Charles Sellers's The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America

In Charles Sellers’s book The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815-1846 (1994), he wrote about how the Market Revolution was not only a defining moment for America, but also the world. America had recently broken free of English rule and was determined to become a free and independent country. This determination led to many changes in politics, social attitudes, economics, urbanization, and self-reliance. And because of this, the rest of the world had to do the same. England did not have the “colonies” to rely on for free money or textiles; they now had to pay for them if they wanted them. War across Europe spurred the same attitudes and now everyone was developing and creating a place in the world for themselves.
In America, the Market Revolution changed America from a subsistence culture to a self-sufficient Market Society. Commerce was transformed from a meager local endeavor to a regional, national, and international system.
Improvements in transportation (roads, maritime, rail, etc.) communications (telegraph, postal), and banking strengthened domestic manufacturing and created supply and demand on a much larger scale. Industry was now paying a wage and the middle and working-classes emerged (Schultz, 2013).
America was expanding westward and new crops were being cultivated. Foreign imports were not as important as they once were when the colonies were originally established. The banking institution emerged and started making loans for the westward expansion and industry growth.
The Market Revolution was not all peaches and cream. Places like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia grew in leaps and bounds and so did a growth in crime, poverty and classes. The wealthy stuck together, married within their circles and caused divides between the haves and have-nots. There was also overcrowding in the large cities, which gave way to diseases such as cholera and yellow-fever. Due to an unregulated expansion, events like the Great Fire of New York in 1835 took place. The rapid growth also caused ups and downs in the economy. The Great Panic of 1837 caused high rates of unemployment and bankruptcy in business due to unregulated speculation and growth - our first real estate bubble (HBS, 2017).
Along with the urban growth came political issues – Second Party System.
In a nutshell, the wealthy (Whigs) were the beneficiaries of the growth – the elites; and the Democrats were the defenders of the working class. The growth also thrust women and children into the workforce. As the wealthy became wealthier, the middle and poor workers had to have all family members contribute to keep afloat.
The growth also brought up concerns about the environment. Though not immediately addressed with regulation, the living conditions of people in larger cities were a real issue. Air pollution, clean drinking water and sewage disposal were health and safety concerns.
In conclusion, America experienced substantial growing pains on all levels during the 19th century. Though not addressed in this chapter, Transcendentalism becomes more apparent with works by Emerson and Thoreau. The government’s actions or inactions towards slavery, politics, and Native Americans spawn some of the most famous writings of the time (Goodman,
2017).