The Market Revolution Essay Example

who would pay for these new roads.

Federal money was not allowed for state roads unless the road was a connector road between states. This made it very hard for the individual states to come up with the money. Usually private investors took care of this issue (Roark, 260). Canals were another way for an increase in transportation.

They would connect cities, such as the Erie Canal, which covered the area between Albany and Buffalo and connecting New York City to the area of the Great Lakes (Roark, 261).Railroads also came into the picture with the first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio in 1829 (Roark, 262). There was an abundance of natural resources during this time period. The forests provided the wood needed to heat the rising growth of the factories and to supply paper for the increase of books and newspapers. The transportation growth provided people with a way tp receive literature in distant areas.

Sawmills had to use the waterwheel for power. The steamboats pummeled a pathway through the rivers, but also deforested the land in their pathway.This brought about America’s first issue with air pollution. Textile mills grew because of new inventions that would make the product and people willing to work for a living. In the 1790’s, Samuel Slater built the first factory in Rhode Island, which had a machine that could spin thread and yarn.

This allowed an increase in the New England area of spinning mills. In Lowell, Massachusetts, factories were created on the Merrimack River combining all parts of cloth production, such as combing, spinning, shrinking, weaving, and dyeing (Roark, 262).This also brought the change in the workforce

by using girls as employees. These young women would work at the mill until they got married, and replacements were always ready to come in to replenish the loss of employees.

The ladies usually relished the idea of living away from home and the opportunity to earn real wages. The mills provided room and board for the women, which might include a 12-hour work day for six days of the week. The working conditions were dimly lit, hot, and very loud from all of the machinery. The wages would average between $2 and $3 for the long 70-hour workweek (Roark, 262).The ladies were only given a 15 minute break for breakfast and a 30 minute break for lunch.

The housing provided for the women was tightly cramped, but social activities were always provided to make it seem more feasible to stay. There was a protest by young women at a Lowell mill after the factory chose to cut wages by 15 percent. The young women went on a strike, but it didn’t last long due to the huge Irish immigrant population. Irish men began to replace the young women that were striking and this kept the plants operational.

They immigrated to the United States after the potato famine and were in a dire need for jobs.There was an increase in the number of state-chartered banks in the United States in the years after 1815. By 1840, there were more than 500 banks (Roark, 264). The second Bank of the United States was headquartered in Philadelphia. Banks assisted economic expansion by making loans to various businesses and real estate, thereby increasing the money supply (Roark, 264).

Federal and state governments would issue banknotes instead of paper money. Bankers made the decision on who would receive these loans and the discount rates they would receive.Commercial law also came into the picture as politicians and lawyers started advancing the needs of private investment. States started rewriting laws of incorporation in 1811, and this led to a large growth of corporations by 1817 (Roark, 264). Lawyers gave priority to people interested in increasing their wealth. Economic transformations brought the market revolution to its peak.

Transportation advances began a unification process across the country both economically and culturally (Roark, 262). The United States finally started to take advantage of the natural resources of the land to benefit the economy.By having water powered equipment, the growth of factories mushroomed, but at the same time, caused a great issue with working conditions and the employment of women. Financing new ventures became an important facet during the market revolution.

America’s money supply grew considerably, which led to increased investment opportunities. The market revolution was a fast-paced time for the United States and it introduced a larger scale of the distribution of goods. Works Cited Roark, James L. et al. , eds. The American Promise: A Compact, Vol.

I: To 1877. 3rd edition. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.