Module 10 - HIS 210 - U.S. History through the Civil War - Textbook - LibGuides at Hostos Community College Library

Module 10: The Market Revolution, 1815-1840

Learning Outcome

To understand the importance of technological innovations for changing, not only the American economy, but virtually every aspect of American life and the movement of people, goods, and information increased dramatically in this period even as the physical size of the country was increasing.

Five Points (1827), by George Catlin, depicts the infamous Five Points neighborhood of New York City, so called because it was centered at the intersection of five streets. Five Points was home to a polyglot mix of recent immigrants, formerly enslaved people, and other members of the working class.

Content

Introduction
Americans could now quickly produce larger amounts of goods for a nationwide, and sometimes an international, market and rely less on foreign imports than in colonial times. As American economic life shifted rapidly and modes of production changed, new class divisions emerged and solidified, resulting in previously unknown economic and social inequalities
9.1 Early Industrialization in the Northeast
Northern industrialization expanded rapidly following the War of 1812. Industrialized manufacturing began in New England, where wealthy merchants built water-powered textile mills (and mill towns to support them) along the rivers of the Northeast... from its origin in New England, manufacturing soon spread to other regions of the United States.
9.2 A Vibrant Capitalist Republic
Market economies involve fluctuating prices for labor, raw materials, and consumer goods and depend on credit and financial instruments—any one of which can be the source of an imbalance and an economic downturn in which businesses and farmers default, wage workers lose their employment, and investors lose their assets.
9.3 On the Move: The Transportation Revolution
Americans in the early 1800s were a people on the move, as thousands left the eastern coastal states for opportunities in the West. Unlike their predecessors, who traveled by foot or wagon train, these settlers had new transport options. Their trek was made possible by the construction of roads, canals, and railroads, projects that required the funding of the federal government and the states.
9.4 A New Social Order: Class Divisions
The unequal distribution of newly created wealth spurred new divisions along class lines. Each class had its own specific culture and views on the issue of slavery.
Henry Clay, "Defense of the American System"
Pages 83-6: "Existing State of Unparalleled Prosperity"

Attribution

U.S. History
Authors: P. Scott Corbett, Volker Janssen, John M. Lund, Todd Pfannestiel, Sylvie Waskiewicz, Paul Vickery
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/1-introduction
Sections located at: Introduction https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/9-introduction; 9.1 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/9-1-early-industrialization-in-the-northeast; 9.2 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/9-2-a-vibrant-capitalist-republic; 9.3 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/9-3-on-the-move-the-transportation-revolution; 9.4 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/9-4-a-new-social-order-class-divisions
License: Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

In Defense of the American System
Author: Henry Clay
Located at: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Speeches_ClayAmericanSystem.htm
Reprinted from Robert C. Byrd, The Senate, 1789-1989: Classic Speeches, 1830-1993. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1994.

HIS 210 - U.S. History through the Civil War - Textbook

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HIS 210 U.S. History through the Civil War

Module 10: The Market Revolution, 1815-1840

Learning Outcome

Content

Attribution