HIST289R 2 3 2015 Key terms 02 03 2015 Market revolution American system Free produce Nonintercourse rebel consumerism 3 9 million people live on farms producer society in early 19th century Market revolution is a prologue to the Industrial Revolution Early 19th century Small local markets Everything is very rural Produce things for themselves o Not buying a lot of things Own fewer things No infrastructure in early US People pay on credit do not use money No shopping for luxury items Market Revolution Roughly 1800 1860 Internal improvements and innovations o Transportation o Communication o Production Manufacturing Transportation Canals are more common o People travelling on steamships o Erie Canal was the most prominent Railroads were a faster method of transportation o Expanded across the country Communication Telegraph made communication quicker Production Manufacturing American system using interchangeable parts No longer relied on one skilled worker Need one person to make one part of a product Eli Whitney credited with bringing this to America Mills and factories were water powered o Combined with the American system to expedite production Impact of Market Revolution Home manufactures could be mass produced and transported More goods cheaper goods and more uniformity People using actual money to buy goods Self sufficiency replaced by independence Anonymity in production and consumption New ways to access goods Peddlers were a new system US still predominantly rural Peddlers were middle men between cities and rural areas Peddlers were mostly European immigrants Sometimes shady figures Medicine Men were like peddlers Travelled to different towns Sold different medical remedies Displayed extravagant magic shows to convince people to buy products Medicine Men and Peddlers connected rural society to cities Antebellum North Cities are developing rapidly here People have a wide variety of goods Wage laborers were common in the North in factories Working conditions were poor in the factories Antebellum South Relied on slave labor Cotton became an incredibly important product o Very common in the South o South remained rural due to the boom with cotton Mostly rely on North for their goods North and South rely on each other Over 2 million slaves sold in the antebellum period Slaves could be moved from place to place They can reproduce and result in more workers Slaves transformed Southerners identities o Number of slaves dictated an owner s wealth Free produce movement Boycott of goods made through slave labor Occurred in the North Movement was eventually a failure o Could not compete with the products of the South Nonintercourse rebel consumerism Boycotting northern goods and promoting southern industry Movement occurred in the South Wanted to bring more manufacturing to the South Impact of 19th century boycotts Laid the groundwork for future consumer activism Acknowledged the need for consumer goods and advocated for alternative purchases Argued that consumers not merchants had the power to change the economy Northern homefront Southern homefront Large population better transportation better industry Soldiers were more prepared for war Consumerism was used as a positive tool for the Union war effort Industry increased during the civil War Largely depended on the North for goods and food before the war Less infrastructure Smaller population than the North Faced a crisis of consumerism during the war Industrialization 02 03 2015 2 5 2015 Key terms Gilded Age Conspicuous consumption Vertical integration Term coined by Mark Twain Period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath Period of extremes o More millionaires o Mansions in cities and summer homes in Newport o One half to two thirds of population remained poor o Overcrowded and unhealthy tenements Changes in business in the late 19th century New technologies and increased infrastructure and business expansion Increased mechanization in factories meant goods could be produced faster and then sold at lower prices Businesses expanded in both size and scale o More workers stockholders management officials Horizontal integration Buying other companies that market a similar product Standard Oil bought everyone s oil wells Vertical integration Owning a product from its origins to its distribution Working class people relied on a consumer and leisure culture Needed a break from their difficult and monotonous work Immigrants proudly spent money on American goods o Wanted to be viewed as Americans o Abandoned their old world styles Robber Barons or Titans of Industry Incredibly powerful in American politics Practicing conspicuous consumption o Thorstein Veblen described it as the buying of useless and expensive things o Making sure other people know you bought the products o Idea was to create a new social status through consumption Conspicuous philanthropy also coined by Veblen o Giving away a lot of money and being recognized for it o Vanderbilt University Rockefeller Center Cargenie Library Newport was the center of conspicuous consumption o People lived there 6 weeks per year o Houses flaunt wealth Effects of modern consumerism Positive o Variety of goods available at low cost o Relieves mind numbing drudgery of some home production o Concerns about moral values in a culture based on Negative consumerism o Progressive Era 2 10 2015 02 03 2015 Key terms Pure Food and Drug Act Meat Act Inspection Act National Consumers League Major Progressive Tactics Regulation of industry o Break up trusts into smaller groups through lawsuits and legislation Consumer protection laws Organizing positive buying campaigns to help businesses with good records on worker safety and product safety Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle Sought to expose inhumane working conditions Public outrage over the business practices Unintended focus by the public Roosevelt was pressured to act on the industry Went to Congress and petitioned for a Meatpacking law o Law was eventually passed Americans were weary of travelling medical salesmen People wanted regulation on the new drugs Most of the drugs had no healing effects Pure Food and Drug Act went to Congress in 1906 Forbids the manufacture sale or transportation of poisonous patent drugs Only applied to interstate trade Penalties were not very severe Required salesmen to list ingredients of their products Created the FDA to inspect and investigate any issues Act set the groundwork for future consumer protection