Markets Expand, New Inventions
Flourish, and the U.S. is United
The early 19th century economy was based on
rural farms and cottage industry. Many goods
were made in the home and sold at local markets.
These families would only buy what they couldn’t
produce. Items such as coffee, tea, sugar, and
horseshoes could be bought at these markets.
The rise of industrialization led
many of these farmers to
specialization– a term referring to
the raising of cash crops for sale
rather than self-sufficiency.
This led to a market revolution, a
time when people bought and sold
goods rather than making them for
their own use.
Capitalism fueled the market revolution, and
this economic system depended on private
businesses and individuals to control the
means of production.
Capitalism influenced the use of land,
factories, and machines for profit.
Private investors took serious risks with their own money to expand and
develop the markets. These people became known as entrepreneurs; a
French term meaning “to undertake.”
An example of an entrepreneur at the time was Francis Cabot Lowell and
other Boston merchants who raised $400,000 to form the Boston
Manufacturing Company. They soon controlled the market with the
production of textiles.
Charles Goodyear
invents vulcanized
rubber in 1839. It
can withstand both
higher and lower
temperatures.
Elias Howe invents
the sewing machine
in 1846, which is
improved by I.M.
Singer with the
addition of a foot
treadle.
These inventions helped
with the textile boom of the
mid-19th century. They
sped up the production of
clothing, as well as
enhancing the quality and
comfort of life.
Samuel F. B. Morse created the telegraph in
1837. This device transmitted coded messages
through copper wires.
Telegraph wires soon connected the larger
cities on the East coast, and businesses could
now relay information easily and place orders
fast.
By 1854, 23,000 miles of wire
had been laid and crossed
the country.
What other uses could the telegraph have that helped
the economy and transportation at the time?
As industry and agriculture grew, so did the
need for better and faster shipping.
Robert Fulton began the steamboat era with his
steam engine powered boats.
Canals helped to facilitate the shipment of
goods on rivers, and also reduced the price of
shipping goods.
Railroads replaced
the steamboat era
by the 1860’s.
Railroads were
faster and could
operate in all
weather conditions,
but were still more
expensive.
The improved transportation and communications caused the various regions
of the US to become interdependent. The Northern factories required the
food of the West and raw materials of the South, and the North provided the
US with manufactured goods.
The South looked down on industry and many had their money tied up in
land and slaves. The North became the center of commerce due to advances
in communications and transportation.
NYC became the link between
American agriculture and
European markets, and more
cotton was exported through
NYC than any other US city.
As industry spread in the Northeast,
many escaped to the quieter, less
populated midwest to farm.
The land was tough to cultivate, but
thanks to John Deere and Cyrus
McCormick, this problem was solved
Deere’s steel plow sliced through the hard soil and
allowed for horses to pull the plow rather than
oxen, and McCormick’s mechanical reaper
allowed for the harvesting work of 5 men to be
done by only 1.
 HW: SpNotes
 Research
 Leave
 Have
9.2
Outlines need to be checked!
the room better than you found it!
your job lists signed.