The Market Revolution Free Essays

The Market Revolution and the Changes in Women’s Work (Nancy F. Cott) †¢The essay starts off with a quote by Martha Moore Ballard: â€Å"A woman’s work is never done. † -60 years old -Housekeeper and domestic manufacturer for a working farm -Baked and brewed -Pickled and preserved -Spun and sewed -Made soap and dipped candles -Trusted healer and midwife (delivered more than a 1,000 babies) -Very typical in the 18th century on the frontier for women to be familiar with various skills. We will write a custom essay sample on The Market Revolution or any similar topic only for you Order Now -This helped in building social relationships with the neighbors and also making money. Example: have more skills, build more contacts, make more money †¢The New England economy changed from agricultural and house-hold production base to commercial to industrial. – This change occurred between 1780 and 1835 due to the following reasons: -Extension of the size of the market -Increases in agricultural efficiency -Reduction in transportation costs -Specialization of economic function -Division of labor -Concentration of industry -It used to be that subsistence farming and household production for the family was the norm. -Also, some members of the family specialized in different crafts: blacksmith, tailors, and weavers. During all this, merchant capitalism was introduced. -taking risks -supplying capital -searching for markets -attempting to maximize profits by producing standardized goods at the least cost -The aim of this concept was to reach a wider market – Also, I think that that this was not just a way to organize production, but also a way to organize trade. In the beginning it was that workers brought their own raw materials and made the finished product and sold it, but now the worker had to work with a network of people to make the finished product. Market-oriented production helped in the development of manufacturing and the factory system. -Now that people wanted to cater to a wider market, the shops became larger and more specialized. -A place for production vs. A place for selling †¢Within this, there was a â€Å"putting-out† or â€Å"given-out† system. -The merchant would â€Å"put-out the raw materials to be worked up and collected them when they were finished and ready to be sold. -Ex. With cotton, the merchant would buy the raw materials and take it to the rural areas or countryside and get it woven there. This way they avoided guilds and unions. Also, avoided the regulations and set standards of trade. -Most of this work was done by women at home. -This shows the importance of specialization and division of labor that was critical in this era. -Ex. Farmers focused on subsistence farming and now commercial farming. †¢With the manufacturing and factory system, women started working. -During the late 18th century, both married and unmarried women did their primary work in the households. -Ex. Sally Ripley, a tradesman’s daughter in Massachusetts, and in her diary she wrote that father had to go out of city, he put her in charge of the store. How to cite The Market Revolution, Papers The Market Revolution Free Essays The Market Revolution Many factors contributed to the Market Revolution beginning in 1815 and ending in 1860. These included economic, technological, and social aspects. Better transportation helped move people, materials, and manufactured goods from coast to coast. We will write a custom essay sample on The Market Revolution or any similar topic only for you Order Now New inventions quickened the development of crops and manufacturing of goods. The country’s cities were growing fast, and people moved west in pursuit of cheap land and opportunity. Economically, means of transportation and communication systems improved drastically. Railroads were created, which became a better alternative to ships. They took less time to build, less money to pay workers, and things were cheaper to transport on them then boats. New cities sprang up along the canals. Rochester and Syracuse were examples of the boom in industry in the state. Immigrants came to America to reap the benefits of the new profitability of farming. Movement shifted westward because of the availability and access of the land. Economic sectionalism separated the Northeast, the South, and the West, each having different needs from the government. Along with these transportation and communication advances, new technology was created to help the American economy grow. Many inventions had been created to improve all aspects of life. Eli Whitney created the cotton gin, which heightened cotton production and gave new life to black slavery. He also created the system of interchangeable parts. Another prominent invention was the telegraph created by Samuel F. B. Morse. A painter turned inventor, Morse developed the first unfailing system for immediate communication. In addition, the steel plow, created by Cyrus McCormick, increased the productivity of the American grain farmer. Every invention created benefited the people of America in many ways. Socially, the market revolution created a vast population increase of the American people. Cheap land created a mass movement westward in hopes of finding opportunities. Immigrants also moved west to reach the countries fast-growing cities. In 1850 half of the Americans were under 30 years old, and they were always on the move, especially westward. Family size decreased because of poor conditions. They were poorly fed, ll-fated, and lived in shanties. Because of their conditions, they were victims of disease, depression, and early death. Life was not only tough for families, but also for men. The Market Revolution was influenced by many factors economically, technologically, and socially. Many new transportation and communication systems, and technological advances improved conditions for many individua ls. Westward movement and population contributed to the growing social aspect of America. These and many more examples describe the essence of the Market Revolution. Alexa Penalta Ms. Smith Period 2 13 February 2010 How to cite The Market Revolution, Papers The Market Revolution Free Essays The antebellum era held many beneficial innovations for the United States. The Market Revolution led to improvements in both travel and technology that guided America to become a more productive nation. More opportunities became available to all Americans which led to growth and prosperity of the people. We will write a custom essay sample on The Market Revolution or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Market Revolution was beneficial to America in every way possible. When the term â€Å"Market Revolution† is heard, the first thing many people associate it with is Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin. Whitney’s invention was the first major innovation, revolutionizing both northern manufacturing and southern agriculture. Since the job was previously done by hand, the cotton gin produced a higher supply of cotton at a faster rate. Cotton grew from 750,000 bales per year in 1830 to 2. 