Market Revolution of the 1830s
The Market Revolution was witnessed in the 1830s in America. This historical framework explains various radical transformations that hit the entire financial system of the U.S. in the 19th century. According to Larson, changes that occurred during this time perplexed all elements of the market wealth in conformity to the nature of events that unfolded in the U.S. and the entire world (5). Different theorists have given diverse perspectives regarding the implications of the Market Revolution. For example, as cited by Horn et al., Charles Grier, a renowned American chronicler, presented this phenomenon as an event that had substantial negative historical impacts on the United States because it led to the shift from democracy or the agrarian economy to capitalism (53). Following this transformation, conventional concepts of commerce and ideologies were rendered archaic because of improved communication and transportation structures (Knight 17). Consequently, it paved the way for the rebirth of mercantilist ideas, which historians had considered obsolete.
One of the major triggers of the Market Revolution was the increased industrialization. Financial systems of cities located on the northern side of the U.S. enjoyed more power compared to their southern counterparts, excluding New Orleans and Baltimore (Howe 520). The two towns were among those that defied the influence of the prevailing market forces, which favored the onset of the slave trade. The need for high national mobility, which amounted to a major dilemma experienced during earlier periods, contributed massively to the occurrence of the Market Revolution. For example, according to Howe, after the 1812 combat, the American administration resorted to constructing roads in the early 19th century (521). It also established extensive canals along the country’s traversable rivers. Later, the U.S. embarked on constructing railroad networks. This plan implied transforming the American economy. In particular, the U.S. would stop relying on imports from Europe. Instead, such advancements would make it dependent on internal trade and production activities. Benefits associated with in-house manufacturing increased America’s level of capitalism, as opposed to its agrarian economic system.
The Market Revolution of the 1830s was characterized by profound economic innovations, technological revolutions, and political changes. The ultimate effect of this transformation entailed improved farming, advanced crop production mechanisms, and developments in the manufacturing sector (Horn et al. 91). For example, in the Antebellum period, Eli Whitney developed a structure that enhanced the manufacturing of muskets. This mechanism relied on compatible components. John Deere invented and made a farming tool that could be towed by horses, as opposed to the former inferior oxen-pulled wooden system (Horn et al. 109). Using the new and advanced tool, farmers realized minimal cultivation outlays. Other advancements linked to the Market Revolution of the 1830s include Cyrus McCormick’s invention of the mechanical mower-reaper, which enhanced the wheat farming business.
The Cotton Revolution
The Cotton Revolution marked a period in U.S. history, which followed the discovery of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. In the 1700s, cotton was scarce in America, despite the country’s possession of waterways, which is deployed for transportation purposes, and its capacity to build textile industries. Indeed, South American cultivators had attempted to grow cotton. However, the crop proved too labor-intensive since one slave could manage to separate just one pound of fibers from seeds (Johnson 151). Consequently, planters preferred tobacco and rice to cotton. The cotton gin helped to ease this project. Hence, the witnessed low cost of production led to the famous Cotton Revolution in America.
The invention of the cotton gin and the high demand for this farm produce in northern textile industries are the chief causes of the Cotton Revolution in the U.S. This gin made all South American cultivators abandon the growing of other crops in favor of cotton, which was then cost-effective. The prevailing favorable market also caused the Cotton Revolution. When it became the king crop, another need arose regarding the transportation of slaves and raw cotton to various industrial units. Since the increased building of early road networks, waterways, and railroad systems characterized the witnessed market transformation (Howe 521), it supported the full bursting of the Cotton Revolution.
The above phenomenon had far-reaching economic implications on both Northern and Southern America. For example, in the southern region, the slave trade was at its peak. Cotton planters could now increase their production capacity, thanks to the invention of the gin. Consequently, the demand for salves increased to the extent that more salves from West Indies and Africa were supplied to the southern region before the trade was ultimately banned in 1808 (Beckert 102). The Cotton Revolution also augmented the cultivation of the available land.
The availability of cotton spurred the intensive growth of cotton factories in Northern America. Planters in the southern region reliably supplied cotton to industrial units for textile production. Finished products were then used internally or exported. Cloth industries led to the emergence of merchant and working classes whose main responsibility was to attend to machinery at various textile factories or produce the cloth. Indeed, the Cotton Revolution was an era in American history characterized by tension, panic, antagonism, and entrepreneurship (Beckert 103). Planters expanded their cotton fields. As such, they incurred huge costs of purchasing slaves whose demand was high.
Despite the high profitability of the cotton business, the market was unpredictable, cost-intensive, and risky. When planters gained wealth, others developed the appetite for cultivating more land. Hence, the demand for slave labor and credit increased. Indeed, while northerners terminate the slave business, it became hard for them to end it in the southern region. The ultimate effect of the Cotton Revolution was the transformation of the U.S. into a world icon regarding its economic development and flourishing commerce.
Works Cited
Beckert, Sven. Empire of Cotton: A Global History. Alfred A. Knopf, 2014.
Horn, Jeff, et al., editors. Reconceptualizing the Industrial Revolution. The MIT Press, 2010.
Howe, Daniel. “Review of Larson, the Market Revolution in America: Liberty, Ambition, and the Eclipse of the Common Good.” Journal of the Early Republic, vol. 31, no. 3, 2011, pp. 520-523.
Johnson, Walter. River of Dark Dreams: Slavery and Empire in the Cotton Kingdom. Harvard University Press, 2013.
Knight, Peter. Reading the Market: Genres of Financial Capitalism in Gilded Age America. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016.
Larson, John. “The Market Revolution in Early America: An Introduction.” OAH Magazine of History, vol. 19, no. 3, 2005, pp. 4-7.