The Market Revolution Of Americ Liberty Ambition, And The Eclipse Of The Common Good Essay

The author wrote this book to summarize the Revolution Era with a brief description of the pre-revolution; with some analytical arguments and opinions incorporated within the book. Morgan takes into prospective the actual motives behind the founding fathers' decision during the Revolution, which he claims to have been driven by their personal benefits. This shows as slavery was not eliminated even though a fundamental basis of the revolution was human equality. Morgan aimed to make an easily accessible outline of the Revolution Era, backed with several documents which critical to the outline; such as, The Constitution of the United States and the Articles of Confederation. He also devoted several pages outlining important dates mentioned throughout the book.

The American Revolution modeled the path taken by a social and economic movement in many more aspects than that of a political and intellectual movement. Even though political reasons existed for the cause the Revolution, the revolution should be considered an economic movement based on the idea of “no taxation without representation.” The colonists believed that the British rule in the colonies was extremely unfair, but these intellectual causes are greatly outnumbered by economic causes such as taxes and trade.

The readings examined how classism has negatively affected economics in the United States, how oppression manifests in taking financial advantage of groups of people who cannot advance financially, and systemic issues contributing to low wage and inability to move out of one’s social class. I was struck by the idea that most people in the United States are disadvantaged financially based on the way the country has set up its economic policies. From the beginning, black people have been oppressed by the inability to attain wealth, which continued through the end of WWII. I unnecessarily read a chapter speaking about financial companies targeting poor people, particularly people of color, with money schemes so they are losing their hard-earned money to fees and interest rates. This scheme continues to keep people in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I related to the reading about college loans creating a paradox that students with degrees enter the workforce unable to find a job in their their field of study. Then the added paradox of not being able to find work making

Frederick Jackson Turner had a thesis that also provided the environment for the Economic Revolution. He thesis accounted for why the people of America and the American government were so divergent from their European equivalents. There were many people that believed that the frontier’s end symbolized the start of a new stage in American life. These people also believed that America must expand over seas. There were others that had views of this exposition as the drive for a “new wave in the history of Untied States imperialism” (Frontier Thesis).

The Early American Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion, two interconnected yet independent occurrences, were significant events in the Antebellum Era. The Early Industrial Revolution utilized new inventions to improve the United State’s economy and change lifestyles (Hakim NN 105; Hakim NN 107). It had offered new opportunities and transformed America 's farm economy into a market economy, which is, arguably, more efficient (Hakim NN 109). While Westward Expansion extended America’s borders, fueled by a popular ideal known as “manifest destiny, it caused many disputes amongst the American citizens, creating complications in Congress (Hakim 62-63). As shown, the Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion were both major changes for America 's economy, each with its own benefits and disadvantages (Hakim NN 103-109; Hakim 58-59). The Early Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion promoted and enhanced the effects of each other; the increased production of textiles urged Southern farmers to expand their plantations, which in turn, produced more raw materials for the Northern industrial workers to process (Hakim NN 103-109; Hakim 58-59). While both, as shown above, had improved the economy and allowed some freedom for the workers in free states which would otherwise not have, they also promoted slavery, which, at the time, was an ongoing issue

As mentioned before, the Market Revolution was taking place. The South was not growing at the same pace that the North had been growing. Due to this, some argue that there was a figurative barrier between the South and the rest of the country. Although the South greatly differed from the North, the two regions were not greatly divided. In fact, these two regions harmoniously worked together. The North relied on the South for agricultural purposes, and the South relied on the North for industrial purposes. Without both regions, the economy of America would have diminished. An editor referred to America as “a truly republican and self-governing people [of greatness and dignity” (Document H). The strength and capability of America was undoubtedly due to its unity. In all truth, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. America would not have been able to function if it were

The market revolution in the United States brought a sudden change in the manual labor system originating in south and digressed to the north and later spread to the entire world. The integral part of the economic growth in the United States in the nineteenth century was a good thing that brought change in the market. In respect to the change, America took its first major step in creating the world’s most stable and strongest economy, which gave room for growth among the citizens.

