Study Guide and Learning Resources

Study Guide and Learning Resources


Short Answers:

As you read the chapter and view the videos, take notes on the following questions. Be sure to provide specific examples from this text in your responses. Responses should be at least 1-2 paragraphs:

  • What was the place of women in American society between 1815 and 1860, especially with reference to the legal concept of coverture and social expectations placed upon women? How did class and changes in the class order shape the lives of women?

  • Describe “companionship marriage.” In what ways might have “companionship marriage” improved the status of women?

  • What were the ways that class changed in America between 1815 and 1860? How did the upper and middle classes live? How did that differ from the lower classes, especially factory and mill workers who were wage workers?

  • How was education and childhood different for upper and middle class children compared to lower class children?

  • Describe the Waltham-Lowell System that influenced the early textile industry in the United States. How did it work? What was its primary labor force?

  • How did transportation change in the United States between 1815 and 1860? What was the role of new technology in transportation improvements? What was the role of government?

  • Why did the Erie Canal make New York City the nation’s most economically important city?

  • Why did slavery decline in northern states after 1780? What sorts of laws did northern states pass with respect to slavery? How did companies located in the northern states profit from slavery in the South?

  • How did slavery become even more important in the South between 1815 and 1860? What was the role of the cotton gin and cotton in making slavery more profitable in the South?

  • Discuss the arrival of large numbers of Irish and German immigrants to the United States between 1840 and 1860. Why did these groups of immigrants come to the United States in such large numbers? Where did they tend to settle? What sorts of jobs did they tend to take? How were they treated?


Key Terms: As you read and view the videos, use the following terms to help you take notes.


  • Market Revolution

  • panics

  • Transportation Revolution

  • Erie Canal

  • steamboat

  • railroads

  • telegraphs

  • Incorporation

  • gradual abolition

  • cotton gin

  • putting-out system

  • Waltham-Lowell System

  • education

  • separate spheres

  • companionate marriage

  • Irish immigration

  • German Triangle

  • nativism

  • Know-Nothing Party

  • antebellum unions