Growth of the United States Following the War of 1812
Change occurs in every time period. These changes progress the country forward in many aspects of life. In June of 1812, James Madison requested Congress to declare war on Great Britain due to restrictions on trade and land expansion. The ratification of the Treaty of Ghent on February 17, 1815, ended the war. Although both sides returned to their status quo from before the war, several effects lead to a newfound sense of national identity for the United States. Following the War of 1812, the United States saw growth in transportation, federal government, and industrialization.
Growth in transportation was evident of the War of 1812. As farmers shifted from growing just enough to sustain their families to producing crops for sale, demand grew for cheaper and faster ways to get goods to market. The United States’ way of transportation erupted. Many turnpikes
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Before the war, industry in the United States had just begun. Samuel Slater, also known as the “Father of the Factory System”, established the United States’ first factory in 1790 at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Slater built the spinning jenny, which was one of the key inventions of the industrial revolution. As demand for cotton rose, many sought out an easier, more efficient way to pull seeds from cotton. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. The invention of the cotton gin transformed the growing and selling of cotton on a larger scale. Whitney also came up with the concept of interchangeable parts, which could be rapidly assembled into standardized finished products. Due to the war and the Embargo Act of 1807, ties with Great Britain were cut off. Thus, the United States’ industrialization was stimulated. More factories were built as efficient machines were invented. With machines that could mass-produce and a plethora of workers, factories could now produce much more than they could have