Urban America

Urban America

The United States began as a European colony , flocked by a variety of settlers and migrants that included the Spanish , French Dutch , and British . Most early settlements were coastal , as no one had dared yet to venture into the untamed barrier that was the Appalachian Mountains .1 There were thirteen original colonies , and all of them led primarily rural livelihoods , relying on small-scale farming to produce their own needs . Candles , soap , food and beer were made in the home , and what they could not make they traded with other homes

for their own Small cities , centers of trade , were already in existence , but even up until the late 18th century , only 5 of the population at the time resided in these areas .2 As the small cities began to trade with other more established countries , the economic life was gradually boosted Soon , industries began to develop . Specialized operations such as saw mills and shipyards opened business . Iron manufacturing also began developing . Patterns of economic development would prevail from these early beginnings and would gradually become stable in the 18th century 3

By the end of the 18th century , however , the United States was still predominantly rural . A census in 1790 revealed that 95 of the population lived in the countryside .4 The South was particularly heavily countrified , mostly retaining its slave-supported staple crop plantations and

1 "An Outline of the American Economy " From Revolution to Reconstruction - an .HTML project , Internet , available from http /odur .let .rug .nl usa /ECO /1991 /ch3_p3 .htm , accessed 15 February 2007 , 3

2 "United States People " Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia available from http /encarta .msn .com /encyclopedia__10 /United_States_People .h tml , accessed 15 February 2007

3 "An Outline of the American Economy , 3

4 "United States People

other agricultural economies it had flourished on .5

Cities were centers for trade , political power and religious authority Society here was organized according to economic status . Most shops and businesses were located at the center , and so the rich class comprised of merchants , lawyers , and manufacturers built their townhouses at walking distance from where they worked , as well as to the docks , and offices . The middle class lived a little further from this area , and the poor lived further still , in the suburbs , away from urban amenities and the general bustle of transactions .6 When the United States obtained its independence , a new economy emerged , directly resulting from the provisions of the newly adopted U .S . Constitution It unified the states into a common ' market , and so no taxes and tariffs were levied on interstate commercial exchanges , while providing for uniform bankruptcy laws across states and fixed rules on patents and copyrights .7 The nation was fast shifting . Soon after independence it rapidly began towards modernization . Under the new constitution , the economy grew rapidly , and the Americans enjoyed a huge market within its bs . The Industrial Revolution , which was already raging in Britain by then , was slowly creeping in . The inventions from Britain were patronized by the...