Accurately established by many historians, the capitalists who shaped post-Civil War industrial America were regarded as corrupt “robber barons”. In a society in which there was a severe imbalance in the dynamics of the economy, these selfish individuals viewed this as an opportunity to advance in their financial status. Thus, they acquired fortunes for themselves while purposely overseeing the struggles of the people around them. Presented in Document A, “as liveried carriage appear; so do barefooted children”, proved to be a true description of life during the 19th century. In hopes of rebuilding America, the capitalists’ hunger for wealth only widened the gap between the rich and poor.

During the late 1700’s, the United States was no longer a possession of Britain, instead it was a market for industrial goods and the world’s major source for tobacco, cotton, and other agricultural products. A labor revolution started to occur in the United States throughout the early 1800’s. There was a shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial market system. After the War of 1812, the domestic marketplace changed due to the strong pressure of social and economic forces. Major innovations in transportation allowed the movement of information, people, and merchandise. Textile mills and factories became an important base for jobs, especially for women. There was also widespread economic growth during this time period

Harry L. Watson’s book, “Liberty and Power, The Politics of Jacksonian America”, takes an analytical look at America and her politics during the Age of Jackson. Watson uses the economy and the ideological mindset of the people, to support a powerful argument about the beginning of American political parties and their importance in defining the political direction of the country. Watson argues that economic inequalities caused by the “Market Revolution” and a threat to American liberty caused Americans to organize politically in support of a

Liberty overall contracts during the Market Revolution since opportunities for economic freedom and political liberty has been restricted for various groups because the new economic way of thinking amplified disparities that had already existed before the Market Revolution.

Edmund S. Morgan’s famous novel American Slavery, American Freedom was published by Norton in 1975, and since then has been a compelling scholarship in which he portrays how the first stages of America began to develop and prosper. Within his researched narrative, Morgan displays the question of how society with the influence of the leaders of the American Revolution, could have grown so devoted to human freedom while at the same time conformed to a system of labor that fully revoked human dignity and liberty. Using colonial Virginia, Morgan endeavors how American perceptions of independence gave way to the upswing of slavery. At such a time of underdevelopment and exiguity, cultivation and production of commodities were at a high demand. Resources were of monumental importance not just in Virginia, but all over North America, for they helped immensely in maintaining and enriching individuals and families lives. In different ways, people in colonies like Virginia’s took advantage of these commodities to ultimately establish or reestablish their societies.

Historians have debated for more than one hundred and fifty years about the depth at which the seeds of American disunion were planted before they finally sprouted in the spring of 1861. The Antebellum period of American history between The War of 1812 and The American Civil War was a time of tumultuous change for the United States. Captivated by the American Heroes who had achieved glorious victories over the British during the War of 1812; American settlers began to venture out into the Western Frontier. By the end of the 1830’s, for the first time Americans were able to measure the speed of travel and communication in days rather than weeks. They were able to earn wages in factories, rather than barter their crops for the necessities at the mercy of the market and the weather. While these changes were seen as the dawning of a new era of peace and prosperity for some, others saw them as an apocalyptic warning of the beginning of the end. Radical Reform groups such as Abolitionism that sprung up during the Second Great Awakening ignited a holy war over the question of slavery, a disease which had by the end of the War of 1812 taken root in every facet of American life.

In the early nineteenth century, the market revolution helped the growth of the United States’ economy and become the nation that exists in present day. This was one of the biggest change that helped the United States to take its first step in creating the strongest economy and maintaining it stable for decades. This change did not happen in a short time, but it took several years to build it up and with that came along some positive and negative effects. The market revolution acknowledges the radical changes that took place in the early 1800s, it helped link the country together through an impact of society, religion and majorly through the growth of economy, meanwhile at the same time increasing the nation’s sectional differences

Blau believes that although economic factors defined class lines, the real differences were not so much economic as linked to the cultural significance of differences in lifestyles and occupations. The middle class increasingly defined a cultural basis for itself, and cultural roles played an increasing role in shaping institutions. Lifestyles and institutions that provided the vital cultural identity of the American middle class in the early origins were contingent on a set of unique historical conditions. These conditions initially involved great economic inequalities, with the concentration of wealth in the hands of a small minority and a substantial proportion of the population living at or below subsistence wages. This was followed by rapidly increasing affluence and declining inequalities.