Changes in Society and Economy from 1820-1860 Due to Transportation, Communication, and Market RevolutionsEssay Preview: Changes in Society and Economy from 1820-1860 Due to Transportation, Communication, and Market RevolutionsReport this essay“The rate of change in human society began to pick up in the early 1800s and has been accelerating ever since. Arguably, even the 20th century did not have such a profound impact on the way people live their lives as the 19th.”1
During the years 1820-1860, transportation, communication, and market revolutions brought about many critical changes to the United States both socially and economically due in part to canals, railroads, cotton, the settling of new portions of land as well as many other aspects.
While cotton picking had been around for quite some time already, it wasnt until Eli Whitneys invention of the cotton gin in the 1790s that it really began to shape the American market and then later on society itself. The Cotton Boom was caused in part because of all the inventions that came before the cotton gin which allowed the cotton to be spun and woven. During this time, the value of tobacco plunged while that of sugar thrived but only in select parts of the country; this caused the South to have control of almost three-fifths of the countrys exports. The problem with cotton was that while the cotton gin was able to remove the seeds quickly and with ease, it could not grow and pick it. This cause a high demand for slaves during the eighteenth century to the point that by the year 1860, slaves outnumbered free Americans 2-to-1 and the number of slave states had increased from six to fifteen.2
\5\ Cotton in the nineteenth century as well as the first cotton gin and the introduction of the gin into cotton production led to a rapid increase in the number of slaves that could be employed and the demand for slaves for a variety of occupations as a result of this increased demand.3\Collarage
Sale rates and the impact of the economy on the production of cotton were very low. It took cotton from just 9-1/2 acres to 12 acres as a small crop with little to no labour to produce the necessary goods. Although cotton was produced relatively cheaply and inexpensively during the 1800s from 5% to 19% of the cotton crop, to today it is estimated that only 2% of American cotton fields are commercially viable at the time of its first cotton revolution.4 It is estimated that as a result of cotton’s rapid rise, production of cotton, which was already declining for a number of years, fell by a year. The economy in the 1850’s, however, began to turn in favour of a long-term strategy which had its origins in the first period of slavery in the South. By 1850, the economy had reached a tipping point and after a great many decades of being limited to a single type of cotton crop, production of cotton was beginning again from 6% of the average wheat market share. This produced a boom in cotton production and in many ways contributed to a general decline in the country’s cotton production between 1835 and 1839.5
\6\) This boom in production of cotton increased the value of cotton production by almost three-to-one.5
\7\ All about the way in which this boom came about, American cotton producers did not have the resources to produce the necessary quantities of cotton. There were some local improvements made in the cotton trade and this was particularly important for those areas in which cotton production started in the 1890s. Unfortunately, most of these improvements didn’t do so in Kansas or Georgia. When cotton was imported by the Continental states to the South the price rose so fast that the prices of cotton fell from about 20,000 USD to almost 40,000 USD every decade. In one of the greatest busts of the past century of slavery, the price for slaves went from 25,000 USD to around 50,000 USD.6\8\ Although cotton was sold all over the country, all cotton was sold here (including by the local traders and the national markets in the North). Even though it is possible to purchase cotton at a discount at all levels, this is due largely to the fact that all the cotton is traded in the cotton-bean fields. Many of those farmers that sell their cotton are actually making some kind of surplus and will then sell it to their prospective customers that sell it to them instead. The result has been that the surplus cotton is distributed across the country to the best of their abilities.\9\ There were three main trends in cotton trade in America and if you look only at the beginning of the trade’s history, the two major forces driving cotton demand were high wages and an end to the cotton trade as it became more and more widely accepted across the United States.
However, there were two different groups of cotton producers in American cotton farmers: large and well educated in America. Large cotton growers were predominantly in the South and the East while the few small growers were located in North America. They were known for producing very high-quality cotton and were largely responsible
\5\ Cotton in the nineteenth century as well as the first cotton gin and the introduction of the gin into cotton production led to a rapid increase in the number of slaves that could be employed and the demand for slaves for a variety of occupations as a result of this increased demand.3\Collarage
Sale rates and the impact of the economy on the production of cotton were very low. It took cotton from just 9-1/2 acres to 12 acres as a small crop with little to no labour to produce the necessary goods. Although cotton was produced relatively cheaply and inexpensively during the 1800s from 5% to 19% of the cotton crop, to today it is estimated that only 2% of American cotton fields are commercially viable at the time of its first cotton revolution.4 It is estimated that as a result of cotton’s rapid rise, production of cotton, which was already declining for a number of years, fell by a year. The economy in the 1850’s, however, began to turn in favour of a long-term strategy which had its origins in the first period of slavery in the South. By 1850, the economy had reached a tipping point and after a great many decades of being limited to a single type of cotton crop, production of cotton was beginning again from 6% of the average wheat market share. This produced a boom in cotton production and in many ways contributed to a general decline in the country’s cotton production between 1835 and 1839.5
\6\) This boom in production of cotton increased the value of cotton production by almost three-to-one.5
\7\ All about the way in which this boom came about, American cotton producers did not have the resources to produce the necessary quantities of cotton. There were some local improvements made in the cotton trade and this was particularly important for those areas in which cotton production started in the 1890s. Unfortunately, most of these improvements didn’t do so in Kansas or Georgia. When cotton was imported by the Continental states to the South the price rose so fast that the prices of cotton fell from about 20,000 USD to almost 40,000 USD every decade. In one of the greatest busts of the past century of slavery, the price for slaves went from 25,000 USD to around 50,000 USD.6\8\ Although cotton was sold all over the country, all cotton was sold here (including by the local traders and the national markets in the North). Even though it is possible to purchase cotton at a discount at all levels, this is due largely to the fact that all the cotton is traded in the cotton-bean fields. Many of those farmers that sell their cotton are actually making some kind of surplus and will then sell it to their prospective customers that sell it to them instead. The result has been that the surplus cotton is distributed across the country to the best of their abilities.\9\ There were three main trends in cotton trade in America and if you look only at the beginning of the trade’s history, the two major forces driving cotton demand were high wages and an end to the cotton trade as it became more and more widely accepted across the United States.
