1800-1850's Economic Culture

Superior Essays
From the moment the first Europeans stepped onto this continent the Americas have gone through changes, and those perpetual changes helped shape the United States as we know it today. Once this country was vast and sparsely populated with native Indians, then the foreigners came and slowly pushed the Indians west. By the 1770’s the United States pushed Great Britain away because of the infractions against the citizen’s liberties, resulting in the American Revolution in 1775. As Americans claimed their independence with the signing of the treaty of Paris and the creation of the declaration of Independence, a new order of government had to be created. The Articles of Confederation became the basis for building the new national government. Additionally, …show more content…
One of the most important creations in 1847 was the cotton gin, produced by Eli Whitney. This is of extreme significance because the cotton gin; reduced need for slave labor, increased profit, and lead America to producing 60% of the world’s cotton. Another economic impact was the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, which was a connection that crossed New York State and linked the New York Harbor to the Great Lakes, which spurred economic opportunities for New York City to become a national shipping center. With the prospect of commercial transportation by way of the Erie Canal, this encouraged westward expansion and prosperity to all towns and cities along the banks because of its shipping and trading ability. This forever changed the way Americans exercised commercial business exchange. Additionally in 1825, the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in Lowell, Massachusetts impressed on the economy reliability by setting the standard for expectations of workers with specific rules of employment such as; be on time, no absence or breaks without consent from your overseer, employee must worship on the Sabbath day, room, board, and monthly wages would be provided. The rise of the American factory caused a more permanent working class which was heavily regulated and if the employees did not follow the rules they would quickly be blacklisted and prevented from finding further employment in the area. Even though the rules where strict, economically, it provided a form of stable employment which gave rise to the middle class and eventually the beginning of the industrial revolution. When considering economic culture of the United States; the invention of the cotton gin, the creation of the Erie Canal, and the rise of the

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