Chapter 9: The Market Revolution

– The Free Individual

The Free Individual and the Market Revolution

• Market Revolution (early 19th century): A period marked by rapid changes in transportation, production, and market expansion, which fueled individualism and economic advancement.

• Alexis de Tocqueville: A French political thinker who observed Americans’ restless, energetic society, constantly in motion, and described them as highly materialistic and ambitious.

• Key idea: American identity was shaped by a culture of personal progress and opportunity, creating a nation "in constant motion."

The West and Freedom

• Manifest Destiny: The belief that the U.S. was divinely destined to expand across North America. Coined by journalist John L. O'Sullivan in 1845.

  • Justification for westward expansion, suggesting Americans had a unique claim to western lands.

  • Seen as a way to prevent the U.S. from developing fixed social classes and a large group of poor wage-earners.

• The West as a "Land of Freedom":

  • The West symbolized opportunity, freedom, and economic independence.

  • In contrast to the industrial East, where factory labor limited freedom, the West allowed individuals to own land and achieve economic independence.

  • Wallace Stegner: Described the West as “the last home of the freeborn American,” reinforcing its myth as a place of liberation.

The Transcendentalists

• Transcendentalism: A philosophical movement that emphasized individual self-reliance and the primacy of personal conscience.

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson: Promoted individual freedom as an evolving process of self-realization.

  • Believed freedom came from self-direction rather than social conventions.

• Henry David Thoreau:

  • Advocated for self-reliance and criticized the impact of industrial society on individual freedom.

  • Walden (1854): A book that reflected on his experiment of living simply at Walden Pond, critiquing the materialism and environmental degradation caused by industrialization.

  • Thoreau argued that true freedom required resisting societal pressures to accumulate wealth and maintain simplicity.

The Second Great Awakening

• Second Great Awakening (early 19th century): A religious revival movement that promoted self-improvement, self-determination, and democratized Christianity.

  • Originally aimed at increasing church attendance, it became a mass movement reaching beyond traditional denominations.

  • Charles Grandison Finney: Key preacher known for intense revival meetings and the concept of a "moral free agent."

  • Emphasized human free will, suggesting individuals could choose between a sinful or godly life.

• Expansion of Evangelical Christianity:

  • The revival democratized faith, with denominations like Methodists and Baptists growing significantly, especially on the frontier.

  • Revivalist meetings brought together people of various backgrounds, promoting community and spiritual equality.

• Connection to Market Society:

  • The Second Great Awakening aligned with market values by stressing personal responsibility, self-discipline, and industriousness.

  • Revivalist ministers used new transportation methods (canals, steamboats, railroads) to spread messages, blending market expansion with spiritual outreach.

The Emergence of Mormonism

• Founding of Mormonism:

  • Joseph Smith: Founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) in the 1820s in upstate New York after experiencing religious visions.

  • The Book of Mormon: Claimed to be translated from golden plates given by an angel, it narrates a history linking ancient Middle Eastern families with Native Americans and prophecies Christ’s return in the Americas.

• Mormon Beliefs and Practices:

  • Shared Christian principles but introduced controversial practices, including polygamy, leading to persecution.

  • Mobs forced the Mormons to relocate repeatedly (New York, Ohio, Missouri) before settling in Nauvoo, Illinois.

• Joseph Smith’s Death and the Mormon Exodus:

  • Smith was murdered in Ill inois in 1844 due to tensions with local residents.

  • His successor, Brigham Young, led the Mormons to Utah (then outside the U.S.), where they established a new community by the Great Salt Lake.

  • Mormonism today is the fourth largest denomination in the U.S., reflecting both religious pluralism and historical intolerance.

The Limits of Prosperity and Liberty

Liberty and Prosperity

• Market Revolution: Era that transformed the American economic landscape, emphasizing free-market competition.

• Self-Made Man: Celebrated ideal during this time, asserting that success could be achieved through personal merit rather than hereditary privilege or government favoritism.

  • Example: Thomas Rodgers – machine builder who founded a locomotive factory in New Jersey.

