The book, The Kingdom of Matthias by, Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz, gives us a look into what life was like in the United States during the first half of the 1800’s. This book contains stories of Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews and how they eventually came to meet. Both thought they were prophets and could speak directly to God. Pierson later referred to himself as the Prophet Elijah of Tishbe and Matthews later took the name Matthias the Prophet. The book begins with Elijah Pierson’s story and then moves into Robert Matthews story. It explains how they came to be who they are and who they thought they were. The book then deals with Matthews and Pierson crossing paths, how they came to know each other, the downfall of the “kingdom”, …show more content…
The Market Revolution took place during the early 19th century which made it easier for people to exchange their goods, with not only their neighbors, but with complete strangers from completely different parts of the country. The Market Revolution is an expansion of the market place in America with the construction of new roads, canals, and railroads to connect, otherwise, opposite communities together. The Market Revolution all started with the building of the Erie canal in New York. It made it easier to import goods and it was a faster source of transportation. The Market Revolution opened new opportunities to farmers and poor people. Elijah Pierson was one of those people. He hoped to find fortune and success in his move the New York. Elijah’s trek to New York was not at all uncommon during this time period. “During the 19th century thousands of country boys made the trek form New England and the rural states hoping to earn their fortunes in the nation’s fastest growing seaports.” (18) While in New York, Pierson and his partner, John Stenbrenner, opened their own mercantile firm off of Pearl Street. This shows how the economic growth brought new opportunity and sometimes better opportunities to people trying to find their dream of wealth and fortune during the Second Great
In the 1800s a Market Revolution began, changing the way in which America operated and in the midst of all that was a Second Great Awakening, causing people to once again, question their religious beliefs and practices. Paul Johnson and Sean Wilentz tell the story of Robert Matthews, or the Prophet Matthias and his followers. Matthias had an unconventional childhood, he became an orphan at a young age and was raised by church elders. He worked under one of the elders to learn the carpenter’s craft. He easily found work but had trouble keeping it because he was always preaching at his fellow workers about their sinful ways. Matthias was eager to make good but continually fell into misfortunes, “which led him on a prolonged and erratic religious journey” (49). The Kingdom of Matthias gained and lost members, had changes in beliefs, and was full of ever changing marriages. Although looking back on it now, Matthias’s messages and beliefs seem almost laughable, but at they time his followers found his message, ministry, and lifestyle very compelling.
Have you ever needed easier access to the essential items to stay alive? This is specifically what the residents of the North-East thought around the year 1817. Carol Sheriff argues in her book, “The Artificial River” that the residents of the canal corridor actively sought after long-distance trade and therefore consumer goods that markets brought to their homes. The fact that people supported the Erie Canal at all "suggests that at least some aspired to engage in broader market exchange" (p. 11). The transformation of this region because of the Erie Canal is organized around six topics, each of which is covered by a chapter. They include the; Visions of Progress, the Triumph of Art over Nature, Reducing Distance and Time, the Politics of Land and Water, the Politics of Business, and the Perils of Progress.
During the rise of wage labor stunted working people in new ways. In 1824 the textile workers protested and the factory conditions and the mills model of Lowell faced large clashes in the 1830s. Another improved transportation system was essential for raw materials to be able to reach factories and to manufacture good that went to consumers. This improved transportation system was known as the market revolution.
Near the last decades of the 19th century, America’s industrial economy skyrocketed. As these industrial leaders like Carnegie and Rockefeller not only lead the expansion through their respective industries, but revolutionized businesses while crushing free-market competition in the process. As
The Market Revolution in the America was characterized by the development of technology and the desire to maximize profit. To achieve maximum profit, Americans turned to illegal means to acquire cheap labor and land. In the case of the Mexicans, Americans saw the abundance of raw materials in California and Texas and annexed the territories through border dispute. The Mexican landowners were left vulnerable to the American legal structures and lost the title to their lands. Once landowners, the Mexican became the cheap labor for the Americans and some even became the workers on the land they once owned. Taking a hard look at the core of the Market Revolution, one will find that the revolution was rooted in greed.
