american economic history

American Economic History

The 19th century was marked by rapid economic growth and industrialization . These transformations were influenced by changes in production modes and labor supply , new political and social landscape Perhaps the most fundamental change was the emergence of industrial relations and existence of slavery

At the beginning of the 19th century , slavery was the main driven force of economic development . In the second half of the 19th century mechanization of farm production supported rapid growth of economy and export trade . The strength of the agriculture was that it remained

the core of economy and wealth accumulation . In 1892 , John Froelich (Iowa built the first tractor . The main advantage of the South was its developing agriculture , which supported the rapid economic growth of the whole country . Owners of the cotton plantations were interested in cheap labor in to extend their crop areas . African slaves were the only source of cheap labor supply meeting the needs of growing economy

Industrialization and urbanization processes were also a basis for rapid changes in all spheres of life : mass production and changes in shipping industry , the raising of material production , independent work and new technology (the "Spinning Jenny " and the Textile Mills , water power etc . In general , these changes were a part of the historical process and industrialization in Europe which depended upon American cotton production . New factories needed more raw materials for production , and South planters were interested in bigger sown areas requiring more labor force . The improved economic conditions in Europe led to decline of European labor in America . Former immigrants returned to Europe or moved to the North of America where more money can be made . The North had started to dominate industrially , but this industrialization resulted in scarce labor resource in the South . The greater the specialization of production the more extensive and complex were market operations . This would be socially beneficial , for the market was the context within which the actions of the self-interested were co-coordinated for mutual benefit (Licht , 1995

Another economic factor was importance of trade between Europe and America which demanded rapid industrial and agricultural growth of the Southern and Northern states , and transatlantic slave trade which became the important source of power and wealth accumulation for European and American traders . During the 18th - 19th centuries , transatlantic trade between America and Europe increased greatly becoming an integral part of capitalist relations . Also , the Revolutionary War and independence created new opportunities for labor relations and free market . The James Monroe administration , President Grant and Roosevelt introduced new economic reforms and labor relations which supported economic development of the country

The emergence of new classes , capitalists and workers , changed social landscape of the society . Given the irreconcilable conflict of interests between capital and labor , the outstanding feature of capitalist society was class conflict . One of the sharpest contradictions of capitalism was precisely that between the social character of production and the individualist basis of ownership . Social conflict was a feature of the transition between older and...