newbold-
Charles Newbold patents 1st cast-iron plow. The Newbold plow, patented on June 26, 1797, proved itself finally as a great benefit to the farmer, but like many another brilliant invention - of little benefit to the inventor. Initially, farmers were slow to accept the cast plow for an uncanny reason: they thought it might poison the soil.
-related to the industrialization by making farming more efficient by inventing a plow that was long lasting
Jethro Wood-
Another inventor of ploughs was Jethro Wood, a blacksmith of Scipio, New York, who received two patents, one in 1814 and the other in 1819. His plough was of cast iron, but in three parts, so that a broken part might be renewed without purchasing an entire plough. This principle of standardization marked a great advance. The farmers by this time were forgetting their former prejudices, and many ploughs were sold. Though Wood's original patent was extended, infringements were frequent, and he is said to have spent his entire property in prosecuting them.
-related to the industrialization by making farming more efficient by making the longer lasting cast iron plows easier to fix if broken
Cyrus McCormick- Davidson, 267
McCormick was a Virginia farmer who invented a mechanical reaper for harvesting wheat in 1834.
- Related to the industrialization by making farming more efficient by making it easier and quicker to harvest wheat
John Deere-
He developed the first commercially successful, self-scouring steel plow in 1837. By 1841, Deere was producing 100 of the plows annually. In 1843, he entered a partnership with Leonard Andrus to produce more plows to meet increasing demand.
In 1847, Deere dissolved his partnership with Andrus and moved the business to Moline, which offered advantages of water power, coal and cheaper transportation than to be found in Grand Detour. In 1850, approximately 1600 plows were made, and the company was soon producing other tools to complement its steel plow.
- related to the industrialization by making farming more efficient by making a plow that worked on the harder soil of the west
Steamboat Category
Robert Fulton -Davidson, 210, 220
Fulton ordered an engine of Watt & Boulton, to be sent to the United States. Early in the spring of 1807 the boat that was to navigate the Hudson and establish the system of steam navigation was completed at a shipyard on the East river. (See accompanying illustration.) The engine was put in later, and on 11 August 1807, the "Clermont" steamed up the Hudson to Albany, the voyage occupying thirty-two hours. During the autumn of 1807 the “Clermont" was run as a packet between New York and Albany. The success of Fulton's enterprise excited much jealousy and rivalry, and a number of persons disputed his claim to originality. Litigation and competition threatened to rob him of all profit from his invention.
-related to the industrialization by making transportation more efficient by proving that the steamboat was a faster way to transport goods
John Ericson -
John Ericsson invented the ship propeller and incorporated the landmark device into his design for the Civil War ironclad the Monitor. In 1826 he moved to London, where he showed the breadth of his engineering genius by developing or improving transmission of power by compressed air, new types of steam boilers, condensers for marine steam engines (so ships could travel farther), placing warship engines below the water line (for protection against shell fire), the steam fire-engine, the design and construction of a steam locomotive (which competed with the historic Rocket, the first steam powered locomotive), an apparatus that made salt from brine, superheated steam engines, the flame or 'caloric' engine. His most enduring invention was the screw propeller, which is still the main form of marine propulsion. Early methods of applying steam power at sea-steam-driven oars, paddle wheels-were inefficient and, for warships, vulnerable to enemy attack. In 1839 Ericsson introduced propellers to vessels on the canals and inland waterways and commenced building a 'big frigate' for the U.S. Navy. He designed and built the Monitor for the Union Navy in 100 working days. It demonstrated its superior design-steam-propelled screw propeller, low in the water, a revolving gun turret, and iron construction rather than wood-by defeating the Confederate Merrimac.
-related to the industrialization by making transportation more efficient by making an efficient way to use steam propulsion at sea and therefore quickening transportation
Analysis task
Manifest Destiny
No nation ever existed without some sense of national destiny or purpose. Manifest Destiny -- a phrase used by leaders and politicians in the 1840s to explain continental expansion by the United States -- revitalized a sense of "mission" or national destiny for many Americans. And while the United States put into motion a quest for its Manifest Destiny, Mexico faced quite different circumstances as a newly independent country. Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, but suffered terribly from the struggle. Recovery was difficult.
1782-1783: Treaties with the United Kingdom establish the U.S. as an independent country and establish the boundary of the United States as being bound on the north by Canada, on the south by Spanish Florida, on the west by the Mississippi River, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.
