Essay 7 apush

The market revolution, lasting from 1815 to 1860, was a drastic change of the manual labor system in the US brought about by improvements in communications and technology. The impact of a economic or technological revolutions on economic areas are seen through the technologies created during this time and how they affected the production of these areas. The impact of the market revolution on the Northwest and Midwest can be seen through the movement of people to northern urban areas to work in factories, the increase of wheat production in the Midwest due to technological improvements, and the beginning of an independent national economy. The market revolution had a lasting impact on these two regions as The Northwest began to move away from an agricultural economy to industry and The Midwest improved production and, due to surplus, began to ship excess crops to the North, creating an interdependent economy. During this period, The US, for the first time, had the majority of its population living in urban areas rather than in rural areas. Also, the creation of interchangeable parts by Eli Whitney led to an increase of production in factories and later the introduction of the assembly line. The Lowell Mill Girls were female textile workers in Lowell, Massachusetts. This showed the movement of young women, who would normally be trained to run a household, into a factory environment. Developments in farming increase output of wheat, making it a more viable crop rather than corn. These developments were John Deere’s steel plow and Cyrus McCormick’s horse-drawn mechanical reaper. This surplus of crops allowed for the Midwest to ship crops to the North. And the Midwest would specialize in agriculture in the new national economy. Each specific region of the United States specialized in a specific role. The North in manufacturing, the South in cotton farming, and the West in agriculture. This specialization allowed for internal trading. Before this time, the United States was partially dependent on European imports. After the market revolution, the United States relied on the production of the North, South and Midwest. Henry Clay’s American System of internal improvements allowed for easier trading between the regions, creating a national economy. The market revolution was a direct result of the Industrial Revolution in which the technology created by one help change the labor system of the other.