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The Communications Revolution

The Communications Revolution

  • the US post office

    • massive organization

      • bigger than peacetime military and rest of federal bureaucracy combined

    • mostly transported newspapers (discounted rates)

    • a national information network

  • print media industry grew massively, helped buy new technology

  • telegraph invented 1845, eastern cities linked by 1860s

Banking and Finance

  • first bank of the US expired 1811

  • second bank of the US started in 1816, 20 year charter

    • backed hundreds of state-chartered banks

    • widespread access to credit

  • western farmers/planters linked to creditors in NY, London, and beyond

  • first modern business corporations

    • previously, only for “public good” projects

    • incorporation limited investors’ and operators’ personal liability for company debt which meant lower risk

Financial “Panics”

  • new finance system was unstable: boom and bust cycles

  • over speculation on commodities, led to “Panics” and economic depressions

    • panic of 1819, land

    • panic of 1837, land and slaves

    • panic of 1857, railroad bonds

  • emerging nation of “the economy”

The Communications Revolution

The Communications Revolution

  • the US post office

    • massive organization

      • bigger than peacetime military and rest of federal bureaucracy combined

    • mostly transported newspapers (discounted rates)

    • a national information network

  • print media industry grew massively, helped buy new technology

  • telegraph invented 1845, eastern cities linked by 1860s

Banking and Finance

  • first bank of the US expired 1811

  • second bank of the US started in 1816, 20 year charter

    • backed hundreds of state-chartered banks

    • widespread access to credit

  • western farmers/planters linked to creditors in NY, London, and beyond

  • first modern business corporations

    • previously, only for “public good” projects

    • incorporation limited investors’ and operators’ personal liability for company debt which meant lower risk

Financial “Panics”

  • new finance system was unstable: boom and bust cycles

  • over speculation on commodities, led to “Panics” and economic depressions

    • panic of 1819, land

    • panic of 1837, land and slaves

    • panic of 1857, railroad bonds

  • emerging nation of “the economy”

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