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CHAPTER 8
The Emergence of a Market Economy,
1815–1850
This chapter traces the economic and social developments from about 1815 to 1850 that placed the
United States in a position to grow into a successful nation and industrial power. Particular attention is
paid to the corollary developments of providing necessary transportation, improvements in
communication, and the nature of labor in the early nineteenth century. The chapter also explores
immigration during the time period and the ways in which it was a response to increased opportunities in
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. The Market Revolution
A. Better Roads
B. Waterways
C. Railroads
D. Ocean Transportation
H. Industrialization, Cities, and the Environment
III. Popular Culture
A. Urban Recreation
B. Popular Entertainment
IV. Immigration
A. The Irish
B. The Germans
LECTURE IDEAS
1. A good introductory lecture on the agricultural, industrial, and transportation revolutions will serve
the students well in understanding this era. Useful resources include:
2. Use the biographical approach to examine the origins of American industrialization with a lecture on
one of the most profoundly important figures in the history of American technology: Eli Whitney.
3. The following three works provide excellent reading in preparation for a lecture centering on the
construction and impact of the Erie Canal. Julius Rubin’s “Canal or Railroad?” (Transactions of the
4. Write a lecture that elaborates on the environmental consequences of antebellum industrialization. For
key sources that focus upon New England, see Diana Muir’s Reflections in Bullough’s Pond: Economy and
5. Ask students to trace their family roots to determine from where their ancestors came. As an
alternative, you might ask them to research the ancestors of a particular American historical figure
6. Write a lecture that looks at dramatic changes in levels of alcoholic consumption between roughly 1820
and 1840 to illustrate the profound social and economic developments transforming American life. See
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. The Erie Canal was one of the most successful internal improvement projects in early American
history. Divide your class into local New York farmers who might oppose the canal and New York City
2. Divide the class into small groups and ask them to research the history of patents in America. Have
each group find and discuss two patents—the most useful item and the most outlandish patent they
can find. Sources that might be helpful include:
3. Clips from films such as Gangs of New York (2002) can be helpful in class. This film addresses issues
(1984) and Paul Gilje’s The Road to Mobocracy (1987) can provide more information about this
diverse era of American history.
4. Ask students to research the background and working conditions of women who worked in the Lowell
textile mills from the 1820s to the 1830s. Divide the class into small groups in which they will share
• In what ways were the Lowell mills—especially in the beginning—beneficial to women
workers? Why did the mill owners prefer women laborers at this stage?
• Describe the social and cultural life at the mills. What made them communities, not just
workplaces?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
2. What factors account for the tremendous growth in cotton cultivation from 1790 to 1860?
3. Examine the movement westward that took place in the early nineteenth century, making note of the
various developments in transportation and communication that helped make it possible.
5. Discuss the unique role Catholicism played in the resistance to immigration.
7. Examine what was considered “women’s work” in the first half of the nineteenth century. What
professions, if any, were readily available to women, and how did some individuals help push these
boundaries?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
This chapter suggests some of the ecological changes brought about by the growth of many different
industries. Villages, such as the backwoods town of Chicago, developed into bustling cities, and new
