Chapter 9 The Market Revolution

Chapter 9: The Market Revolution A New Economy 1824—population tripled to nearly 12 million, land more than doubled political institutions thrived 3 historical processes unleashed by revolution that accelerated after the War of 1812: o 1. Spread of market relations o 2. Westward movement of population o 3. Rise of a vigorous political democracy 3 processes above helped to reshape the idea of freedom with closer ties to o 1. Economic opportunity o 2. Physical mobility o 3. Participation in democratic political system o 4. Presence of slavery  Coexistence of liberty and slavery that expanded simultaneously remained biggest contradiction of American life What were the main elements of the market revolution? First half of 19th century: economic transformation known as market revolution o Catalyst was series of innovations in communication and transportation Americans moved west of Appalachian Mountains and into interior regions of states o Became isolated from markets o American farm families produced most of what they needed (clothes, farm implements)  Bartered with rural craftsmen and neighbors for what they couldn’t make o Farmers not near markets or waterways couldn’t market produce Many Americans devoted their energy to solving technological problems that inhibited domestic commerce Roads and Steamboats First half of 19th century came steamboat, canal, railroad, and telegraph o Opened new land to settlement o Lowered transportation costs o Easier for economic enterprises to sell their products o Linked farmers to national and world markets—became major consumers of manufactured goods 1806, Congress authorized construction of paved National Road from Cumberland, MD to Old Northwest o 1818 extended to Illinois where it ended Improved waterways most dramatically increased speed and lowered expense of commerce 1807, steamboats commercial feasibility demonstrated o Robert Fulton’s steamboat Clermont navigated the Hudson River from NY to Albany o Steamboats could travel upstream on major rivers, the Great Lakes, and eventually Atlantic o 1811, first steamboat introduced to Mississippi—20 years later, 200 steamboats The Erie Canal Erie Canal: Most important and profitable of the canals of the 1820s and 1830s; stretched from Buffalo to Albany, NY, connecting the Great Lakes to the East Coast and making NYC the nation’s largest port o Completed in 1825—363 miles long (longest before was only 28 miles) o Great Lakes to NYC o Attracted influx of farmers migrating from New England—created Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse o Gave NYC primacy over trade with Old Northwest 1 To match NY’s success, other state borrowed tons of money for elaborate programs of canal construction o 3,000 miles of canal built—network linking Atlantic states with Ohio and Mississippi valleys  Reduced cost of transportation o Went bankrupt during economic depression that began in 1837 Railroads and Telegraphs Railroads opened vast interior for settlement o Stimulated coal mining for fuel and iron manufacturing for locomotives and rails o First commercial railroad, work began 1828: Baltimore and Ohio o By 1860, 30,000 miles of railroad networks Telegraph made instantaneous communication possible throughout nation o Invented in 1830s by Samuel F. B. Morse o 1844, Put into commercial operation o Initially for businesses (especially newspapers), rather than individuals o Helped speed flow of information and brought uniformity to prices throughout country The Rise of the West 1790-1840, 4.5 million people crossed Appalachian Mountains o Most migration occurred after War of 1812 (land-hungry settlers moved from east) In the 6 years after end of was in 1815, 6 new states entered Union o Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, Maine Settlers traveled in groups o Arrived in west and coordinated with each other to clear land, build houses and barns, and establish communities o From South: small farmers and planters came with slaves to create new Cotton Kingdoms in  Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas o From Upper South: farm families  Ohio, Indiana, Illinois o From New England to New York  Upper Northwest—northern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin Some were “squatters”—setting up farms on unoccupied land without legal title Land purchased after 1820 at $1.25 an acre o Cash or long-term credit from land speculators West mirrored cultures of migrants o Upper state NY and Upper Northwest resembled New England  Small towns, churches, schools o Lower South resembled plantation-based society of Atlantic states Settlers crosses territorial boundaries to claim land under jurisdiction of foreign countries o 1810, American residents in West Florida rebelled and seized Baton Rouge—US annexed area o Acquisition of East Florida wanted by Georgia and Alabama  Would rid refuge for fugitive slaves and hostile Seminole Indians  1818 Andrew Jackson led troops into area National crisis—execute 2 British traders and Indian chiefs Jackson withdrew Spain aware they couldn’t defend territory Sold area to US in Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 (negotiated by John Quincy Adams) An International Borderland Northwest Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery in Old Northwest 2 o Ohio River became a marked boundary between free and slave societies