The Market Revolution

Chapter 9-1

Markets Expand

Early 19th century: rural Americans = self-sufficient

mid 19th century: US more industrialized

specialization: mid 19th century farmers began raising 1 or 2 cash crops to sell – move away from self-sufficiency

market revolution: people bought and sold goods rather than making goods for their own use

Capitalism: private businesses and individuals control the means of production (ex: factories, machines, and land) and use them to make profits

Entrepreneurs: owners/investors in businesses – risky if it’s a new business

“America is a country in which fortunes have yet to be made…All cannot be made wealthy, but all have a chance of securing a prize. This stimulates to the race, and hence the eagerness of the competition.” – Alexander Mackay (Scottish journalist who lived in Canada)

Inventions 1839: Charles Goodyear developed vulcanized

rubber (didn’t freeze in cold weather or melt in hot weather)

1846: Elias Howe patented the sewing machine

1851: I.M. Singer added the foot-treadle to the sewing machine (less time to make textiles) = led to factory production of clothing decreased clothing prices by 75%

Telegraph1837: Samuel F.B.

Morse created the telegraph (carried coded messages across a copper wire)

Connected cities, spread info, kept railroads on schedule

By 1854: 23,000 miles of telegraph wire across US

Morse Code

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XHwygN9CKM (drummer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J8YcQETyTw (alphabet)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1WdoKKGM5o (twitter)

Do Now

What communication devices have you read about in science fiction stories or seen in futuristic movies?

What are these devices and how are they superior to the communication devices and technology we currently have?

If such a device were to exist, how would it revolutionize our lives?

Canals

1807: Robert Fulton invented the steamboat boats could now travel upstream

by 1830: 200 steamboats on western rivers = lowered shipping prices and travel times

1816: 100 miles of canals 1831: 3,300+ miles of canals

Erie Canal: US’s first major canal

RailroadsDisadvantage: More expensive

than shipping by canal

Advantages: speed (4x faster than steamboats), used in winter, bring goods inland

1850: 10,000 miles of track

“If one could stop when one wanted, and if one were not locked up in a box with 50 or 60 tobacco-chewers; and the engine and fire did not burn holes in one’s clothes…and the smell of the smoke, of the oil, and of the chimney did not poison one…and [one] were not in danger of being blown sky-high or knocked off the rails – it would be the perfection of traveling.” – Samuel Breck (Philadelphia merchant)

Regional Specialties

South exported cotton to England and New England

West sent grain and livestock to eastern cities and Europe

East manufactured textiles and machinery

Southern Agriculture

Relied on cotton, tobacco, and rice

Southerners disliked idea of industrialization - thought the northern factories were dirty

Communication and transportation lines were less advanced in south than in north

Northeast Shipping & Manufacturing

Northeast = center of American commerce (canals and railroads)

NYC = central link between American agriculture and European markets once Erie Canal opened

14% of workers had manufacturing jobs – produced more and better goods at lower prices than had been done before

Midwest Farming

1837: John Deere invented first steel plow = allowed farmers to develop farmland more efficiently and cheaply

Cyrus McCormick: invented mechanical reaper (horse-drawn grain reaper) = allowed 1 farmer to do the work of 5 farmers