Advocates of the new wage labor system felt that with the market revolution, the right to compete for economic advancement was considered essential to American freedom. Expanding commercial life opened doors for bankers and merchants and created a new middle class of clerks, accountants, and other professionals, such as teachers, doctors, and lawyers. Enterprising Americans could quickly find prosperity by taking advantage of opportunities that existed in the new economy. Success could be achieved through hard work and intelligence and not hereditary privilege or government favoritism, as had been the case in Europe. Inspiration was found in stories of men like John Jacob Astor, the son of a poor German immigrant who became the richest man
