Early American Industrialization. History Essay Paper

Early American Industrialization
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Market Revolution
At the beginning of the 19th century, Americans living in the rural areas produced their own goods that they traded to meet nearly all their needs. Farmers were self-sufficient, growing their crops and raising their animals for food. They also made their own clothing, candles, and soaps. They sold their produce in the markets and used the cash they got to purchase the products they needed such as horseshoes, sugar tea, coffee, and other products that they could not produce themselves. Towards 1850, there was more industrialization in the U.S more so in the Northeast which had elaborate factory systems and textile mills. The lives of the people in the North east were changed more and the workers here were able to spend their earnings to purchase goods produced from the farms in the south (Foner, 2013). There was a shift among the famers to specialization so that they produced one or two cash crops that they sold to local and foreign markets. The development of these events is what led to what is now known as “Market Revolution”. In this essay, I argue that market revolution was important to the economic development of the U.S
In market revolution, people bought goods and sold them instead of producing them for their own use. This revolution changed the lives of the people and the economy of the U.S to a large extent. During the period of market revolution, there were a lot of goods and services and incomes increased greatly. The growth that the economy realized in 1940s was the best recorded in the last 40 years (Rilling, 2005). The entrepreneurial spirit of the people is what led to the fast growth in the economy. Therefore, it was capitalism that saw this fast growth in the economy. In capitalism, it is the individuals and the private businesses that are in control of the means of production. The business people were responsible for supplying their own funds which made it possible for them to create capital. The entrepreneurs were not afraid to risk their money in investing in industries. They had a competitive spirit for they knew that there was a lot of risk involved but they were unafraid to undertake these risks because they looked at the positive sites of the potential huge gains. The entrepreneurs were more than willing to engage in coming up with new inventions so that they could make the lives of the people more comfortable (Foner, 2013). The growth of industrialization was fueled by production of clothing. This was made possible by the invention of the sewing machine. This made it easy to produce clothing in large quantity.
It is apparent that entrepreneurial activities were crucial to boosting the U.S economy during the market revolution. However, American agriculture continued to perform well because workers in the industrialized cities and countries needed to have food. Farmers improved their efficiency by using equipment that were produced in the factories. For this reason, farmers were important during the market revolution and they made important contributions to the economy. These farmers were important consumers of the items that were manufactured. In fact, they were important to ensuring that the prices of the manufactured items fell. Farmers were able to purchase manufacture products both for comfort and for work (Foner, 2013). As noted earlier, entrepreneurs worked to come up with new inventions that were crucial to changing the lives of the Americans. The inventions were good because they helped not only to make life easy and enjoyable. The inventions were important in improving communication. Developments in communication were important during the market revolution. Businesses were able to transmit codes and change up-to-date information on sales and prices. The introduction of the telegraph to the communication system was important as it became a huge success. New railroads that were developed during the market revolution used telegraph to ensure that trains could move regularly and to send safety hazards warnings. There was also a huge impact on transportation because new trains that could move better and faster. This was important to the expansion of industries and agriculture and ensured that the produced goods could easily be shipped to the intended markets. Development in water transport was important in making easy to deliver heavy machinery and raw materials such as copper and lead. There were no waterways and it was upon the workers to excavate them. This, they did and realized a lot of success. There were hardly100 canals before the market revolution but the number quickly rose to nearly 3000 after just a period of twenty five years (Rilling, 2005). The emergence of the railroads was another important improvement in the canals. As opposed to canals, they were faster even if they were a little more expensive. They could also operate even during winter and ensured that even those living inland could receive goods. As time went by, there was much efficiency in railroads as they grew to be safer and more reliable and there was also a reduction in costs. The improvements in communication made American regions to be more interlinked and interdependent. This enabled the regional specialties to develop. Livestock and grains from the west fed those that were hungry in the eastern region.
There was a growth in the American industries that saw the rise of corporations. Additionally, it also led to the shaping of the American society in a number of ways. America drove towards self-sufficiency and there was less dependence on the foreign products. There was also a rapid growth of cities because the growth of the industries meant that it was important to have more concentrations of people at places where raw materials were gotten. The market revolution therefore contributed immensely to urbanization. The different parts of America had their specialization. At the south, most people remained involved with agricultural activities and they grew crops such as cotton, tobacco e.t.c. The southerners could not invest in factories even if they wanted to because all their money was tied up in land and slaves. Communication and transportation were not much developed in the south but the advancement that was made was important in keeping Americans from every area in touch with one another (Larson, 2005). In the northeast, there was a lot of manufacturing and shipping. Transport and communication was more developed in the northeast and this transformed the are to be the commercial center of the U.S. The rise in manufacturing was the most striking development in the northeast. The workers in the manufacturing industry were able to produce more quality goods in a larger quantity and at lower prices than before. While the northeast was industrializing, the Midwest engaged in a lot of farming activities because the lad there was more fertile. But to make the land arable, the people in the Midwest had to work hard. Throughout the market revolution, there was a lot of hard work involved. In the Midwest, several areas were wooded and had to be cleared before the farmers got to work. Inventions of steel plow and the mechanical reaper enabled farmers to go about their tasks cheaply and efficiently.
There were a lot of negative consequences of market revolution especially during the early years. For example, a lot of women had to leave their jobs of spinning wheel and start purchasing cloths and they would later find out that their income was bound too much to cash crops and the prices were subject to a lot of fluctuations. Young farm girls left home to take up cash wages in the boarding house systems but they were later to suffer because of the squeezing down of the market. These girls lost their opportunity to get married and start their own families. A lot of people suffered silently without ever raising their voices (Foner, 2013). What we now call the industrial revolution has been known for generations as simply “progress”. It was a period characterized by a lot of blossoming of America.
To sum up, the market revolution brought a lot of progress to America. As the study has shown, it stated from the south and spread to other areas in the U.S. It was the agriculture that was produced by the slaves in the south that fueled the development of industries in the n...