Easier for people and goods to travel between slave state Kentucky and southern counties of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois than northern parts of those states o Southern counties had more in common with Kentucky and Tennessee than with northern counties in their own states  Region retained culture of Upper South Food, speech, settlement patterns, family ties, economic relations o More likely to ship produce southward via Ohio and Mississippi Rivers than northward or to East The Cotton Kingdom Cotton Kingdom: Cotton-producing region, relying predominantly on slave labor, that spanned from North Carolina west to Louisiana and reached as far north as southern Illinois o First 30 years of 19th century gave rise to kingdom Early industrial revolution centered on factories producing cotton textiles with water-powered spinning and weaving machinery o Huge demand for cotton Cotton Gin: Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, the machine separated cotton seed from cotton fiber, speeding cotton processing and making profitable the cultivation of the hardier, but difficult to clean, short-staple cotton o Led directly to the dramatic 19th century expansion of slavery in the south After War of 1812, federal government consolidated control over Deep South o Forced Indians to cede land o Encouraged white settlement o Acquired Florida o Settlers from older southern states flooded region o Planters monopolized the most fertile land 1808—Atlantic slave trade prohibited o Massive slave trade within US developed to supply Cotton Kingdom o Well-organized businesses gathered slaves in Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina and shipped them to markets in Mobile, Natchez, and New Orleans Slave coffles were common sights in deep south —groups chained to one another on forced marches Westward movement = greater freedom for whites Westward movement = destruction of family ties, breakup of land-standing communities, and receding opportunities for liberty for blacks 1793, US produced 5 million lbs of cotton 1820, US produced 170 million lbs of cotton Market Society How did the market revolution spark social change? South in some was most commercially oriented region in US Reproduced slave-based social order of the old South New south remained rural o 80% of southerners worked the land (same proportion as in 1800 old south) Commercial Farmers Market revolution in north transformed region into integrated economy of commercial farms and manufacturing cities 3 Old Northwest became more settled society o Bound by web of transportation and credit to eastern centers of commerce and banking o Farmers drawn into new market economy  Grew crops and livestock for sale  Purchased goods previously produced at home, at stores Western farmers found in the growing eastern cities o Market for their produce o Source of credit Loans originating with eastern banks and insurance companies financed o Acquisition of land and supplies o 1840s and 1850s, fertilizer and new agricultural machinery to expand production  Steel plow—John Deere 1837  The Reaper (horse drawn machine for mass wheat harvest)—Cyrus McCormick 1831 Eastern farmers concentrated on producing dairy products, fruits, and vegetables for nearby urban centers o Corn and wheat production more expensive in east The Growth of Cities Porkopolis: Nickname of Cincinnati, coined in the mid-19th century, after its numerous slaughter houses Chicago: greatest of all western cities o 1830s—tiny settlement on shore of Lake Michigan o 1860s—nation’s 4th largest city  Farm products from throughout Northwest were gathered to be sent east (railroad use) Urban centers underwent dramatic changes due to market revolution o Urban merchants, bankers and master craftsmen took advantage of opportunities created by expanding market among commercial farmers  Increase production + decrease labor costs Entrepreneurs gathered artisans into large workshops to oversee work and subdivide tasks o Labor broken down into numerous steps requiring less skill and training The Factory System Factories (most textiles) gathered large groups of workers under central supervision o Replaced hand tools with power-driven machinery 1790, Samuel Slater (English immigrant) established America’s 1st factory (Pawtucket, Rhone Island) o Built power-driven spinning jenny from memory (England made industrial machinery blueprint export illegal) “Outwork system”—rural men and women earned money by taking in jobs from factories 1814, First large-scale American factory utilizing power looms for weaving cloth (Waltham, Mass.) o Established because of Embargo Act of 1807 and Was of 1812—British imports cut off o Established by group called Boston Associates o 1820s, created a factory town (Lowell, 1836) on Merrimack River (27 miles from Boston)  Textile factories that did all phases of production (spinning thread, weaving, finishing cloth) Earliest factories locate along “fall line”—waterfalls and river rapids powered machinery 1840s, steam power made factories possible along coats and large cities 1850s manufacturers produced more than just textiles o Tools, firearms, shoes, clocks, ironware, agricultural machinery American system of manufacturers: a system of production that relied on the mass production of interchangeable parts that could be rapidly assembled into standardized finished products o