Market Revolution Chapter 12

Commercialization Accumulation of capital-family connections, banks, southern cotton Commercialization was made possible by the putting-out system which was a system where people made things at home by hand but produced a specific part of a product instead of the whole thing.

The Market Revolution was the outcome of three developments. 1- Rapid improvement in transportation (Roads, Canals, Steamboats, Railroads) 2- Commercialization: production of goods for a cash market 3- Industrialization: use of power driven machinery to produce goods

Instead of making the entire product and trading it, workers made a specific part (specialization/division of labor) and was paid cash for their work. With cash the workers bought whatever finished products they wanted. This creates a commercial market. Higher production possible with transportation developments

Industrialization It was industrialization that brought the biggest change to peoples lives. Industrialization resulted from a series of technological changes in the textile trade which required workers to concentrate in factories and work with power driven machinery. Industrialization allows for products to be made faster and cheaper (mass production). America industrializes by copying the British.

Samuel Slater becomes the father of American industry after he memorizes the designs of the British cotton spinning factory while serving as an apprentice. He brings the designs to America and recreates the machinery.

In 1790 Slater’s Mill becomes the most advanced cotton mill in America. He employs mostly women and children as his workforce.

Soon capitalists are copying Slater and New England textile mills multiply. Being sheltered by embargo (Jefferson) and war (1812) in the early 1800’s helped the young American industries grow without British competition. In 1816 Congress gives more protection when the first (protectionist) tariff is passed.

In 1810 Francis Lowell not only stole ideas for his textile mill from the British but also improved on their ideas with his own advancements. After his death, his partners opened up a new industrial community in 1823 and named it for him.

The Lowell factory town in Massachusetts becomes the model factory town. It was extremely successful for almost a decade before poor economic conditions led to wage cuts and an unhappy workforce.

An American industrial technology that was pioneered in the U.S. and not copied from the British was the use of interchangeable parts. The British called this the American system of manufacture. Interchangeable parts was an important advancement in manufacturing because an entire product would no longer need to be replaced because of one bad part. America’s early lead in interchangeable machine made parts was a source of national pride. Many things were being made by machines faster and of higher quality than ever before.

Industrialization also was a benefit to agricultural production. Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin in Cyrus McCormick invents the mechanical reaper in 1831 which allows farmers to harvest their grain quicker.

The Second Great Awakening Started in the 1790’s on the western frontier and spread east. Stressed salvation through personal faith. Revival meetings featured conversions and repentance. The converted bore a responsibility to demonstrate their faith through moral behavior. Rich and poor were affected by the same message.

By the 1820’s the revival reached New England and those who were being affected by the market revolution. Charles Finney became the most notable preacher of the Second Great Awakening by leading a series of dramatic revival meetings. He preached self-discipline and individual achievement.

Transcendentalism Philosophical theory-there was an ideal, intuitive reality transcending ordinary life Best place to achieve individual intuition in nature Ralph Waldo Emerson popularized the theory- inspired business men of the 1830s and 1840s to achieve success in an individualistic, self-reliant manner. Henry David Thoreau further pushed the importance of individualism –he denounces materialism and recommends a simple life of subsistence living with time for spiritual thought Helps forge values necessary for success in market revolution