In the 1850's, the United States went into a time known as industrialization.  Unlike the South, the North was seeking new technology. Transportation was revolutionized during this "Golden Age". 

   The Northern Economy boomed during the late 1800's with the "Steel not steam".  The heavy machinery used to mass-produce goods, the rails that trains road on, bridges that crossed the mighty rivers, and the tall buildings that spread throughout the city all required steel. 

   Steel was not new but until the mid 19th century, steel was to costly to produce.  Then a man named Henry Bessemer invented a way to remove impurities in molten iron with a blast of hot air.  This form of producing steel was called the Bessemer process could produce more steel in a day than older techniques could produce in a week.  As a result, Americas normal steel production grew from 15 thousand tons in 1865 to over 28 million tons by 1910. 

   After steel became the main product of the North, transportation was advanced considerably. Railroads all over began to expand because steel rail were more efficient then iron rails which splintered frequently.  The prices of steel also dropped significantly.  In 1873, steel sold for about $100 a ton but in the late 1890's, it sold for about $12. 

   This caused railroad companies to lay thousands of miles of new track.  This new transportation revolution connected many cities.  Mail traveled faster and people traveled across the continent in a matter of weeks. 

   In addition to just expanding the railroads, the locomotives were also upgraded to pull heavy loads for long periods of time. 

   Eventually trains traveled side by side with rails running right next to each other. 

   With the expansion of railroads, people moved west, started new cities and towns.  Older towns became more prosperous. 

   Immigration skyrocketed during the mid- 1800's.  From 1800 to 1880 more than 10 million immigrants came to the states.  Although most of the immigrants were from Europe, approximately 1.5 million Germans immigrated to the "land of oppurtunity.  With the Industrial Revolution in the northern United States, there were many positions opening up.  This was the main reason people immigrated to the Untied States. 

   A trip to America was not easy, especially for the lower class.  A lower class passenger headed for the promised land said, "How can a steerage passenger remember that he is human when he has to pick the worms out of his food... and eat in his stuffy, stinky bunk, or in the hot and fetid atmosphere of a compartment where 150 men sleep?" 

   After a torrid trip like this, immigrants get what is called the "dirty work" of the company, which is the job that only a desperate man would take.  That is, of course, if they can pass the literacy test. 

  Another novel introduction to the northern workboard was a group called the Lowell Girls.  Young women would go to work at a factory where they would be taught good morals and kept on tight schedules.  What a lot of people don't know is that they started out in a mill with a shortage of workers, who simply put aside their differences and hired all kinds of people. 

1848: At Seneca Falls, the womens rights convention was held.  Some people to remember would be Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who led on fiercely.

1864: The Underground Railroad assisted people fleeing the south, giving freedom away to thousands of slaves.  Harriet Tubman herself made over 19 trips back and forth, freeing herself and 300 others.

1865: The New York Stock Exchange building was erected.

1869: The trans-continental railroad was completed when eastern and western tracks were joined at Promontory Point, Utah.

1873: Steel's retail price dropped considerably, encouraging people to buy steel and make products out of them.

1880: Immigration numbers were at all time high (10 million+ immigrants).

   There were five levels of Southern society, ranging from slave to plantation owner.  The first and highest level, of course, was the plantation owners.  In the 1,000 to 2,000 acres of land, about 100 to 200 slaves would live, sometimes lucky enough to have their own garden.  The owner would live in a mansion, sometimes called the “big house”, because of its size. 

   The second level was the middle class.  These were usually the sons of rich plantation owners trying to make it on their own, or pioneers exploring new territory.  With 10 to 40 slaves, these people lived by the season.  If there was one bad crop, they could die. 

   The third level and the people who were considered lower class were the largest white group in the south, and barely survived on their small amounts of land.  With 1 to 6 slaves, if any, they managed to make little food. 

   The fourth and lowest group of whites was the “Crackers”, sometimes known as poor white people.  These illiterate poor people lived on streets in the big city, and were often violent, as they liked to abuse their constitutional rights. 

   Finally, the last level of society was the slaves, who had no property, were considered to be below whites.  They were often ripped from their families to be sold to the highest bidder. 

   There were some people who weren’t even a part of society.  They lived in the mountains and were called “Hillbillies”.  They lived off whatever land they had, and often fought over it. 

   There were many respectable jobs in the South, including the owner of a plantation, an Army officer, a minister, and lawyer or politician.  Views have changed, however, since the 1800’s, and many particularly nasty jokes are made about politicians and lawyers. 

   The south farmed cotton and food, but they were not the ones who sold products and managed the business.  That title belonged to the northern United States and Britain.  The north sold the products after they were manufactured there, and this cycle worked pretty well. 

   The stores who sold these products within the nation were normally Jews, Germans, or Yankees.  Yankees were the people who were loyal northerners, and refused to compromise. 

   In about 1800, religion first got really strong, and it was then that plantation owners started using slavery as an argument for slavery.  They thought that they were god’s chosen people, who were leading the blacks to heaven. 

   There was, at about this time, a stereotype called the Southern Gentle-man.  They were gentle, educated chivalrous, honorable, and had very strong beliefs, making them bad politicians, as they refused to compromise. 

   While tobacco prices took a dive in the 1800’s, and abolitionists were starting to celebrate, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, making it even more profitable to own slaves.  This one invention changed history. 

   Production from 1830 to 1850 went up almost 300%, and by 1859, almost 5 million bales were produced.  As more and more people moved west and grew cotton, the demand for slaves soared. 

   Slaves that worked the fields on plantations were generally treated with less respect than factory workers.  They worked from dawn until they couldn’t see, and were disciplined by overseers, sometimes ex-slaves, and even their own community. 

   At almost $2,000 a head, labor wasn’t cheap, especially when a slave got sick.  The master was forced to treat it until better, also costing money, but better than losing a slave.  Cramped quarters with leaks and little furniture didn’t help matters either.  Pneumonia and malnutrition were likely to occur, and when they did, there was not a lot to stop them. 

   Some plantation owners had a system, though, where some slaves could get upgraded to easier and more favorable work, with more accommodations.  Other owners used violence instead of upgrades.  Whippings were popular, in every way, but there were some worse punishments, like being sold away from your family or beatings with heavy objects. 

   Revolts weren’t popular, but they struck fear into the white man’s heart.  Resistance meant that he would have to protect himself and his family from very angry people who outnumbered him. 

   Nat Turner is one of the people that dared to rise above the system.  In 1831, He and a small group of blacks killed his master and a few others before being caught two months later. 

   Another example of resistance was the Underground Railroad, founded by Harriet Tubman.  She started out by freeing herself, then some friends, and soon it became the sole reason for thousands of slaves’ freedoms.  Harriet Tubman herself took over 19 journeys and freed some 300 slaves.