1803: The Louisiana Purchase extends the western boundary of the United States to the Rocky Mountains, occupying the drainage area of the Mississippi River, as estimated by the French explorer Robert La Salle. The Purchase doubled the territory of the United States.
1818: A convention with the United Kingdom established the northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase at 49°N.
1819: Florida was ceded to the United States and purchased from Spain.
1820: Maine became a state, carved out of the state of Massachusetts. The northern boundary of Maine was disputed between the U.S. and Canada so the King of the Netherlands was brought in as an arbiter and he settled the dispute in 1829. However, Maine refused the deal and since Congress requires the approval of a state legislature for boundary changes, the Senate could not approve a treaty over the border. Ultimately, in 1842 a treaty established the Maine-Canada border of today although it provided Maine with less territory than the King's plan would have.
1845: The independent Republic of Texas (1836-1845) is annexed to the United States. The territory of Texas extended north to 42°N (into modern Wyoming) due to a secret treaty between Mexico and Texas.
1846: Oregon Territory is ceded to the U.S. from Britain following an 1818 joint claim on the territory (which resulted in the phrase "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!"). The Treaty of Oregon establishes the boundary at 49° north.
1848: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican War between the U.S. and Mexico resulted in the purchase of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and western Colorado.
1853: With the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, the land acquisition that resulted in the area of the 48 contiguous states today was completed. Southern Arizona and southern New Mexico were purchased for $10 million and named for the U.S. minister to Mexico, James Gadsden.
1862-1863: When Virginia decided to secede from the Union at the start of the Civil War (1861-1865), the western counties of Virginia voted against the secession and decided to form their own state. West Virginia was established with help from Congress, who approved of the new state on December 31, 1862 and West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 19, 1863. West Virginia was originally going to be called Kanawha.
1867: Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million in gold. Some thought the idea was ridiculous and the purchase became known as Seward's Folly, after Secretary of State William Henry Seward. The boundary between Russia and Canada was established by treaty in 1825.
1898: Hawaii was annexed into the United States.
1925: The final treaty with the United Kingdom clarifies the boundary through the Lake of the Woods (Minnesota), resulting in the transfer of a few acres between countries.
Application task
North=liberal- cares about industry and commerce
South=conservative- cares about slavery and cotton farming
West=both- favored internal improvement of west
Regionalism still exists, but now the north and west are liberal, and the south and east are conservative.
Comparison task
President Andrew Johnson's Secretary of State, William H. Seward, is responsible for negotiating the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Seward was so adamant on purchasing Alaska that he started negotiating with the Russian minister, Edouard de Stoeckl, before he was authorized by the President. His original offer was for $5,000,000.00 or possibly $5,500,000.00. While the Russian Minister was taking the offer to the Czar, Seward asked the Cabinet for authority to offer $7,000,000.00 as they had not been notified of the pending purchase, and due to their caring little about Alaska, they did not object to Seward's request, much to his surprise. By March 23rd, both parties had reached an agreement on the main points of the purchase. Stoeckl cabled St. Petersburg on the $7,000,000.00 figure that had been reached, and asked for authority to sign the treaty. On March 29th, Stoeckl received approval from Czar Alexander to sign the treaty with minor provisions. Seward wanted so much for the treaty to be signed that he opened the State Department that evening after hours and made the Russian delegation welcome. Stoeckl wanted to improve on some of the smaller points, but Seward refused to consider them, but in turn offered another $200,000.00 to the purchase price. So the final agreed upon price became $7,200,000.00. This translated into approximately 2.5 cents per acre for 586,400 square miles of territory, twice the size of Texas. It was a long and bitter battle to get Congress to approve the purchase then appropriate the money for it. Seward prevailed in completing the purchase, but he became the butt of popular jokes over his purchase. When asked what the most significant act of his career was, he declared "The purchase of Alaska! But it will take a generation to find that out.” On the misty afternoon of October 18, 1867, at the city of Sitka, on the desolate Alaska coast, amongst the firing of Russian and American cannon, the Imperial Russian flag came down over Russian America. The Stars and Stripes was raised up the 90 foot flag pole, and "Seward's Icebox" became a territory of the United States.
Queen Liliuokalani was the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian islands. She felt her mission was to preserve the islands for their native residents. In 1898, Hawaii was annexed to the United States and Queen Liliuokalani was forced to give up her throne.