First perfected in Connecticut by clockmaker Eli Terry and by small-arms producer Eli Whitney (40s+50s) 4 Almost every northern town has its sawmill, paper mill, iron works, shoemaker, hatmaker, tailor, etc. The “Mill Girls” Mill girls: Women who worked at textile mills during the Industrial Revolution who enjoyed new freedoms and independence not seen before o Opportunity to earn money independently Early New England textile mills relied on female and child labor Lowell: most famous center of early textile manufacturing o Young, unmarried women from Yankee farm families o Set up boarding houses with strict rules regarding personal behavior  Persuaded parents to allow daughters to leave home to work on mills o Established lecture halls and churches to occupy women’s free time The Growth of Immigration Economic expansion fueled demand for labor 1840-1860, over 4 million people entered US (majority from Ireland and Germany) o 90% headed for northern states  Most abundant job opportunities  Didn’t have to compete with slave labor 1860, 384K of 814K residents of NY (major port of entry) were immigrants Factors for massive flow of immigrants o Europe, modernization of agriculture and industrial revolution disrupted centuries-old patterns of life  Peasants forced off land and traditional craft worker jobs eliminated  Ocean-going steam ship and railroads made travel more practical  Political and religious freedoms in America European political refugees from failed revolutions of 1848 Largest number were refugees from disaster o Irish fleeing Great Famine od 1845-1851 (blight destroyed potato crop)  Lacked industrial skills and capital—filled low-wage unskilled jobs Men: built railroads, dug canals, common laborers, servants, longshoremen, factory operatives Women: servants and factory work o 1850s, Lowell textile mills replaced Yankee farm women with immigrant Irish families Germans—2nd largest group of immigrants o Skilled craftsmen o Settled in tightly knit neighborhoods in eastern cities o Some moved west and established themselves as craftsmen, shopkeepers, and farmers o “German Triangle”: Cincinnati, St. Louis, Milwaukee The Rise of Nativism Idea of US as a refuge for those seeking economic opportunity or escape from oppression has coexisted with suspicion of and hostility to foreign newcomers American history has had periods of intense anxiety over immigration o Alien Act of 1798—feared immigrants with radical political views Archbishop John Hughes of NYC made Catholic church a more assertive institution o Condemned use of Protestant King James Bible in city’s public schools o Pressed Catholic parents to send children to expanding network of parochial schools o Sought government funding to pay for parochial schools 1834 Presbyterian minister Lyman Beecher wanted that Catholics were seeking to dominate American west 5 o Inspired a mob to burn a Catholic convent in the city Nativism: Anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic feeling especially prominent in the late 1830s through the 1850s; the largest group of its proponents was New York’s Order of the Star-Spangled Banner, which expanded into the American (Know-Nothing) Party in 1854 o Feared impact of immigration on American politics and social life o Blamed immigrants for urban crime, political corruption, love of liquor, and accused them of undercutting native-born skilled laborers by working for starvation wages o Stereotypes directed at Irish similar to blacks: lazy, childlike, slaves of their passions, unsuited for republican freedom The Transformation of Law American law supported entrepreneur efforts to participate in market revolution + shielded them from interference by local governments and liability from undesirable results of economic growth o Corporate firm = special privileges and powers granted in charter from government  Investors and directors not personally liable for company’s debts Company can fail without ruining its directors and stockholders (unlike companies owned by individuals, families, or limited partnerships) Americans distrusted corporate charters as form of government-granted special privileges o Courts upheld charter validity while opposing efforts by established firms to limit competition Dartmouth College v. Woodward: 1819 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the original charter of the college against New Hampshire’s attempt to alter the board of trustees; set the precedent of support of contracts against state interference o Defined corporate charters as contracts—future lawmakers could not alter or rescind Gibbons v. Ogden: 1824 U.S. Supreme Court case decision reinforcing the “commerce clause” (the federal government’s right to regulate interstate commerce) of the Constitution; Chief Justice John Marshall ruled against the state of New York’s granting of steamboat monopolies o Struck down monopoly NY granted for steamboat navigation 1837, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled Massachusetts legislature did not infringe the charter of an existing company that had constructed a bridge over Charles River when it empowered a second company to build a competing bridge The Free Individual How did the meanings of American freedom change in this period? The West and Freedom “Manifest Destiny”: Phrase first used in 1845 to urge annexation of Texas; used thereafter to encourage American