Term 1: Chapter 9: The Market Revolution ★ 1800-1840

Erie Canal

An artificial waterway that allowed goods to flow between the Great Lakes and New York City.

cult of domesticity

An idealized view of women & home; women, self-less caregiver for children, refuge for husbands.

Nativism

the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

1819, a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that states could not interfere with private contracts.

steamboat

A boat that moves by the power of a steam engine, made it easier and quicker to travel goods.

Second Great Awakening

A series of religious revivals starting in 1801, based on Methodism and Baptism. Stressed a religious philosophy of salvation through good deeds and tolerance for all Protestant sects. The revivals attracted women, Blacks, and Native Americans.

cotton gin

A simple device consisting of rollers and brushes that separated the seed from the cotton. Created by Eli Whitney.

individualism

A social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.

As it democratized American Christianity, the Second Great Awakening both took advantage of the market revolution and criticized its excesses. Explain.

American Christianty took advantage of the market revolution by using it to promote to share the gospel.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Among the most successful of the religions that sprang up which hoped to create a Kingdom of God on earth. The Church was founded by Joseph Smith in the 1820s who experienced religious visions from an angel to uncover and translate and publish a set of golden plates called the Book of Mormon. The teachings in the book taught of the second coming of Jesus Christ, to the New World.

Identify the major transportation improvements in this period, and explain how they influenced the market economy.

Canals, steamboats, and railroads, along with the telegraph (even though it was not a transportation device) all influenced the market economy in some way. "The railroad opened vast new areas of the American interior to settlement, while stimulating the mining of coal for fuel and the manufacture of iron for locomotives and rails." The railroad was also the cause of Chicago becoming one of the greatest cities. Canals allowed for "farm families to send their goods to market." Steamboats made transportation upstream possible. Telegraph allowed for "communication throughout the nation." It was mostly used for businesses. All four of these inventions "wrenched America out of its economic past" by making trade/business faster, cheaper, and more efficient.

How did the meanings of American freedom change in the period?

During this second great awakening American Freedom changed. There was more freedom than ever before. Laws begun to favor the individual person not the government. This was because of the new idea "individualism.

transcendentalists

Followers of a belief which stressed self-reliance, self- culture, self-discipline, and that knowledge transcends instead of coming by reason. They promoted the belief of individualism and caused an array of humanitarian reforms.

How did the market revolution spark social change?

Growth of cities, factory systems, the "mill girls," growth of immigration all had an impact on social change.

American system of manufactures

Industrial mass production of interchangeable parts that could be rapidly assembled into standardized finished products.

What role did immigrants play in the new market society?

Many took the low-wage unskilled jobs Americans avoided, also came for political and religious freedoms, the Irish and German especially came and formed tight-knit communities.

How did state and local governments promote the national economy in this period?

Market Revolution was a drastic change in the manual labor system originating in south Traditional commerce was made obsolete by improvements in transportation and communication. This change prompted the rebirth of the mercantilist ideas.

Cotton Kingdom

Nickname given to the American South after Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin allowed it to produce massive amounts of cotton (and become wholly reliant on slave labor.)

Porkopolis

Nickname of Cincinnati, coined in the mid-19th century, after its numerous slaughter houses.

manifest destiny

The United States had a divinely appointed mission to occupy all of North America.

family wage

The amount necessary for a male earner to provide subsistence for his wife and children without them having to work for pay.

How did changes in the law promote development in the economic system?

The government made it a priority to ensure the economic success and future of America was set up for success.

What were the main elements of the market revolution?

The market revolution represented an acceleration of developments already under way in the colonial era. In the first half of the 19th century, in rapid succession, the steamboat, canal, railroad, and telegraph brought America out of its economic past. These innovation opened new land to settlement, lowered transportation costs, and made it far easier for economic enterprises to sell their products.

How did the market economy and westward expansion entrench the institution of slavery?

There was a demand for more free labor in order to employ, move, and prepare production.

Give some examples of the rise of individualism in these years.

There were more individuals that took the concept of the American way and used it to create their own businesses.

How did the market revolution affect the lives of workers, women, and African-Americans?

These groups were all disadvantaged from this revolution. Free blacks were excluded from the new economic opportunities because of discrimination. These people may have been free but they lived in some of the poorest areas and conditions of anyone in the North. They were viewed as low wage competitors. Women were disadvantaged because the household declined as a center of economic production. Workers were forced to work in low wages and harsh living conditions.

How did the market revolution change women's work and family roles?

They were given more responsibility and opportunities by way of their role in the household.

Gibbons v. Ogden

This case involved New York trying to grant a monopoly on waterborne trade between New York and New Jersey. Judge Marshal, of the Supreme Court, sternly reminded the state of New York that the Constitution gives Congress alone the control of interstate commerce. Marshal's decision was a major blow on states' rights.

How did westward expansion and the market revolution drive each other?

Western settlers in isolated areas needed ways to get their goods to far-away markets, new inventions made it easier for people to make it out west.

mill girls

Women who worked at textile mills who were thus given new freedoms and independence not seen before.