Major Aspects of the Market Revolution and the Changes in the US During the Early 1800s

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Introduction: The Market Revolution
The market revolution (1793-1909) was America's most active economic, social, and political period that started in the south and later spread across the world. The market revolution marked a spontaneous change in the manual labor force, and more so, the traditional commerce improved primarily due to the advancement in communication, transportation, and industries. The market revolution saw massive growth in large-scale manufacturing, increased trade, and a decline in overall import volume. As a result of changes in the industrial and transport sectors, there was a significant increase in wage labor. More so, there was an agricultural explosion in the south and west, particularly in cotton farming, which triggered extensive economic expansion. The market revolution had significant impacts on the US's broader social, economic, and political changes during the early 1800s and post-1800. The market revolution triggered massive economic growth and extensive growth of personal wealth and created a vast lower class of property-less workers (Locke and Ben Wright 201). Many Americans were forced to labor for low wages and almost got trapped in endless cycles of poverty as capitalists took advantage of their cheap labor.
The South and the Cotton Gin
The commercialization of agriculture in the 1800s was a significant stride to realizing major economic growth in the USA. Eli Whitney's cotton gin significantly revolutionized the cotton industry in the southern region in 1793. With the cotton gin, it meant that machines could now do the labor-intensive processes. The cotton engine separated cotton fiber from seeds and made work much easier for workers who were mainly slaves. The invention of the Gin meant that cotton became a profitable industry, which created many fortunes for the people in the south (Locke and Ben Wright 190). The American plantation owners benefited from this technology as it allowed them to compete in the world market through cotton export. However, while cotton gin reduced the labor-intensive nature of cotton farming, it did not reduce the need to engage slaves in the exercise of picking and cotton. The innovation created more room for slavery mainly because cotton farming became so profitable that American plantation owners increased their land and slave labor demand.
Advancements in the West
Market revolution triggered a systemwide expansion and innovation, especially in agriculture. John Deere invented the horse-pulled steel plow, which replaced the oxen-driven wooden plows used by American farmers for many centuries. The new horse-pulled steel plow ensured that farmers tilled large scale of land within the shortest time possible. The invention of Cyrus McCormick's mechanical po...