Immigration & Culture
Which two immigrant groups came to the U.S. in large numbers between 1840–1860?
Irish and Germans.
What does “nativism” mean?
Hostility toward immigrants, favoring native-born Americans
Which invention revolutionized communication in the mid-1800s?
Telegraph by Samuel F. B. Morse
Which region relied on free labor?
The North
What network helped enslaved people escape to freedom?
The Underground Railroad
Why did many Irish immigrants face discrimination?
They were Roman Catholic and competed for low-wage jobs
What religion was the main target of nativist sentiment?
Catholicism
What machine helped shift clothing production from homes to factories?
Sewing machine (by Elias Howe)
Which region depended on enslaved labor?
The South
How did abolitionist literature affect public opinion?
It exposed slavery’s cruelty and rallied Northern opposition.
What U.S. city’s Democratic machine was eventually dominated by the Irish?
Tammany Hall in New York City
What did the Know-Nothing Party want to restrict?
Immigrant political power and naturalization
What was America’s largest industry by the 1850s?
Railroads
What movement opposed slavery’s expansion because it threatened free-labor markets?
The Free-Soil Movement
How did Southerners react to antislavery books?
They saw them as attacks on their way of life.
What nativist political party formed in reaction to the influx of immigrants?
The Know-Nothing Party (American Party)
What were two fears nativists had about immigrants?
Job competition and political influence
How did railroads connect different regions?
They united the Northeast’s industry with the Midwest’s agriculture.
What was the Fugitive Slave Law designed to do?
Help slaveholders capture escaped enslaved people.
Name one effect of the Fugitive Slave Law and antislavery books combined.
They widened the divide between North and South.
Explain how immigrants preserved their cultures while adapting to U.S. society.
They formed ethnic neighborhoods, churches, and schools keeping customs and languages alive.
How did nativism foreshadow later American social conflicts?
It showed recurring cycles of xenophobia that reappear throughout U.S. history.
How did railroad expansion give the North a later advantage in the Civil War?
More infrastructure for moving troops and supplies
How did enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law increase sectional tension?
It forced Northerners to aid slavery, angering abolitionists and increasing distrust.
Explain how cultural, economic, and political differences deepened sectionalism by 1860.
Different labor systems, moral beliefs, and economic interests made compromise nearly impossible.