The years before the Civil War were some of the most chaotic in American history. During these years, the nation was transformed from an undeveloped nation of farmers and frontiersmen into an urbanized economic powerhouse. As the industrialized North and the agricultural South grew further apart, five major trends dominated American economically, socially, and politically. First, the Market Revolution went from an agricultural economy to an economy based on wages and the exchange of goods and services. After Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, the North experienced a manufacturing boom that went on into the next century. Also, Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical mower-reaper revolutionized grain production in the West. A greater control over natural
Throughout the course of history, one of the most pivotal points was the American Revolution. The independence the colonies gained from England allowed for the creation of the way we live today. However, it is important to know that while some aspects of our country today are based on rules set during the revolution, America, as we know it today, was shaped drastically by the Civil war. The Civil war acted as a second revolution in our country, pushing us closer to how society is now. Historians have wondered what caused the Civil War, was it a matter of slavery? Politics? Or another underlying issue? Historians such as James McPherson, William Gienapp, and Susan-Mary Grant have explored events that occurred before the Civil war and ultimately describe why the South succeeded.
As the United States began to establish itself as a country, more and more problems began to surface within the nation. A perfect example of this would be the American Civil War, which significantly affected society. This brought about many changes within America such as women’s rights movements and decisions regarding African American freedom. Also many of the problems are country had previously left unresolved were soon to be resolved too. The social changes of the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era greatly affected the years that followed it as well.
After the civil war, especially during the late 1800s, the US industrial economy has been thriving and booming which reflected on the numerous improvements that occurred in transportation through new railroad, in new markets for new invented goods and in the increased farm yield. However, most of this wealth has been captured by the capitalists, they looked down on the working poor class and expected them to submit to them. Also, they had control over the government seeking to maintain a system of monopoly to allow them to grow richer from others. Thus, they were controlling both political and economic conditions of the country.
After the Civil War, people started migrating West and more immigrants started coming. The country went through several major changes between 1865 and 1880 that resulted in significant changes in labor and industrialization. The majority of the country owed war debts and there were money issues that caused people to lose money, but the country was quickly industrializing and urbanizing to improve agricultural life. While the North was thriving from new inventions and methods, the South was trying to recover from the affects of the end of slavery.
In the North, however, the Market Revolution and westward expansion set in motion changes that transformed the region into an economy centered on commercial farms and manufacturing cities. Wheat was an important contributor toward northern economy. Inventions like
The market revolution pushed The United States forward in many categories such as farming and free thought. The economy for ordinary folk improved greatly because of the cotton gin. The cotton gin was a machine that separated the seed from the cotton in a fast manor. Foner stated, “It made possible
I believe that one the most major innovation that also brought change in the market revolution was the Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793 because America lacked cotton most of 1700s, regardless of the fact that they had ability to construct textile factories and had waterways for transport. The southern planters in the past made effort to grow cotton, but never succeeded because cotton was labor intensive, so they dropped the idea and went to plant rice and tobacco, because during that period they tried growing cotton, it normally takes a lot of manpower and slaves use a whole day to separate maybe a pound of cotton seeds from fibers. They basically dropped every other crop in place of the newly profitable cotton. Also With the invention of the cotton gins, factories in the North were producing cotton cloth and cotton became the major crop in the south. Also the planters wanted increases in slave labor to plant enough cotton to take advantage of their new production capacity and this made them purchase thousands of slaves from the West Indies and Africa before slave trading was banned. As a result of the purchase of this slaves and extra manpower, the individual plantations increased in sizes, from the normal small plots to big farms with as many as several hundred slaves each. Due to the economic bloom there was a demand in labor
The period between the end of the war of 1812 and 1860 was a time of great change and reform in America. However, these changes differed greatly in the North and South and would ultimately lead to the Civil war. The North saw many people become prosperous due to industrialization. The new technological advances that began in the late 18th century enabled the wealthy elite increase their power and influence by building factories and hiring workers to work raw materials into goods. In the south, however, slave culture and its expansion was the only way the wealthy plantation owners could remain powerful. There also began to develop a regional identity in both the North and South due to the people's differing stance on slavery. Although not every
The Market Revolution in the United States originated in the South and then in the north, which was a immense change in the system of how the laborers worked. The common trade started to become outdated due to the new discoveries of transportation. The North began to gain a more powerful economy as a result of the Market Revolution. The Market Revolution changed farming to become more large-scale farming with cash. The farmers would use the cash to buy other necessary items.
The issues of the negative economic trends in the South, enlarged governmental authority, and the failure to ensure the new rights granted in the Constitution bled into what we now know as the Gilded Age. During this point in time there was a load of corruption within politics and businesses. Many people acquired lots of wealth, some more honorably than others. The economic growth that happened during the Gilded Age was more in the North and the West than the South. The South remained heavily rural and was much poorer than the North or West and continued the agricultural practice of sharecropping in hopes of escaping their continuous cycle of debt. Politically, the GOP continued fighting, mainly over economic issues. Within the South, resentment over the outcome of the Civil War lingered. And because of this, majority of the South voted Democrat. The Southern Democratic Party dealt with a lot of competition, within the party itself. During the Gilded Age, many social movements developed. Women abolitionists who were disappointed with the 15th Amendment not granting them the right to vote, fought for issues more vital to them. In conclusion, the Civil War impacted the United States economically, politically, and socially from the point it ended and decades
In the time just before the Civil War, the United States was one of the most successful nations in the world. The United States had become the world’s leading cotton producing country and had developed industry, which would in the future, surpass that of Great Britain. Also, the United States possessed an advanced railroad and transportation system. However, despite its successes, the United States was becoming increasingly divided. The North and the South had many distinct differences in terms of their social, cultural, and economic characteristics that brought about sectionalism and, eventually, the Civil War.
The Civil war was the most momentous and crucial period of time in the history of America. Not only did this war bring an end to slavery but also paved way for numerous social and political changes. The country had already been torn by the negative trend in race relations and the numerous cases of slave uprisings were taking their toll on the country 's political and social structure. The country was predominately divided up into 3 sections, the North, the South, and the West. Each of these groups had different fundamental interests. The North wanted economies depending on farming, factories and milltowns, while the West relied on expansion and development of land for farming and new towns. The South mainly relied on agriculture like
After the Civil War, the nation witnessed two major social-economic movements: Reconstruction and Industrialization, which changed the country completely and made it one of the greatest industrialized countries in the world. However, it changed not only the country, but also, the society, its way of life and traditions.
The market revolution changed the economic life for all Americans. It took place in the early decade of the 19th century. Historians and writers as Eric Foner writes in his book Give Me Liberty!, one example is when he talks about the market revolution he refers to serious economic changes that took place between 1800s and around 1840s which included many things such as great improvement in transportation, building steamboats, the telegraph and the Erie Canal, which was about 36o miles long canal from the Great Lake to the Hudson River. This upgrade made it a cheaper, easier and faster transportation. By making these great improvements, products were able to be sent to other places to make more profit. Not only profit came out of it, but this gave
After the Civil War, the United States went through a period of rapid industrialization which affected the nation dramatically. Industrial growth, the spread of railroads, the rise of big businesses, and the appearance of labor unions during these decades created a modern industrial economy, and American workers and farmers faced new challenges in adapting to these changes.