HISTORY 23 American History I : Agricultural Reconstruction of U.S

Uniting the Nation: Economic Growth 

 

Write a paper that explains what factors accounted for the tremendous growth in the American economy between 1790 and 1860. Below are some items to consider. (Please refer to at least two of these in your response.)

 

Changes in communications
Changes in transportation
Changes in agricultural production

Introduction:

Economic and social growth of a nation is the most important development that ensures its rise and survival in the world map. The United States of America went through several up gradation in the economic and social growth and reconstruction.

These changes took place between the year of 1790 and 1860. Six long decades of the nineteenth century saw the United States transform itself both economically and socially from the American Revolutionary War until the American Civil War. The United States took a huge leap in transformation through the changes that came along the building up of a massive and intricate industrial structure (Bruchey, 2013).

With the help of this essay, the intricate changes and the factors that revolutionized the economic and social transformation of the United States of America has been analyzed and justified

Agricultural Reconstruction of U.S

Towards the mid nineteenth century, the American economy that was dependent on the localized commerce and small term farming took a turn towards a matured development widely reaching the capitalist market place (Osterhammel, 2014).

By the year of 1860, more than half a million of the American population was localized in the western part of the Appalachian mountain. The conditions alongside the entire Atlantic seaboard facilitated the migration of the population. The soil of New England was unsuitable for the production of crops beyond the level of sustenance resulting in the steady re location of the population towards the western part to take the advantages of the rich and fertile land towards the interior of the continent. Thin turn began to intensify the agricultural empire of America (Boyer et al., 2013).

Many people from parts of Carolina, Virginia and the deeper south also started relocating towards the west due to the exhaustion of the soil fertility. By the nineteenth century, more and more people began settling there and the condition gradually improved. Farmland in the west was easier to acquire since new land laws began reducing the price of land holdings. The pioneer families gradually settle and started complete transformation of the land. The wild vegetations and the trees were cleared for the cultivation purposes. Grains, vegetable and fruits were being sown and reaped for consumption and commercial purpose.

Flourishing agricultural development in the U.S during the period of the early decades of the nineteenth century marked a new era of growth in the American economy (Osterhammel, 2014). Agricultural farms was fundamental in the supplying of food and cash crops to the growing urban areas that gradually became the robust base of economy. The agricultural development continued till the arrival of the American Civil War.

Transportation Developments

In the late eighteenth century, the early methods of travel and transportation still prevailed. The waterborne travelling methods were uncertain and dangerous, covered wagon and stagecoach in the rough terrains was uncomfortable (Raitz, 2014). Americans began realizing the fact that transportation networks would increase the land value and stimulate the domestic and foreign trade, thus strengthening the American economy. This paved the way for the construction of broad paved highways known as the Turnpikes.

The success of the steamboats played a huge role in the transportation facilities that made the rivers and canals accessible and paved newer ways of transportation and commerce (Shaw, 2014).

Construction of railroads was another important milestone in the American history that facilitated the purpose of transportation and commerce. By the year of 1860, over 30,000 miles of railroad tracks were seen in the U.S.

Communication Developments

  Communications in the late 1800s were restricted and the local citizen ran the earlier postal systems themselves. Postal carriers on horses usually carried the postal documents. The postal packages could not be transported since they were expensive and time consuming. The invention of the Telegraph made a leap in the era of communication (Hochfelder, 2012). The telegraph wires were stung in along with the railway tracks. Another important invention was made in the late 1800s, which was telephone, although it was introduced in the year of 1974.

Conclusion:

With the help of this essay, it can be justified that the year from 1790 to the year of 1860 saw newer growth and development in the American communication, transportation and agricultural sectors. Although the nation had to face slight hiccups due to the period of self-reliability, yet the nation was successful in overcoming the friction. The industrialization and commerce saw the growth and rise of an independent nation that gradually transformed the entire demographics, better than the early years and in the future.

References:

Boyer, P. S., Clark, C. E., Halttunen, K., Kett, J. F., & Salisbury, N. (2013). The enduring vision: A history of the American people. Cengage Learning.

Bruchey, S. (2013). Roots of American Economic Growth 1607-1861: An Essay on Social Causation. Routledge.

Hochfelder, D. (2012). The telegraph in America, 1832–1920. JHU Press.

Osterhammel, J. (2014). The transformation of the world: a global history of the nineteenth century. Princeton University Press.

Raitz, K. (2014). Making Connections via Roads, Rivers, Canals, and Rails. North American Odyssey: Historical Geographies for the Twenty-first Century, 117.

Shaw, R. E. (2014). Canals for a nation: the canal era in the United States, 1790-1860. University Press of Kentucky.