The six decades of the 19th century before the Civil War is a period, in history, when America experienced tremendous economic growth as well as social modernization. Statistics indicate there was a significant improvement in the economy in the United States between the year 1790 and the year 1860 especially due to increased manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation. Some of the events that were significant for the country’s economy included the European ear outbreak in the year 1793, imposition of Embargo at the close of the year 1870 and the signing of the 1814 peace treaty which brought peace to America. In this essay, I will consider agriculture and transportation as the most significant forces for economic growth in America between 1790 and 1860.
The economy of the country gradually transformed into a complex industrial system and by early 1790’s the country was politically stable, and the economy had improved largely due to the contribution of the agricultural sector (Lyles & Lyles, 2003). The growth of agricultural sector was more evident in the country’s eastern part as more agricultural farms continued to emerge. Besides the exportation, these farms supplied plenty of food for the already increased urban population in the eastern. However, most of the farming was used to provide food for families and small local markets. As more farms continued to emerge, laborers continued to increase until the beginning of Civil War. Although a majority of rural farmers migrated to the urban areas in search of work in various factories, farming continued to expand tremendously as the number of people working in these farms continued to increase (Hannickel, 2013).
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Most of the poor lands in the south were owned by poor white farmers while the most productive lands were owned by the rich plantation owners who depended on slaves to work on their farms. Although a majority of the farmers focused on subsistence farming, some of them grew few crops for export to Europe. Some of the export crops included cotton, sugar, and tobacco. As the main export crop, cotton was largely grown in Alabama and Mississippi valley whereas sugar was largely grown in Lousiana (Lyles & Lyles, 2003).
Some of the factors that led to the growth of agriculture in the United States were the construction of canals and introduction of steamboats which helped farmers to traverse rivers more easily. The development of railroads networks led to the expansion of agricultural cultivation in the west as it opened up new territories for farming in the area (Hannickel, 2013).This development of convenient transport not only opened up new areas for farming but also helped the farmers to have easy access to markets in the urban areas where they could sell their produce. Railroad investment increased at the beginning of the year 1835 as a result of the investment made not only by the government but also companies in the private sector. Although the transport revolution, at this time, increased accessibility to agricultural areas and stimulated crop cultivation, the full impact of the transportation revolution was felt after the year 1860 (Hannickel, 2013).
It’s an undeniable fact that the eve of civil war caught the economy of the United States in transition. Towards the civil war, the North was shifting towards a manufacturing economy as the northern states produced the largest percentage of the country’s manufacturing output. Concerning the agricultural sector, agriculture in the north became more mechanized and farmers in the northern states produced more than farmers in the south. The most significant impact of changes in agricultural production in the south was the growth of slave economy. This slave economy helped transform America’s economy as it approached the eve of civil war in the sense that it provided financial resources for the development of industries in the country and more specifically, in the North.
References
Hannickel, E. (2013). Empire of vines: Wine culture in America . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Lyles, L. D., & Lyles, E. T. (2003). Historical Development of Capitalism in the United States and Its Affects on the American Family: From Colonial Times to 1920 . iUniverse.
