APUSH 4.5 and 4.6

Market Revolution

A period of rapid economic change in the United States during the 19th century, marked by technological innovations, transportation advancements, and the growth of industry and markets.

Cumberland Road (National Road)

The first major federally funded highway, built between 1811 and 1837, connected the East Coast to the interior of the country, facilitating trade and migration westward.

John Deere

Invented the steel plow in 1837, which made it easier to plow tough prairie soils, boosting agricultural productivity in the Midwest.

Cyrus McCormick

Invented the mechanical reaper in 1831, which revolutionized grain harvesting, allowing farmers to increase production dramatically and spurring commercial farming.

Erie Canal

Completed in 1825, this canal connected the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River, dramatically lowering transportation costs and opening up western markets to eastern cities.

Robert Fulton

Developed the first commercially successful steamboat in 1807, the Clermont, revolutionizing water transportation by allowing for upstream travel and enhancing trade efficiency.

Steamboats

Became widely used in the 19th century, particularly on rivers like the Mississippi, increasing the speed and capacity of trade and travel.

Railroads

The development of the railroad system in the 1830s and beyond made long-distance transportation of goods and people faster and more reliable, further integrating regional markets.

Eli Whitney

Invented the cotton gin in 1793, which made the processing of cotton far more efficient, leading to the expansion of cotton cultivation in the South and increasing the demand for slave labor.

Cotton Gin

A device that quickly separated cotton fibers from their seeds, drastically increasing cotton production and solidifying cotton's role as the dominant crop of the Southern economy.

Interchangeable Parts

A system popularized by Eli Whitney, where standardized parts could be used to assemble products more efficiently, central to the growth of mass production in the manufacturing sector.

Samuel Slater

Known as the 'Father of the American Industrial Revolution,' he brought British textile technology to the U.S. in 1793, establishing the first successful textile factory in America.

Factory System

A method of manufacturing that began during the Industrial Revolution, where labor and machinery were centralized in one location, significantly increasing production efficiency.

Lowell System

A labor and production model employed in the early textile mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, where young women, known as 'Lowell Girls,' worked under strict conditions in company-owned boardinghouses.

Cult of Domesticity

A cultural ideology that emerged in the 19th century, emphasizing women's roles as homemakers and moral guardians of the family, promoting virtues such as piety, purity, and domesticity for women.

Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842)

A Massachusetts Supreme Court case that ruled labor unions were not inherently illegal, and workers had the right to organize and strike for better conditions, marking a significant legal victory for the labor movement.

Unions

Organizations formed by workers to advocate for better wages, working conditions, and hours, becoming increasingly important during the Industrial Revolution as factory work grew more demanding and exploitative.