settlement of European colonial and Indian lands in the Great Plains and the West and, more generally, as a justification for American empire o Said by John L. O’Sullivan o Meant US had a divinely appointed mission to occupy all of North America Americans believed that settlement and economic exploration of West would prevent US from becoming a society with a large fixed class of wage-earning poor (like Europe) o Land readily available o Oppressive factory labor less common than East o Chance to achieve economic independence (social condition of freedom) 6 The Transcendentalists Competitive world of market believed that no restraints to individuals seeking economic advancement and personal development = freedom Transcendentalists: Philosophy of a small group of mid-19th-century New England writers and thinkers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller o They stressed personal and intellectual self-reliance (over social traditions and institutions) o 1830s, Ralph Waldo Emerson: rather than a preexisting set of rights and privileges, freedom was an open-ended process of self-realization  Individuals could remake themselves and their own lives  Most prominent leader of the transcendentalists o Henry David Thoreau: one needs to find their own way politically, socially, and personally rather than follow the crowd  Believed modern society stifled individual judgement  People trapped in unsatisfying jobs because they were obsessed with becoming wealthy  People so materialistic they don’t enjoy beauties of nature  Walden (1854)—retreated to cabin on Walden Pond near Concord for 2 years and published his experiences Critiqued how the market revolution was degrading Americans’ values and natural environment (cutting down forests, reduction in wild life) Urged American’s to simplify lives and stop obsession with wealth The Second Great Awakening Second Great Awakening: Religious revival movement of the early decades of the 19th century, in reaction to the growth of secularism and rationalist religion; began the predominance of the Baptist and Methodist churches o Celebrated personal self-improvement, self-reliance’s, and self-determination o Religious leaders alarmed by low church attendance (10%) o Reverend Charles Grandison Finney held months-long revival meetings in upstate NY and NYC  Warned of hell—salvation to those who convert sinful ways o Democratized American Christianity o 1776 = 2,000 Christian ministers v. 1845 = 40,000 o Evangelical (Protestant) denominations proliferated  Baptists and Methodists (became largest denomination) o Rejected predestination (John Calvin) o Promoted doctrine of human free will The Awakening’s Impact Second Great Awakening stressed right of private judgment in spiritual matters and possibility of universal salvation through faith and good work o Everyone is a “moral free agent”: free to choose between Christian life and sin Revivalist ministers took market revolution’s opportunities to spread message o Raised funds o Embarked on lengthy preaching tours by canal, steamboat, and railroads o Flooded county with mass-produced, inexpensive religious tracts Preachers didn’t like market society o Greed and indifference to the welfare of others was sinful o BUT revivals thrived in rapidly expanding market societies (e.g. Upstate NY—along Erie canal)  Most converts came from commercial and professional classes o Individualism: term that entered the language in the 1820s to describe the increasing emphasis on the pursuit of personal advancement and private fulfillment free of outside interference 7 o Industry, sobriety, and self-discipline were examples of freely chosen moral behavior  Ended up promoting qualities necessary for market culture The Emergence of Mormonism End of governmental support for established churches = competition among religious groups and new denominations Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons): Religious sect founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith; it was the product of intense revivalism of the “burned-over district” of New York. Smith’s successor Brigham Young led 15,000 followers to Utah in 1847 to escape persecution o Joseph Smith claimed to have been led by angel to set of golden plates covered with strange writing  Translated and published them as The Book of Mormon Tells of 3 families who traveled from Middle East to Americas where they evolved into Native American tribes Second coming of Jesus would happen in New World where Smith was God’s prophet Mormon church focused on family and community as basis of social order and rejection of alcohol o Polygamy was controversial to neighboring Christians Mobs drove Mormons out of New York, Ohio, and Missouri o 1839, settled in Nauvoo, Illinois Smith arrested for inciting riot on anti-Mormon newspaper o Murder by intruders while awaiting trial 1847, successor Brigham Young led Mormons across Great Plains and Rocky Mountains to shores of present day Salt Lake City, UT Mormons’ experience revealed the limits of religious toleration but also opportunities offered by religious pluralism The Limits of Prosperity How did the market revolution affect the lives of workers, women and African Americans? Liberty and Prosperity Americans celebrated opportunities open to the “self-made man” o According to this idea, those who achieved success in America did so as a result of their