Over the years, American society and the world have undergone drastic and gradual changes over the years. These changes have impacted the social, economic, and cultural lifestyles of people, Americans, and the rest of the world. These changes have affected how people live, communicate, and interact. During this period, there were two major events that many would say were the most significant events ever in American history. These events include the signing of the declaration of independence and the passing of the Constitution, among others (Goldston, 2018). However, between the 1790s and 1840s, this society experienced major political, economic, and cultural changes, which greatly impacted their current lives (Washburn, 2020). The cultural change in this period was the introduction of diverse lifestyles and traditions, while the economic changes were urbanization and industrialization, and the main political change was the formation of political parties.
The Cultural changes that occurred in American society from the 1790s to the 1840s include the introduction of different lifestyles and traditions such as All Saint’s Day by immigrants. One of the most prevalent changes consisted of new groups of people immigrating to America, who possessed cultural traditions that were radically different from those in place before their arrival. These people had many differences in common with current inhabitants but possessed some major differences in lifestyle. One of the first immigrant groups to arrive in the early 1800s was the English and Irish. These people brought a tradition known as All Saint’s Day, celebrated on November 1st (Smith, 2018). This holiday originated from an old Irish tradition where people would dress up like saints, march through town and eat large amounts of food. This holiday eventually became a significant occasion for large groups of families and friends who celebrated together. The Irish especially were very prominent in the New England area, establishing their schools and churches. Subsequently, some cultural changes include introducing of new special days such as All Saint’s Day by immigrants.
The economic changes in American society from the 1790s to the 1840s include industrialization, urbanization, and labor legislation. Throughout this period, powerful men saw a chance to make money by investing in new industrial technologies. To attract investors, these men needed to know that they could pay workers at least the minimum amount required to exist. This allowed workers to be paid less than they were worth while still being able to live off of their wages. Many men invested in railroads and other heavy machinery during this period, as well as land speculation, which allowed many people to become rich quickly if their investment paid off (Emerson, 2018). Additionally, there was a rise in cities during this period as people moved from rural areas into cities searching for jobs. Additionally, legislation regulating child labor was a major economic change in American society from the 1790s to the 1840s (Mushkat, 2020). Hence, from the 1790s to the 1840s, American society experienced urbanization, legislation, and industrialization, which made some people wealthier while others were poorer.
The political changes that occurred in American society from the 1790s to the 1840s were the creation of modifications to political parties and the expansion of voting. However, between 1796 and 1840, the United States transformed its system of government. In 1796, the U.S. was still governed by its original founding documents, the Articles of Confederation (1781) (Smith, 2018). The Articles were amended by the Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, religion, and trial by jury. Nevertheless, they had to be amended to work with the new democratic republican form of government. These new governmental forms resulted in political parties composed mainly of members interested in economic issues such as tariffs, banks, and infrastructures like canals and good roads. There were three main political parties during this period, the Federalist, Democratic-Republican Party, and the Anti-Masonic (Ershkowitz, 2020). The Democratic-Republican Party eventually became the Democratic Party we know today. Hence, in this period, American society experienced creating and modifying political parties.
In conclusion, between the 1790s to the 1840s American society and the world have undergone changes that have impacted their political, social, economic, and cultural lives. These changes are important since they have made American society what it is now. These changes brought positive and negative impacts, including introducing diverse lifestyles and traditions, economic adjustments such as urbanization, and political changes, among others. The negative impacts of these changes are that they created various social classes. This means that one group of individuals became poorer while the other became richer by making investments in the period of industrial development. This period made people poorer since other individuals began to work for little wages to keep their lives. However, the most positive impacts of this duration on American society are that urbanization has since led to the further development of cities and infrastructures such as roads, and railways, among others.
Reference List
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Ershkowitz, Herbert B. “The Election of 1836.” In American Presidential Campaigns and Elections, pp. 270-288. Routledge, 2020.
Goldstone, Jack A. “Turchin, Peter. 2016. Ages of Discord: A Structural Demographic Analysis of American History.” Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture 2, no. 1 (2018): 137-142.
Mushkat, Jerome. “Matthew Livingston Davis and the Political Legacy of Aaron Burr.” In Politics and Government, pp. 107-132. Routledge, 2020.
Smith, Virginia. “Physical puritanism and sanitary science: Material and immaterial beliefs in popular physiology, 1650–1840.” In Medical Fringe and Medical Orthodoxy 1750ߝ1850, pp. 174-197. Routledge, 2018.
Washburn, Jeffrey D. “Labor in the field is much changed: the Chickasaws and the civilization plan, 1790-1837.” (2020).