5 million bales per year in 1850. America became a major supplier of cotton for the British and provided two-thirds of the world’s cotton supply. The cotton gin was among the most beneficial innovations in the antebellum era. Whitney also invented interchangeable parts in 1797 that provided easier compatibility of different parts of muskets. Many manufacturers soon began using his invention for their own benefits. Because of the large success of his innovations, Eli Whitney was a very important figure of the Market Revolution. Richard Fulton’s invention of the steamboat revolutionized water travel in the early 1800’s. Steamboats were able to travel up and downstream requiring little or no effort from those onboard. Mariners could leave port any time because they did not have to rely on winds to get them to their destination. Shipping was much cheaper and easier for the Southerners because they did not have to ship products around Florida and up the Eastern seaboard because steamboats had the power to travel up the Mississippi. Buffalo robes, cotton, rice, and other products could be shipped via the Mississippi River. From John James Audubon’s Missouri River Journals, he explained how â€Å"They had ten thousand buffalo robes on the four boats;† (282). The Market Revolution made water travel easier, which greatly enhanced trade and the economy, therefore benefiting all of America. The Erie Canal was the first of many canals in the North that made water travel much easier for Americans. The part of the canal being built in the town of Lockport was said to be â€Å"seven miles in length, and partly through solid rock, at an average depth of twenty feet. (279). Thought the canal was not very wide and deep, it made trade easier between western farmers and eastern manufacturers. The canal was very beneficial to the northern residents of America because the North was a more modernized and urban place than the South, relying heavily on trade with the west. The South had no needs for the canal due to their farming capabilities. Southerners relied on Atlantic shipping to receive goods and transport cotton to the North. By 1840, one million barrels of flour were being shipped via the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal was a great innovation that showed progress of development in the nation. Water travel was not the only way of travel revolutionized during the Market Revolution. Land travel was greatly improved by the first railroad being built in the late 1820’s. It was a quicker, cheaper, and much easier way of transporting goods. Railroads could get you from one place to another in a very short amount of time, therefore being â€Å"very pleasant to people in a hurry. † (280). In the 1840’s, there was the same length of railroads as there was canals, therefore railroad travel was becoming very popular in America. In 1860, eleven different widths of railroad tracks were being used, limiting the use of various trains on various tracks. The problem was later fixed giving trains more places to travel. Railroads gave the people of America an accessible way to find success. In Lowell, a small town outside of Boston Massachusetts, a factory was built in 1823 called â€Å"Lowell Mills. † The factory produced over one-hundred times more yards of cloth from 1815 to 1840. The social system regulated by the manufacturers was of interest to many people living in the area due to their system of wages. Lowell Mills employed mostly young women and paid them a decent salary. Though they were paid more than the average women, it was still less than most men. Women’s educational and work experience combined made them more obedient than their superiors wished, thus resulting in many women protesting the decrease in wages. Josephine L. Baker explains â€Å"the money we earn comes promptly; more so than in any other situation;† (293). The Lowell System greatly enhanced the employee to company relationship, resulting in a greater range of opportunities for women as well as increasing Americas’ cotton supply. In 1838, a man named John Deere invented the steel plow in Grand Detour, Illinois. Many farmers in the Great Plains used the device to their benefit because it quickly broke tough soil. Rich soil in the Middle West caused the wood plows to break, therefore Deere knew steel would be a good alternative. Farmers were able to provide more crops for their consumers and family. By 1855, Deere’s factory sold more than 10,000 plows. John Deere’s innovation led to a great array of farming equipment, which greatly benefited all Americans during the antebellum era. Bigger cities and the improvements in transportation attracted many immigrants to America. They saw an opportunity to make money without having to invest in any land. Many American families turned to immigrants for cheap labor during the Market Revolution as well. Neither the German or Irish were treated as equals with Americans, but the German were generally more accepted in America than the Irish. John Francis Maguire explains that Irish immigrants â€Å"were generally poor, and after defraying their first expenses on landing had little left to enable them to push their way into the country. (297). Though the immigrants were not treated fairly, they were all in search of the American dream. Many immigrants found success in America and helped revolutionize the industries during the Market Revolution. The Market Revolution made everything easier for Americans as well as gave many immigrants and women success. America showed progress in becoming a more powerful and independent nation during this period. All of America benefited from the different innovations such as the cotton gin, telegraph, and new methods of travel. It was clear that America was on the path of success. How to cite The Market Revolution, Papers