How The Slave Trade Benefitted from The Market Revolution Price Fine HIST 2111 American History to 1865 Dr Scott Nesbit March 15 2021 Fine 2 In the early 19th century America began to form its own identity A nation of revolutionaries and immigrants the infant republic was striving to get forward much like a stream train running down the tracks To be better it needed to be bigger This universal ambition to get forward meant that to get ahead the nation needed to become more commercialized 1 To attain this goal a host of new technologies had to be integrated into American society These technologies and the usage of them resulted in the market revolution This revolution helped create a far more commercialized America The market revolution also saw advances in technology manufacturing and transportation but also created a horrible side effect The market revolution led to a need for more slaves due to increased needs for goods The articles and advertisements from newspapers around Georgia portrayed a vibrant and thriving domestic slave trade that further escalated due to the market revolution Early in the 19th century America began to unite the new technologies of the Industrial Revolution in an attempt to create a commercialized society A major technological advancement called steam power helped form railroads which made for a quicker transportation of goods Railroads also expanded areas of trade Due to the expanding market and the invention of new technologies farmers started to think in a new way According to the American Yawp Americans increasingly produced goods for sale not for consumption 2 This meant that farmers who produced for only family could now sell their product to be sold elsewhere An example of this could have been found in many newspaper advertisements at the time One example is inside the Savannah Georgian where it says 3000 bushels of Maryland white corn 1 Niles Weekly Register December 2 1815 238 Excerpted from The American Yawp 2 The American Yawp 8 2 Fine 3 for sale afloat by Hall Shapter Tupper 3 These farmers were able to sell their products domestically if they wanted to due to the new technologies and ideas to come out of the market revolution One of the most important products that was a result of new technologies was the textile mill The textile mill helped turn cotton into cloth The market revolution and a man named Francis Lowell helped speed up the manufacturing process to be quick and efficient The amount of cotton related products increased dramatically While the conditions were harsh and the wages low the manufacturing boom continued Other industries felt the impact of the market revolution and manufacturing boom as well Craftsmen realized they needed to keep up with the demand for products that they made The manufacturing boom also impacted how manufacturers hired workers As stated in the American Yawp the old system was out The old paternalistic apprentice system which involved long term obligations between apprentice and master gave way to a more impersonal and more flexible labor system in which unskilled laborers could be hired and fired as the market dictated 4 However textile companies made incredible amounts of money with many different corporations being valued over 100 000 5 The entire thing was fueled by the cotton and the plantation south In the south before Eli Whitney s cotton gin there were few plantations However with the invention of the cotton gin the speed of cotton production dramatically increased which helped cotton farmers sell the crop to domestic and international markets The crop s value rose exponentially Its value only rose higher when large northern textile mills could manufacture the cotton In 1859 according to the American Yawp cotton s exports skyrocketed to 4 541 000 3 Savannah Georgian March 22 1827 Image 3 4 American Yawp 8 4 5 Philip Scranton Proprietary Capitalism The Textile Manufacture at Philadelphia 1800 1885 New York Cambridge University Press 1983 12 Excerpted from the American Yawp Chapter 8 Fine 4 bales 6In an article the Savannah Georgian lists transactions of a past week MARKETS The transactions this week have been extensive the import is 10 289 and the sales including those by auction yesterday amount to 10 550 bags 7 As the demand for more cotton increased the slave trade only thrived more Slaves would be traded in the streets of Georgia towns almost every day with most listings in the newspapers One listing in the Savannah Georgian advertises FOR SALE TWENTY prime Negroes 8Another listing for a slave appears in the Augusta Chronicle and Georgia Advertiser says Sheriff s Sale Will be sold at Columbia Court house on the first Tuesday in April 9 In advertisements in the newspapers depictions of runaway slaves would also appear In the Augusta Chronicler and Georgia Advertiser a runaway is described and a Twenty Five Dollar Reward is presented to the person who can find them 10With the rise of cotton and the demand of the northern textile mills the slave trade was more vibrant and livelier than ever The articles and advertisements shown in these newspapers gave off a warning that slavery was there to stay in the south The market revolution set off a chain reaction that would affect the slave trade in Georgia With increasing demands for product from the textile mills cotton farmers had to meet those demands by acquiring more slaves to get more cotton Plantation farms became common place all around the South shutting down smaller cotton farms Due to the staggering income that these plantations made slavery had no chance of shutting down in Georgia The Market Revolution was a direct result of that 6 American Yawp 8 3 7 Savannah Georgian March 23 1827 Image 2 8 Savannah Georgian March 20 1827 Image 2 9 Augusta Chronicler and Georgia Advertiser March 14 1827 Image 1 10 Augusta Chronicler and Georgia Advertiser March 14 1827 Image 3 Bibliography Fine 5 For New York Marine and Insurance Savannah Georgian March 22 1827 Image 3 https gahistoricnewspapers galileo usg edu lccn sn83016084 1827 03 22 ed 1 seq 3 For Sale The Market Savannah Georgian March 20 1827 Image 2 https gahistoricnewspapers galileo usg edu lccn sn83016084 1827 03 20 ed 1 seq 2 Kelly Arehart et al Market Revolution Jane Fiegen Green ed in The American Yawp eds Joseph Locke and Ben Wright Stanford CA Stanford University Press 2018 http www americanyawp com text 08 the market revolution VII Conclusion Liverpool Markets Feb 3 Cotton Wool