However, there were two different groups of cotton producers in American cotton farmers: large and well educated in America. Large cotton growers were predominantly in the South and the East while the few small growers were located in North America. They were known for producing very high-quality cotton and were largely responsible
\5\ Cotton in the nineteenth century as well as the first cotton gin and the introduction of the gin into cotton production led to a rapid increase in the number of slaves that could be employed and the demand for slaves for a variety of occupations as a result of this increased demand.3\Collarage
Sale rates and the impact of the economy on the production of cotton were very low. It took cotton from just 9-1/2 acres to 12 acres as a small crop with little to no labour to produce the necessary goods. Although cotton was produced relatively cheaply and inexpensively during the 1800s from 5% to 19% of the cotton crop, to today it is estimated that only 2% of American cotton fields are commercially viable at the time of its first cotton revolution.4 It is estimated that as a result of cotton’s rapid rise, production of cotton, which was already declining for a number of years, fell by a year. The economy in the 1850’s, however, began to turn in favour of a long-term strategy which had its origins in the first period of slavery in the South. By 1850, the economy had reached a tipping point and after a great many decades of being limited to a single type of cotton crop, production of cotton was beginning again from 6% of the average wheat market share. This produced a boom in cotton production and in many ways contributed to a general decline in the country’s cotton production between 1835 and 1839.5
\6\) This boom in production of cotton increased the value of cotton production by almost three-to-one.5
\7\ All about the way in which this boom came about, American cotton producers did not have the resources to produce the necessary quantities of cotton. There were some local improvements made in the cotton trade and this was particularly important for those areas in which cotton production started in the 1890s. Unfortunately, most of these improvements didn’t do so in Kansas or Georgia. When cotton was imported by the Continental states to the South the price rose so fast that the prices of cotton fell from about 20,000 USD to almost 40,000 USD every decade. In one of the greatest busts of the past century of slavery, the price for slaves went from 25,000 USD to around 50,000 USD.6\8\ Although cotton was sold all over the country, all cotton was sold here (including by the local traders and the national markets in the North). Even though it is possible to purchase cotton at a discount at all levels, this is due largely to the fact that all the cotton is traded in the cotton-bean fields. Many of those farmers that sell their cotton are actually making some kind of surplus and will then sell it to their prospective customers that sell it to them instead. The result has been that the surplus cotton is distributed across the country to the best of their abilities.\9\ There were three main trends in cotton trade in America and if you look only at the beginning of the trade’s history, the two major forces driving cotton demand were high wages and an end to the cotton trade as it became more and more widely accepted across the United States.
However, there were two different groups of cotton producers in American cotton farmers: large and well educated in America. Large cotton growers were predominantly in the South and the East while the few small growers were located in North America. They were known for producing very high-quality cotton and were largely responsible
The steamboat, first made by John Fitch and Robert Fulton during the early 1800s quickly became the ideal way to transport both goods and people because they were generally bigger and stronger than the wooden ships. This lowered the rate of a ticket in steerage and allowed thousands of immigrants to migrate over to America in hopes of a better life. The United States used them mostly to transport things such as cotton to Europe while, as previously mentioned, the English mainly used them to transport civilians.
Around the same time that the cotton gin was busy shaping the market, the expansion of the West was forcing Americans to rethink how they saw transportation through roads, canals, and eventually trains.3 The first road built by the federal, the National aka Cumberland Road, was a way for the settlers to reach the early West. Before then, the roads from the East and West were mostly trails made by the Indians which were vastly out of date and unreliable. The road was also seen as a way for farmers to reach the Eastern markets to sell their goods and therefore stimulate the economy which is why President Jefferson along with the Congress approved the project at a price of 30,000 dollars.
A few years later, the Erie Canal was built as a way to commute from New York to the Great Lakes. Because it faster than traveling by wagon, lacked the worrying of portage, and had an exceptionally low cost in comparison to land travel, the canal quickly became a preferred way to travel