Market Revolution Dbq

Year by year the farmers who lived on soil, whose returns were diminished by unrotated crops were offered the virgin soil of the frontier at nominal prices. Their growing families demanded more lands, and these were dear. The competition of the unexhausted, cheap, and easily tilled prairie lands compelled the farmer either to go west and continue the exhaustion of the soil on a new frontier, or to adopt intensive culture.

Despite the flushed predictions of prosperity that had lured new settlers to the plains, the reality was more difficult. The farmers claimed that they did not have enough land, money, and transportation (Doc C). The farmers went into in a never ending cycle if they did not have a good harvest. As Booker Washington explains the farmers had no money so they had to borrow money from the banks which charged 12 to 30 percent interest. The interest the farmers were hit with was nearly impossible to repay so they had to mortgage everything and if the mortgage wasn’t paid the land was foreclosure which led the yeomen to become tenant farmers (Doc B). With periods of drought growing good crops was hard. Leading Economic Sectors shows how the farmers predicament of not being able to make a very

Cotton still played a big part in the growth of farming in the south. There was a high demand for textiles and cotton mills increased production of cotton bales up to 1,479,000 bales per year. While these changes were occurring in the South, many changes in farming were also taking place in other parts of the nation. The government wanted to encourage settlement in the vast areas of the country not yet populated. The Homestead Act helped shape the western landscape. This act allowed farmers to claim up to 160 acres of land. Farmers would stake a claim to a parcel of land and by living on it for five years would be free and clear to take title of the land. Or the farmer could buy

Farmland got its start in 1852 after being founded by Henry D. Huffman and William Macy as a station on the Bellfontaine Railroad. On July 28th 1852 the two gentlemen platted Farmland on their farms. The town consisted of 152 lots including 6 streets, all of which are present today. Many cities that started on the railroad were thrust into a thriving economical environment. Being a station this allowed the city to quickly increase its population and annual revenue. There were many people that saw this economic opportunity and started forming farms alongside the town because it gave them quick access to the railroad. Thus their transportation costs were lower than other farmers. The agricultural business started to boom in the small town and drew more people into the town. People seized the economic opportunities that presented themselves. Sadly though the town did grow slow. But in 1870 the census found 532 people residing there. Starting from just two families the town gained over 500 residents in just 18 years. That is truly remarkable for the time that our nation was in.

In order to do this, the new Agricultural Adjustment Administration paid landowners to take property out of production. What ended up happening was

Technology greatly transformed American agriculture from just plain farming to commercial farming. The mechanization of farming made farming easier and more profitable. As shown in Document D technology was helping farmers, making farming more easier and they were able to do many jobs quicker. But, Farmers couldn’t afford to send crops to other places At the beginning of the 1840s the railroad began to transform American agriculture, by the 1860’s all states east of the Mississippi had rail service. As shown in Document B there were multiple railroads all around the country. The farmers were ecstatic about this new technology because they could send their crops to other areas, when before they didn’t have the money to be able to do so. Other new technologies were arriving such as the mechanical reaper and the steel plow.

As crop prices fell, farmers were forced to mortgage their lands and take out loans in order to grow more and more crop just to break even. When these tactics were ultimately unsuccessful, the banks closed in and quickly foreclosed on the farmers estates. These mass foreclosures led to a belief among farmers that they were all slaves to their “eastern masters” and that only the freedom of unlimited silver would release them from their shackles.

In the period 1865-1900, technology, government policy, and economic conditions all changed American agriculture a great deal. New farming machinery had a large role in the late 19th century, giving farmers the opportunity to produce many more crops than they had ever been able to previously. The railroads had an enormous influence on agriculture. They were able to charge the farmers large fees, expenses that farmers barely had enough to cover, in order to transport their goods throughout the expansive country. The booming industry also changed American agriculture, creating monopolies and gaining incredible wealth with which the farmers simply could not compete. Economically, the monetary policy along with the steadily dropping prices of

I believe that one the most major innovation that also brought change in the market revolution was the Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793 because America lacked cotton most of 1700s, regardless of the fact that they had ability to construct textile factories and had waterways for transport. The southern planters in the past made effort to grow cotton, but never succeeded because cotton was labor intensive, so they dropped the idea and went to plant rice and tobacco, because during that period they tried growing cotton, it normally takes a lot of manpower and slaves use a whole day to separate maybe a pound of cotton seeds from fibers. They basically dropped every other crop in place of the newly profitable cotton. Also With the invention of the cotton gins, factories in the North were producing cotton cloth and cotton became the major crop in the south. Also the planters wanted increases in slave labor to plant enough cotton to take advantage of their new production capacity and this made them purchase thousands of slaves from the West Indies and Africa before slave trading was banned. As a result of the purchase of this slaves and extra manpower, the individual plantations increased in sizes, from the normal small plots to big farms with as many as several hundred slaves each. Due to the economic bloom there was a demand in labor

[…] If a farmer wanted to expand operations, he required the deep pockets of Northern banks to lend him the money to buy additional equipment, as well as additional labor. (13)

During the late 1700’s, the United States was no longer a possession of Britain, instead it was a market for industrial goods and the world’s major source for tobacco, cotton, and other agricultural products. A labor revolution started to occur in the United States throughout the early 1800’s. There was a shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial market system. After the War of 1812, the domestic marketplace changed due to the strong pressure of social and economic forces. Major innovations in transportation allowed the movement of information, people, and merchandise. Textile mills and factories became an important base for jobs, especially for women. There was also widespread economic growth during this time period

Bankers- High interest rates caused the farmers to pay even more when they didn't have the money to pay.

After the War of 1812 much of America's attention turned to exploration and settlement of its territory to the West, which had been greatly enlarged by the Louisiana Purchase.

     High prices forced farmers to concentrate on one crop. The large-scale farmers bought expensive machines, increasing their crop yield. This caused the smaller farmers to be left behind. The small farmers could no longer compete and were forced give up their farms and look for jobs in the cities. The smaller farmers

The market revolution changed the economic life for all Americans. It took place in the early decade of the 19th century. Historians and writers as Eric Foner writes in his book Give Me Liberty!, one example is when he talks about the market revolution he refers to serious economic changes that took place between 1800s and around 1840s which included many things such as great improvement in transportation, building steamboats, the telegraph and the Erie Canal, which was about 36o miles long canal from the Great Lake to the Hudson River. This upgrade made it a cheaper, easier and faster transportation. By making these great improvements, products were able to be sent to other places to make more profit. Not only profit came out of it, but this gave