US History Unit 4 – Lesson 9 – Flashcards
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How did most Americans earn a living at the beginning of the 1800s?
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Most Americans were farmers who lived and worked on modest farms.
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Describe a typical day of a farm family in the early 1800s.
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All members of the family had jobs to do. They worked from early morning to late at night. In most families
the men and boys worked in the fields and tended the livestock. The women and girls did housework,
milked cows, fed chickens, grew vegetables, and made cloth, soap, and candles.
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What lured many farmers west?
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Many farmers decided to head west after they heard about fertile land west of the Appalachians.
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In 1820, only 7 percent of the American population lived in cities. By 1860, nearly 20 percent lived in urban
areas. Where did most of the cities develop? Why?
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Most of the cities grew in the North along the East Coast and along the inland waterways. Traders,
merchants, and shippers used waterways to ship goods relatively easily and cheaply.
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What problems did people in the cities face?
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City dwellers had to cope with crime, fire, pollution, and disease
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Describe a typical factory job in the 1830s.
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Most of the employees in the mills were women. They worked very long hours, six days a week. The work
was usually easier than farming.
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Why did many Europeans immigrate to the United States in the early nineteenth century?
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They fled from poverty, disease, and political unrest in Europe. They were lured to the United States by
the promise of land, riches, and a better position in society.
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Where did the Europeans settle in the United States?
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Most European immigrants settled in the North. Most of the Irish settled in the Northeast; Germans and
Scandinavians tended to settle in the Midwest.
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What organizations helped the immigrants adjust to life in the United States?
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Churches and mutual-aid societies
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How did Americans react to the immigrants?
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As the number of immigrants swelled, many Americans started to resent them. They did not like to hear
the immigrants speaking their native languages instead of English. Some Americans accused the
foreigners of bringing poverty, disease, and crime to the United States.
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People who advocated strict limits on immigration were called
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nativists
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In the 1850s they formed a political
party known as the
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Know-Nothings
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In 1820, only 7 percent of Americans lived in cities. By 1860, nearly 20 percent lived in urban areas. Cities grew as factories sprouted along the eastern coast and waterways of the northern United States.
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True
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In 1820, the United States was a nation of farmers. More than three-quarters of Americans were engaged in agriculture. By 1850, only half of the population farmed the land. Most of them lived and worked on small family farms.
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True
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Although they had little free time, neighbors did gather for barn dances, school spelling bees, church, and potluck suppers. Women met to work and socialize at quilting bees. Men chatted and joked when they got together to raise barns.
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True
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Steam power, technical innovations, expanding transportation networks, and growing markets all contributed to the growth of factories in the 1800s. As factories spread across the northeastern United States, they gradually changed the American way of life. Young people flocked to the factory jobs in cities to avoid the back-breaking labor on farms. The nation became much more conscious of time and schedules. Mass-produced goods improved the standard of living for most and provided a living for thousands of peddlers and merchants.
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True
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As factories expanded and multiplied, the demand for workers quickly increased. Immigrants poured in from Europe. Many of them found harsh conditions when they arrived. They were forced to live in tenements and constantly had to deal with crowded, unsanitary conditions; crime, and the threat of fire.
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True
