Sophia Ho
Shannon Welch
B09
In the 1800s, America rose to become a highly industrialized and complex economy. This was mainly due to the revolutionary creation of the cotton gin because it sped up the process of how seeds were removed from the cotton fiber. This increase in cotton production ushered the United States into the Market Revolution. During this era, cotton became the single most important crop in the United States, creating more jobs for laborers in the fields. With the rise of cheap labor, the demand for land increased. The influx of workers in America and development of the cotton sector led to the expansion of the United States westward of the northern and southern states. The land necessary for the cultivation of cotton became
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However, the practices following the rise of the market revolution contradicted these founding principles. The belief of manifest destiny, the god given right to conquer the entire United States, and the rise of the market revolution justified the invasion of Mexican territories. Following the successful invasion of Mexico, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was written, which redrew the boundary lines and included the protection of property and civil rights as citizens of the United States. With new boundary lines, Mexicans were greatly outnumbered by Anglo Americans and soon became minorities in their own land. Playing a dominant role in state legislatures, Anglo Americans enacted laws and regulations to limit the rights and freedoms of Mexicans. They passed a foreign miners’ tax known as the “Mexican Miners’ Tax” which took fees from miners of Mexican ancestry because Anglos saw Mexicans as competitors in the mining industry. They created a poll tax to prevent Mexicans from voting because Anglo Americans refused to have an ignorant bunch of civilians determining the direction of the country. Not only did Mexicans lose their rights as citizens, but as landowners as well. Despite Article X in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which protected land ownership, Congress passed a land law requiring landowners to prove their ownership for a plot of …show more content…
Generally, Mexicans were paid fifty percent less than Anglo Americans and forced to live in company towns where they used their low income to pay for expensive food and supplies (Takaki 173). They were also given the manual and dangerous work such as ditch digging whereas their American counterparts had less labor intensive jobs. This became a racial stratification for occupations. This signified a major contradiction in the Declaration of Independence because social inequality and injustice can be seen through the lives of Mexicans. Mexican-Americans were not given equal opportunities for employment, because jobs and wages were based on race rather than ability and work ethic. They faced discrimination in the workforce and were downgraded to working the low-end jobs in society. They were forced to work in hazardous environments whereas Americans worked in a safer setting. The racial discrimination and lack of equality in the workforce during the market revolution indicates an inconsistency in the Declaration of
The Cotton Revolution was a changing time for America. However, it brought far more than cotton. It brought western expansion, industrialization, a transformation of economy, and the rise of the abolitionist movement. It also brought a change in the family dynamic, the removal of Indians from their native lands, and a rise in slavery like never before. The cotton revolution brought class conflict, child labor, accelerated immigration. (American Yawp)
Economic and social differences between the north and the south was one of the events of slavery leading up to the Civil War. When the cotton gin was invented in 1793, cotton became a very profitable crop. Before the invention of the cotton gin, it would take one slave a day to remove the seeds from two pounds of cotton. After the invention of the cotton gin, it could be used to clean two pounds of cotton in just half an hour. With the invention of the cotton gin came an increase in the number of plantations willing and wanting to move from other crops to cotton. The south raised rice, sugar, and indigo, but cotton was its main crop. This move from other crops to cotton would cause for a greater need for a larger amount of laborers, meaning a greater need for slaves. The south, becoming a one crop economy, then became more dependent on cotton, thus more dependent on slaves. The north, on the other hand, was less focused on crops and
increase production of cotton, resulting from the cotton gin was a primary factor in the
Until the late nineteenth century, the United States was still an agrarian community. As factories sprouted to process the products obtained from agriculture and to manufacture farm equipment, there rose
From 1800-1884, The Market Revolution was a big part of the nation. Developments in technology – railroads, and canals – and manufacturing – the Cotton Gin, and Lowell System – brought both positive social changes – such as the role women played in society – and economic changes, like the opportunity for all to work.
In 1794, U.S. inventor Eli Whitney patented a machine that transformed the production of cotton by significantly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber called the cotton gin. By the middle of the 19th century cotton had become America’s leading export. This gave Sothern’s the rationalization to maintain and expand slavery despite large number of abolitionists in America. While the cotton gin made cotton processing easier, it facilitated planters in earning greater profits, resulting in larger cotton crops. This in turn increased slavery because it was the cheapest form of labor. As for the North, particularly New England, the cotton gin and cotton’s increase meant a steady supply of raw materials for its textile mills.
The crops grown on plantations and the slavery system changed significantly between 1800-1860. In the early 1800s, plantation owners grew a variety of crops – cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, hemp, and wheat. Cotton had the potential to be profitable, but there was wasn’t much area where cotton could be grown. However, the invention of the cotton gin changed this - the cotton gin was a machine that made it much easier to separate the seeds from cotton. Plantation owners could now grow lots of cotton; this would make them a lot of money. As a result, slavery became more important because the demand for cotton was high worldwide. By 1860, cotton was the main export of the south. The invention of the cotton gin and high demand for cotton changed
After the invention of the cotton gin was invented, American cotton moved in ever-greater quantities to the factories of Europe. The cotton industry was among the world’s largest industries at midcentury, drawing on the labor of 20 million workers.
Towards the end of the late 1700's, America was no longer under custody of Britain, instead it was a large market for industrial goods and without the doubt the world's major source for cotton, tobacco, and other agricultural products. The Market Revolution during this time was a harsh change in manual labor system originating in the south and later spreading world wide. The War of 1812, fought against Great Britain, was a time of rapid improvement in transportation, continuously growth of factories, and important development of new technology to increase agricultural production. A labor evolvement started to occur in America throughout the early 1800's, a drastic shift from an agricultural
Due to this, the economy of America at this period of time was centred around cotton and as Clement Eaton stated, 'After the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, the tempo of life in the South quickened.' The industry was able to achieve large profits through the use of slaves-the cheapest labour of all-and eventually 'Three-fourths of the world's supply of cotton came from the southern states.'
In Sven Beckert’s book, Empire of Cotton: A Global History, Beckert explains what he believes truly led to the growth of the industrial revolution and capitalism. The majority opinion is that the rise of capitalism was a consequence of the combination of free trade and want for democracy. Beckert argues that without the commodity of cotton, these things would have become obsolete, because this object is what truly shifted war capitalism into industrial capitalism.
After the invention of the cotton gin, the yield of raw cotton doubled each decade after 1800. Demand was fueled by other inventions of the Industrial Revolution, such as the machines to spin and weave it and the steamboat to transport it. By mid-century America was growing three-quarters of the world's supply of cotton, most
After the invention of the cotton gin, the production of unprocessed cotton doubled each decade after 1800. Other inventions of the Industrial Revolution were the machines to spin and weave cotton and the steamboat to transport it. America was growing three quarters of the world's supply of cotton in the mid-century. Most of it was shipped to England or New England where it was made into cloth. During this time, tobacco’s value decreased, rice exports stayed at the same price, and sugar began to flourish, but only
Cotton was a hardier than tobacco especially since tobacco was unstable. Cotton was easier to grow. It could be grown successfully in a variety of soils and climates. The invention of the cotton gin made harvesting of cotton much easier. Before the cotton gin, it was very difficult to remove the seeds from the fiber. In Britain and Europe, there was a huge growth in the textile industry that also promoted the growing of cotton in the South. With much of the land was uncultivated at this time, many men and women moved rapidly because it was easy to establish new cotton-growing
Cotton is essential to humans in everyday life. There are many cotton plants that produce cotton but 95% of America’s cotton comes from the Gossypium hirsutum. The main substance of the plant is the flower, which is the cotton. The flower also contain seeds which are used extensively for many other products.