Turner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932, American historian, b. Portage, Wis. He taught at the Univ. of Wisconsin from 1885 to 1910 except for a year spent in graduate study at Johns Hopkins Univ. From 1910 to 1924 he taught at Harvard, and later he was research associate at the Henry E. Huntington Library. At first he taught rhetoric and oratory but turned to U.S. history, soon focusing on Western history. His doctoral dissertation, The Character and Influence of the Indian Trade in Wisconsin (1891; an enlargement of his master's essay), showed the trend of his interest. In 1893, at the meeting of the American Historical Association in Chicago, he delivered an address, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” which outlined brilliantly the history of the receding frontier and its effect in creating American democracy. Little noticed at the time, it was to prove epoch-making in American history writing. It supplied a large part of a generation of historians with a theme to investigate. Turner's ideas are now generally incorporated in some form in most American history texts; although a historical controversy has raged for decades over the validity of his frontier thesis, few critics reject it entirely. The address and various short papers were reprinted in The Frontier in American History (1920). He collaborated with Edward Channing and Albert Bushnell Hart in the revision of Guide to the Study and Reading of American History (1912). Though he produced few books-The Rise of the New West (“American Nation” series, 1906) and two studies in sectionalism, The Significance of Sections in American History (1932) and the posthumously published The United States, 1830-1850 (1935)-his influence as a teacher and proponent of a new and important theory made him one of the most renowned of all American historians.
It was Admiral Alfred T. Mahan (1840-1914) of the United States Navy who is reported to have said that who ever attain maritime supremacy in the Indian Ocean would be a prominent player on the international scene. Admiral Mahan was a great naval strategic thinker and historian who was in many ways the naval equivalent of the Army's Clausewitz (General Karl Von Clausewitz of Germany). It was in 1890 that Mahan wrote the famous treatise on 'The influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783' that changed naval thinking in the United States.
The most significant voice for expansion to be heard among the clergy was that of Theodore Roosevelt's friend, Josiah Strong. Strong's significance lies in his countless publications (which by 1900 included six of his eleven books, numerous articles and addresses, and his editorial activity with The Kingdom and Social Service), his extraordinary ability as a propagandist, and the position of importance which lie commanded in the eyes of his contemporaries as the Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance for the United States. One of the most important aspects of Strong's best known book, Our Country, was that he recognized the destiny of the United States on the North American continent. To this he added a doctrine of world mission, which he closely intertwined with a theory of race supremacy).10 Here was a voice with an audience, which could be of great service to the movement headed by Mahan and Roosevelt. Would they recognize his significance? It was Theodore Roosevelt who brought Alfred Thayer Mahan and Strong together for the first time. In August 1900, Roosevelt gave Strong a letter of introduction to the naval officer. The importance of this introduction is reflected in Strong's statement of September 1900, from the preface of Expansion: Under New-World Conditions: I desire also to acknowledge the courtesy of Captain A. T. Mahan, the eminent writer on naval subjects, who read several chapters of the book which traverse the field which he is acknowledged to be the highest authority, and who was so good as to give me the benefit of his valuable criticism).11Thus, there had been some consultation among these three men concerning Strong's book, which was to be one of the most eloquent moral sanctions and practical explanations of American expansion into the area of the Pacific at the turn of the century. The spark which set off the flame of imperialism appeared in the form of the Spanish-American War. Obviously, this war could not appear to be a war for national aggrandizement, or the forces favoring expansion would suffer an irrevocable setback. "Have we a course of war so clear," asked the Nation, "so loftily imperative that all the hideousness of carnage and the fearful blow to civic progress must be hazarded in order to vindicate humanity and righteousness?"12 The affirmative answers of Strong and other clergymen mirrored distaste for the "wretched" treatment the Cubans suffered at the hands of Spain.13
Predictive task
I think we are still expanding our sphere of influence in that in recently liberating the Iraqi government we are influencing them and we are also influencing the Afghanis.
When we acquired the large chunk of land from Mexico we considered it given…the Mexicans considered it stolen. They are very keen on getting it back and wished to buy it from the US.
I think in the future the US will disappear, because eventually enough countries will be offended by us that we will be allied against and defeated (like Hitler in World War 2) we will grow a huge empire of heavy-handed influence and then we will be destroyed, but our influence will linger on.