The Push And Pull Factors In The U.S Between 1815 And 1860

THE PUSH AND PULL FACTORS IN THE U.S BETWEEN 1815 AND 1860
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The Push and Pull Factors in the U.S between 1815 and 1860
The United States of America has a rich history. It was a period that saw the population of the U.S grow rapidly as immigrants from Europe came in hoping for a better future. This coincided with industrial boom in the U.S on the way to making the country the fasted growing industrial nation. However, in the face of these developments, there were several events that threatened to pull the country apart or bring it together especially between 185 and 1860. In this essay, I argue that market revolution and the rise of religion and reform were the major events that pulled the country together while the sectional crisis did threaten to pull the country apart.
Market revolution is considered to be the major event that “remade” the U.S. It was characterized by a shift from regional and local markets to the national markets. It was during the market revolution that a commercial nation came into being. The revolution swept across the U.S, enabling people to work for a common goal. Whereas the revolution gave the people a sense of purpose, it did help to spur slavery. Over time, migrants from Europe started flowing into the U.S in large numbers, looking for a better life. Between 1820 and 1860, there were more than five million immigrants into the U.S. The immigrants were mainly from Europe. The revolution did help to reshape the lives of Americans leading to the civil war. People in the U.S were able to produce foods but most of it was for sale and not consumption NOTEREF _Ref526540138 \f \h 1. The economy of the U.S began to grow and there were a number of developments including better transport network and labor-saving technology. Whereas the market revolution did bring hopes of economic progress to the Americans, it did come with new problems such as increased slavery, child labor, and class conflict NOTEREF _Ref526540138 \f \h 1. However, for all the issues raised, market revolution did change the way of life for several Americans.[Douglass C. North, Economic Growth in the United States, 1790–1860 (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1961), 25.] [Broadman, Anthony E., and Michael P. Weber. "Economic growth and occupational mobility in 19th century urban America: a reappraisal." Journal of Social History 11, no. 1 (1977): 52-74.]
While the early century did come with immense changes in the U.S, the concern for people was how their morals will be able to hold to the challenges that came with these changes. In order to be able to manage these transformations, many Americans turned to social reforms and spiritual revivalism. This helped to reignite the protestant spirituality. There are a number of worshippers who traversed the U.S with an evangelism mission. This was the period known as the “Second Great Awakening”. The evangelists formed into groups that sought to bring back hope to the people by addressing the social wills with the objective of eradicating the moral vice that was prominent within the U.S NOTEREF _Ref526538510 \f \h 1. They addressed various issues including inequality against women, slavery, and alcohol...