• New Middle Class: Emerged with the market revolution, consisting of clerks, accountants, and office employees in urban areas (e.g., Boston, New York).

• New opportunities also opened up in farming, craftsmanship, and professional fields (e.g., law, medicine, teaching).

• By the early 1890s, there were around 10,000 physicians in the U.S.

Pat Lyon at the Forge

• Pat Lyon: Symbolized the "self-made man" as a prosperous blacksmith; had himself depicted in work clothes, showcasing pride in hard work and skill over inherited wealth

Race and Opportunity

• Disparity in Economic Opportunities: Market revolution benefited many, but black Americans faced significant barriers.

  • Slavery continued in the South, and free blacks in Northern states faced widespread discrimination and segregation.

  • Free blacks mostly confined to poorer urban areas (e.g., New York, Philadelphia) and faced violent attacks, such as the 1829 Cincinnati assault by white mobs.

• Institutional Life of Free Blacks: Created mutual-aid societies, educational organizations, and independent churches (e.g., African Methodist Episcopal Church founded by Richard Allen in response to racial discrimination).

• Downward Economic Mobility: Many free blacks, initially skilled artisans, were excluded from skilled work, relegated to low-wage, menial jobs.

• Restricted Access to Public Land: Free blacks barred from public land ownership in the West, limiting their economic prospects.

  • States like Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Oregon even prohibited black migration by 1860.

The Cult of Domesticity

• Shifts in Women’s Roles: Market revolution moved economic production outside the home, redefining women’s roles.

  • Cult of Domesticity: New ideal that emphasized women's roles in creating a private, nurturing home environment, separate from the competitive market economy.

  • Shift from republican motherhood (where women shaped future citizens) to a submissive domestic role.

• Separate Spheres: Cultural norm where men engaged in public work while women remained in the private sphere of the home.

• Decline in Birthrate: American birthrate dropped from seven children per woman in 1800 to four by 1900, suggesting active family planning by women.

Women and Work

• Gendered Labor Divide: Only low-paying jobs were accessible to women; many were employed as domestic servants, factory workers, and seamstresses.

• Legal Restrictions: Married women could not sign contracts or control their wages until post-Civil War reforms.

• Middle-Class Respectability: For middle-class families, having wives remain at home became a status symbol, with labor increasingly done by employed domestic servants.

• Exclusion from "Labor" Definitions: As labor became associated with wage-earning, women's household work was often excluded from definitions of economic productivity.

• "Family Wage" Concept: Idea that the male head should earn enough to support the family, becoming a vision of social justice embraced by middle- and working-class men.

The Early Labor Movement

• Response to Market Revolution: Some Americans, especially from the revolutionary generation, felt personal economic pursuits undermined public good and individual freedom.

  • Economic Downturns: Period saw economic hardships, including the Panic of 1819 and the Depression of 1837, highlighting inequalities and insecurity.

• Growing Economic Divide: Wealth concentrated among the richest 5%, who owned more than half of Massachusetts' wealth by mid-century.

• Workingmen's Parties: Formed in the 1820s by skilled craftsmen advocating for:

  • Free public education

  • Abolishment of debt imprisonment

  • 10-hour workday legislation

• Union Organization and Strikes: 1830s witnessed widespread strikes and union formations as laborers demanded better wages, hours, and conditions.

The "Liberty of Living"

• Freedom and Labor Rights: Workers linked economic autonomy with freedom, protesting job insecurity and low wages.

  • Conspiracy Trials: 1835 New York tailors were convicted for seeking higher wages, sparking public protests for labor rights.

• Lowell Mill Women: Organized strikes in 1834 and 1836 against wage cuts and increased rent, emphasizing their rights as "daughters of free men."

• Critique of Market Individualism: Thinkers like Orestes Brownson in "The Laboring Classes" (1840) argued for social reforms to ensure economic security and equality.

• Emerging Definition of Freedom: Economic security began to be seen as an essential aspect of freedom, foreshadowing future labor rights movements.