Fillmore Administration - Domestic Issues
Domestic Issues
The decade of the 1850s saw the South prospering as cotton prices went higher. The North also enjoyed good times economically. For example, the production of Pennsylvania anthracite coal increased from 4.1 million tons in 1850 to 10.9 million tons in 1860. Pig iron foundries turned out 563,000 tons in 1850; the production rose to 821,000 tons in 1860. Canals were giving way to railroads, which opened the prairies to profitable settlement. Wages were rising along with production. Inventions such as Cyrus McCormick's reaper for harvesting wheat and Eli Whitney's cotton gin helped increase agricultural production. The telegraph as well as the railroads were linking the United States.
The slavery issue was at the forefront of political debate when Fillmore became president. The rapid westward expansion of the United States presented many questions over whether slavery should be extended. Many northerners wanted the...
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