own intelligence and hard work (not result of hereditary privilege or government favoritism as in Europe) Market Revolution o Enriched bankers, merchants, industrialists, and planters o Created a new middle class—clerks, accountants, other office employees who staffed businesses in Boston, New York and elsewhere o New opportunity for  Farmers—profited from growing demand at home and abroad of American agricultural products  Craftsmen  Talented men—professions in law, medicine, and teaching Race and Opportunity Blacks excluded from new economic opportunities Blacks suffered discrimination o Lived in poorest, unhealthiest sections of cities like NY, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati  Even these neighborhoods subject to violent assault by white mobs Blacks laboriously created their own institutions, centered on mutual-aid and educational societies 8 o Schools, public facilities, churches (most notably the African Methodist Episcopal Church) Blacks did not have opportunity to economic accumulation and individual advancement o North—slaves served artisans and became skilled craftsmen o Difficult to utilize skills—even anti-slavery whites viewed freed slaves as low-wage competitors and sought to bar them from skilled employment o Majority labored for wages in unskilled jobs or as servants White employers only hired them for menial jobs o Whites didn’t want to be served by blacks Blacks could not take advanced of westward expansion o Federal law barred them from access to public land o 1860, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Oregon prohibited blacks from entering territory all together The Cult of Domesticity Household declined as center of economic production o Women saw traditional roles undermined by availability of mass-produced goods previously made at home Woman’s role was to provide love, friendship, and mutual obligation Cult of domesticity: The 19th century ideology of “virtue” and “modesty” as the qualities that were essential to proper womanhood Women exercised considerable power over personal affairs within family (men left home for work) Women and Work Could not o Compete freely for employment since only low-paying jobs were available to them o Sign independent contracts o Sue in their own name After Civil War they were able to control their wages For poor city dwellers and farm families, labor of whole family was essential to economic survival o Women found jobs as domestic servants, factory workers, and seamstresses For expanding middle class, women stayed at home, out of disorderly new market economy o Husbands conducted business in offices, shops and factories o Fashionable middle class populated by merchants, factory owners, professionals like lawyers and doctors o Work in homes done by domestic servants (largest employment category for women) o Freedom (from labor) of middle-class women rested on employment of other women in household Family Wage: Idea that male workers should earn a wage sufficient to enable them to support their entire family without their wives having to work outside the home o Roots sank deep along all working-class men (all socioeconomic status’) The Early Labor Movement Survivors of revolutionary generation feared obsession with personal economic gain was undermining devotion to the public good Between War of 1812 – 1840 o Full-fledged depression occurred in 1837 o Employment was irregular and numerous businesses failed o Gap widened between wealthy merchants and industrialists and impoverished factory workers, unskilled dockworkers, and seamstresses o Massachusetts—richest 5% owned 50% of wealth 9 1820s, skilled craftsmen who feared being reduced to the status of dependent wage workers established worlds 1st Workingmen’s Parties: short-lived organizations that sought to mobilize lower-class support for candidates who would press for o Free public education o End to imprisonment for debt o Legislation limiting work to 10 hours per day 1830s, prices rose rapidly o Union organization spread o Strikes became commonplace Demands of early labor movement o Higher wages o Shorter hours o Free homesteads for settlers on public land o End to the imprisonment of union leaders for conspiracy The “Liberty of Living” Worker’s language of protest drew on older ideas of freedom linked to o Economic autonomy o Public-spirited virtue o Social inequality 1835, 20 NY tailors convicted for conspiracy for combining to seek higher wages Twice, the young mill women of Lowell walked off jobs o 1834—protested reduction in wages o 1836—protested increase in rent at boardinghouses o Carried banners affirming their rights as “daughters of free men” o “oppressive hand of avarice [greed] would enslave [them]” Laborer’s critique of market economy challenged idea of individual improvement—Emerson’s “self-trust, selfreliance, self-control, self-culture” = social inequality Economic Security: a standard of life below which no person would fall (became essential to freedom) o Came from Orestes Brownson’s essay “The Laboring Classes” (1840) Market Revolution transformed and divided American society and concepts of freedom: o Encouraged new emphasis on individualism and physical mobility among white men o Limited options available to women and African-Americans o New opportunities for economic independence for some o Traditional economic independence for others was eroded 10