republicanism, the market revolution, and the rise of the corporation

#1

market revolution

(first half of the 19th century)

• the marketization of the national economy

• increased reliance on buying and selling on the market

• growth of the national market economy (as opposed to local focus)

• causes

  a. transportation → steamboats, canals, railroads

  b. communication → telegraph (useful for selling and buying

  c. industrialization/mass production

republicanism

• ultimate goal of a society should by the preservation of the public good

• citizens of the republic had to have civic virtue (willingness to put the public good first)

• citizens should be active in politics to protect against encroachment of would-be tyrants

• “middling” merchants and artisans added equality, democratic system of laws

robert fulton

inventor of the steamboat (in 1807 one of his steamboats traveled the hudson river and its “technological and commercial feasibility” was demonstrated).

steamboat

made it possible to travel upstream against the current on the country’s major rivers and to rapidly transport things across the great lakes and eventually the atlantic ocean.

erie canal

completed in 1825, spans 363 miles across upstate NY. it allowed goods to flow between the great lakes and NYC, drew farmers from new england (causing cities to pop up around the canal), gave NYC primacy over competing ports in access to trade w the old northwest, and “typified” the developing transportation infrastructure.

telegraph

invented by samuel F.B morse in the 1830s and was put into commercial operation in 1844 — made instantaneous communication throughout the nation possible. at first it was just a service for businesses and helped keep prices throughout the country uniform.

cotton kingdom

a cotton-producing region, relying predominantly on slave labor, that spanned from north carolina west to louisiana and reached southern illinois — cotton industry played a BIG role in the early industrial revolution.

in some ways, the most dynamic future of the american economy in the first 30 years of the 19th century

eli whitney

inventor of the cotton gin

cotton gin

device consisting of rollers and brushes that quickly separated cotton. combined w the rising demand for cotton and expansion into the west, the invention revitalized slavery (many had expected the institution to die out).

john deere

invented the steel plow in 1837 (it was mass produced by the 1850s) and made the rapid taming of the western prairies possible.

cyrus mccormick

invented the reaper, a horse drawn machine that greatly increased the amount of wheat a farmer could harvest, in 1831

corporations

a company or group of people authorized to act as a single entity and recognized as such in law

a corporate firm enjoys special privileges and powers granted in a charter from the govt. such privileges include investors and directors not being personally liable for the company’s debts. a corporate firm can fail w/o ruining its directors and stockholders

many americans distrusted corporate charters

dartmouth college v. woodward

1819 supreme court case in which the court upheld the original charter of the college against new hampshire’s attempt to alter the board of trustees — set the precedent of support of contracts against state interference.

gibbens v. ogden

1824 supreme court decision reinforcing the “commerce clause” (the federal govt.’s right to regulate interstate commerce) of the constitution. chief justice john marshall ruled against the state of NY’s granting of steamboat monopolies.

charles river bridge v. warren bridge

(1837) the court ruled that the massachusetts legislature did not infringe on the charter of an existing company that had constructed a bridge over the charles river when it empowered a second company to build a competing bridge. the community declared to have a legitimate interest in public transportation and prosperity.