4 A Time of Change Oregon Country Shared with England and United States Mexico Disputed between Michigan Territory and Rupert’s Land England Disputed between Maine and Colony of New Brunswick England New Hampshire Vermont Maine Unorganized Territory Disputed between Mexico and Arkansas Territory Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland States Territories Other countries Disputed areas Michigan Territory New York Indiana Ohio Illinois Missouri Arkansas Territory Kentucky Tennessee Mississippi Alabama Georgia Pennsylvania D C Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Louisiana Florida Territory When Andrew Jackson became president in 1829 the Union consisted of 24 states A Time of Change Five presidents Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren William Harrison John Tyler and James Polk led the United States in the 20 years from 1829 to 1849 These were years of great growth for America Also during this period some of America’s most important reform movements began and some of the country’s greatest literature and art were produced At the same time however the split between the North and the South widened This split was caused by the unresolved issue of slavery The Land and People There were 24 states in the Union in 1829 By 1849 there were 30 states Arkansas became a state in 1836 and Michigan in 1837 Texas and Florida were annexed in 1845 Iowa was annexed in 1846 and Wisconsin became a state in 1848 annexed AN-eksd Added to or made part of what already exists A locomotive fireman in a coal car waves to an oncoming train in early 1900
6 A Time of Change A man is photographed by R W Johnson studios in Pittsburgh on February 16 1909 The photo was printed from a process using four separate negatives The inset print also of Pittsburgh was taken in 1849 As a result the total land area of the The growth in the urban population United States in 1849 was nearly 3 million square miles 7 8 square kilometers That was more than three times what it had been in 1789 when the Constitution went into effect In addition the winning of the Mexican War 1846 1848 brought America a vast region from which the states of California and New Mexico as well as Arizona Colorado Nevada and Utah would later be created America’s population too had greatly increased In 1789 the population was a little less than 4 million people By 1849 it had increased almost six times to about 23 million people Most Americans still lived on farms Only about 15 percent lived in cities but that was a big increase from earlier times In 1789 there were no cities in America with a population of more than 100,000 people By 1849 there were five New York City New York Philadelphia Pennsylvania Baltimore Maryland Boston Massachusetts and New Orleans Louisiana was partly the result of immigration to the United States Earlier in the 1800s the rate of immigration was very low But in the 1830s about 500,000 people settled in America In the 1840s the number rose to 1 5 million In 1850 alone about 370,000 people came The majority emigrated from Ireland Germany and Great Britain Kellogg depicted this bombardment of Vera Cruz during the Mexican War on March 25 1847
A Time of Change 7 The Economy America’s economy was also growing but different regions were developing in different ways The overall economy was based on agriculture which would be the case until the end of the 1850s But manufacturing was on the rise especially in the North Steam power derived from the burning of coal was replacing water power The leading industries of the time were flour milling iron production and the manufacture of cotton textiles The South remained overwhelmingly agricultural Cotton tobacco corn and wheat were the main crops Unlike the economies in other parts of the country the South’s economy was almost entirely dependent on slavery This was so even though only one southern white family in four owned slaves Still most southerners could not imagine a society without slavery to support it Consequently the South was very sensitive to any movement that seemed hostile to slavery Both the North and the South continued to import or buy from other countries more goods than it exported or sold to other countries Textiles and iron products were major imports Cotton was the main export Gold was discovered in California in 1848 altering the economy of the West A gold rush began as people traveled the long and difficult land and sea routes to the new territory in the hopes of getting rich fast Prospectors pan for gold in California Words to Know immigration IM-uh-gray-shun The movement of people to one country from another country in order to live there import IM-port To buy goods from another country or a good that is bought from another country export EK-sport To sell goods in another country or a good that is sold in another country
