From: Anonymous Two
Date: 3/14/00
Time: 2:41:11 AM
Remote Name: 155.247.229.186
Define market economy and explain its significance for immigrants Native Americans, women, and blacks in the early 19th century. The market economy in America during the early 19th century consisted of any surplus produced by the typical farming household and manufactured items produced at home. As improved and more efficient transportation was developed providing "easier and cheaper" access to distant markets and technological improvements aided in production of commodities increased, commercial networks increased, and implemented the production of staple crops (ie. wheat in the North, tobacco and cotton in the South). Staple crops or specialized commercial crops forced a new system of marketing which began as bartering. Then credit between farmers and merchants increased as farmers relied on their crops as collateral with merchants. "The need for credit encouraged the economy's need for money and banking". The spurt of the Amrican market economy facilitated the need for many specialized tools and items to improve life in America. Immi- grants utilized theri cultural talents as artisans. Women dominated the production of clothing. Textile production shifted "from domestic to factory production" and women were the sole labor force. Economic progresss and Americans perception to improve life and prosper forced the Native Americans West of the Mississippi. Tribes that refused to leave were massacred.