The Market Revolution can be described as an early manifestation of capitalism, an era associated with a new sense of individual rights, equality, and freedom. The Market Revolution took place in the early 19th century, and it drastically changed not only the market and commerce of Americans but their personal lives as well. Before the Market Revolution America hadn’t seen any new life changing innovations, most of their goods, such as clothing and farming tools, were still being made from home, and trade was limited by poor roads and little means of transportation. In addition, the poor road system meant that there was little interaction and movement between each state. It wasn’t till the creation of new ways of communicating, steamboats, and the building of canals, railroads, and turnpikes that prompted American expansion. As a result, the United States began to see a movement of settlements westward and the rise cities. The Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812, led to the cutoff of British imports and the need to establish the first large –scale factories; the rise of factories then led to new employment and a boom in domestic manufacturing (Foner 331). The changes led by the advances in the society of the Market Revolution evidently gave women the opportunity to gain a level of equality in both domestic and work environments, it also gave Americans the
How does Larcom’s memoir helps us to understand some of the market revolution on the lives of ordinary Americans? Larcom’s family circumstances pushed her to paid employment in the textile mill at age eleven. She was forced to sacrifice her childhood to provide much needed income to her family. But it was not and couldn’t be, the right sort of life for a child. Therefore, Larcom’s memoir indicates that effect of the market revolution has some positive side shifting work from home to factory and gives a chance for women and girls to work on factory to get some income in order to fulfil their basic needs and their families. While, forcing childhood to provide much needed income for their families, not respecting
In 19th century, Henry Clay proposed three terms to improve United States, as we called “American System”: establishing the Bank of the United States, protecting American manufacturers, and building canals and roads. For internal improvements, the construction of Erie Canal and Cumberland road played an important role in the development of the market in West and Northeast. First, Erie Canal linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, and it helped western farmers to transport crops to the east much faster and more convenient. Second, Cumberland Road was the first road built by the United States government, and it accelerated the development of Ohio and Northwest area. Both of these two constructions dramatically promoted the Market Revolution
The time of the market revolution is a time of immense political change but also of great economic and technological innovation. It was a period American market experienced a fast economic growth and expansion. This was the period America underwent a serious
The Kingdom of Matthias, written by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz, examines the story of the self proclaimed prophet Matthias, formerly known as Robert Matthews. They tell the story of how Matthias built his kingdom based on his religious beliefs related to the Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening was a religious movement that took place during the early nineteenth century. During this time period women played the role as the caregivers who stayed at home with the children while their husbands were out working. However, it wasn’t until the Second Great Awakening that women began to play a more dominant role in society, especially in the church. Matthias was one of the main people who was directly impacted by the effects of the Second Great Awakening and the power it gave to women. Throughout Matthias’ life he had numerous troubles with women and this continued to show throughout the reign of his kingdom. Johnson and Wilentz saw that the empowerment of women in the Second Great Awakening was a factor in the demise of Matthias’ demise Kingdom. Matthias refuses the ideas of the Second Great Awakening by making sure that women in his kingdom are subordinate and condemns those who are not. [inserts thesis statement]
The Market Revolution drastically increased industry in the United States. Its emphasis on economic development caused people to limit the rights of others for the sake of expansion and progress. Liberty overall contracts during the Market Revolution since opportunities for economic freedom and personal liberty have been restricted for various groups because the new economic way of thinking amplified disparities that had already existed before the Market Revolution.
The Kingdom of Matthias by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz is a story of the rise and fall of a religious cult established by Robert Matthews (Matthias). Within his kingdom, Matthias and his followers, abided by Matthias, believes of the subjugation of women by men. Even though at the time the cult was in existence the United States was experiencing two great movements that urged the forward progression of women, the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening. Two women in particular are mentioned in Johnson and Wilentz’ book that were really suppressed by Matthias and his subjects. One was Isabella van Wagenen, the slave that worked in Mount Zion and even Matthias’ own daughter Isabella Matthews Laisdell. The Kingdom of Matthias
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
The video in slideshow 6 (Slideshow 6:4) presents information relating to the American industrial revolution after the Civil War. Several years following the Civil War saw the United States' emergence as an industrial nation. Old industries were expanded with new ones being founded. For instance, the country experienced the emergence of steel manufacturing industries, oil industries, and the development of electrical energy. In addition, the railroads expanded significantly with the large investments of over $100 million bonds. A successful middle class emerged, thereby making buying a common practice among all individuals unlikely previously, where only the wealthy were able to purchase products. Mining and agricultural practices experienced
Industrialization in the North caused social upheaval with the assistance of transportation innovation and the commercialization of agriculture. Paul E. Johnson uses Rochester, New York in the Antebellum period as a microcosm of the changes occurring in the North. He explains, “The loss of social control began, paradoxically, with the imposition of new and tighter controls over the process of labor.” This control over the process of labor sparked from the need to manufacture more goods