Chapter 9 notes for October 27th

During the early 1800s, an idea called the America System was introduced by Henry Clay.
Its main purposes:

• To make America less dependent upon European imports
• and internal improvent within America(mainly in transportation and american buisnesses)

The country was getting bigger and the completion of new roads, canals, and bridges were falling behind in the transportation revolution.

In the America system, the government were to put protective tariffs and had 2 purposes:

• raise revenue
• and protect new industries

The tariffs made imported goods more expensive and americans have a smaller desire to spend more on goods more expensive.

America didnt have a bank to fund the plan because the orginal bank was not renewed by congress. So in 1816 Congress charters the 2nd bank of the united states.

• This bank would then provide a national currency
• would centralize control of the banks
• finally, it would over see state banks issuing bank notes in other states (not reliable because notes weren't taken by different banks on most occations)

Finally in 1816 Congress draws up the 1st protective tariff to shield American industries from foreign goods/industries.

Internal Improvement:

• The government didnt have the constitutional power to make roads or other improvements so the states had to fund and finish the improvements.
• However Congress did agree to finish the National Road.

Interest in better roads came known as the Transportaion revolution (1815)

• Improvements were made on both land(roads) and water(steam boats and canals).
• the rural economy began to switch to a market economy.
• the transportation revolution finally addressed the problem of moving goods east to west.

Congress saw the Problem and decided to approve the National road which went all the way to the Ohio River.

The roads helped but it was cheaper for farmers to sail its goods to other cities. An invention that made it easier was the Steam Boat invented by Robert Fultman. The Steam Boat could go against the current and meant trade in both directions. Fultman named the boat Claremont.

The time period of 1810-1840 was a time of great growth.

• The main source of growth was the Erie Canal built in 1825 in New York.
• It was a great successs and set an example for other states

Eventually another invention came around in the 1840s which was the Railroad. It first began up North and eventually the tracks got larger and larger as time grew on. Canals were put out of buisness because railroads were faster and cheaper.

There was a dramatic reduction in the cost of transportation and began the first step of unifying the country.