History Essay: Market Revolution and Freedom in the United States

This essay examines the profound changes brought about by the Market Revolution in the United States from 1793 to 1909, focusing on its impact on freedom and labor practices. The essay details the shift from manual labor to industrial production, highlighting the rise of factories, wage labor, and the exploitation of workers, including women and children. It explores the expansion of slavery and immigration, and the denial of freedom to marginalized groups. The essay discusses key figures and movements that challenged these conditions, such as Sarah Bagley's advocacy for shorter working hours, the rise of individualism by Ralph Emerson, and the Second Great Awakening led by Charles Grandson Finney. It concludes by emphasizing the complex relationship between economic growth, social reform, and the evolving concept of freedom during this transformative period in American history, with references to the works of Eric Foner, and the writings of Henry David Thoreau.

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Market Revolution and Freedom in the United States
1793 to 1909 is the duration of time marked in the United States calendar as the year when there
were drastic changes in the economy and infrastructure following the market revolution. The
regime change in the market system following revolution originated from the south to North
America and the entire world. The change brought about infrastructure changes, and these
included improved transport and communication systems as well as increased factories and
industrial production, which in turn affected the manual labor system and so is the freedom at
large.
This early republican economic development that led to an increased number of factories and
industries added on to the number of deskilled workers, mostly women and start of the wage-
labor implementation. However, it was not the way to freedom because there was a considerable
gap in terms of the workers in the factory and for this reason, children were added to the workers
including those as young as ten years old and these escalated cases of child labor ((Foner, 2013
pg. 261-262). Immigration and slavery also expanded, and this meant denial of freedom to
humans, especially the black Americans and Indians who had moved to the United States in
search of greener pastures. Even before the revolution of the market in the United States, there
was Chesapeake slavery and slave trade that was rampant in north parts in the late 1760s. The
degree was escalated in the market revolution times due to the high demand of people to work in
the expanding industrial production ((Foner, 2013 pg. 112). To the Americans, the immigrants,
women, and children were to work and facilitate the intended product, and this bound the
freedom of the oppressed.

The term freedom was not in the minds of neither the Americans nor the oppressed until when
one individual ignited the step. Sarah Bagley was working in a cotton mill in Massachusetts in
1836. She was active in pushing the reform that aimed at allowing the workers and operatives of
the mills have shorter working advocating for 10 hours of work per day. This was the first
awakening call towards attaining a free individual ((Foner, 2013 pg. 267-268). Sarah’s campaign
led to the start of the Lowell system plan where a plan to work for ten hours was introduced to
the workers with most beneficiaries being women and children; it was such a liberation to the
mill girls as they were called. This amendment succeeded and was passed by the president
Martine Buren. Due to the widespread of the campaign, other states also adopted the amendment
like the case of New Hampshire in 1847. In 1848, Pennsylvania allowed the contract through
with the additional condition of approving the workers to do their duties beyond the ten hours
with their own consents and willing.
After the passage of the Lowell system, immediately the protection against child labor started
gaining momentum. It, however, did not take as long as the first push before being amended.
Children were in the category of being protected against working past ten hours a day, and it
states from Massachusetts spreading to other states, including New England. However, the
children’s freedom amendment had an additional value of schooling opportunities and extension
of age brackets of the permitted labor.
The 1840s a first awakening call for freedom was seconded in Ralph Emerson’s document,
“voices of freedom.” This awakening started in 1837 with individualism which was a system
denoting the start of the freedom to independence and self-reliance to the slaves. Even though the
dominant theme of Emerson was self-reliance, towards freedom, he also encouraged on the need

of the individuals to be of courage and brave which are aspects that lead to happiness that in turn
will influence actions and choices. The choices and actions, according to Emerson, were to be of
enormous positive output to the entire society. As evidence that actually the movements bore
success, it was a letter written by an Ireland immigrant to the United States in 1850. The letter
was addressed to her parents denoting how the life of the workers western and southern of the
US was ((Foner, 2013 pg. 273). From the letter, which was to act as a guide to her fellow
immigrants, Margaret McCarthy urges her parents to join her in the US noting on the prospects
of the economy as well as the state of the slaves. Touching on the pessimistic aspect, Margaret
adds that the paw was minimal, and thus only the brave and courageous would survive.
Another milestone that was of significance to the freedom of the United States was the second
awakening step by a Presbyterian leader Charles Grandson Finney. As a Christian he encouraged
the change of the controlling perspective that involved self-interest to controlled choices of
actions that were dominated by happiness and the will of God ((Foner, 2013 pg. 268). This move
aimed at regaining freedom from a godly religious perspective that started from the change in
mind to the actions. This movement of liberty was followed by the emergence of Mormonism
which aimed at leading people to live Christ-like lives upon being forgiven sins and was
advocating a “living liberty” (Foner, 2013) pg. 277). The idea of self-reliance in the freedom
aspect was also reinforced by Henry David Thoreau in his “Walden” and seconded by Emerson,
and this simply showed how vital the term was in freedom. In terms of impact, the second
awakening was associated with much freedom than the first one, and to the workers, this meant
that their social systems were slowly being restored (Foner, 2011 pg. 14).

In conclusion, the late 18th century and the entire 9th century in the American calendar were
marked with slavery and oppression of the women, children, and the immigrants both from
Africa and Ireland. The idea of freedom was not in the minds of the Americans for all they had in
mind been increased production and continued economic growth. Upon the market revolution,
the slavery intensity tripled, and this hit the core of the workers. To the American, the idea of
freedom was slowly turning to reduced production, which to some extent, it was not the case.
Instead, independence was granted to allow workers to reconstruct their social systems. It was
for this reason that some Americans got involved in the fight for freedom, including Charles
Finney, Henry Thoreau, and Emerson.

References
1. Foner, Eric. "Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History, vol. 2." New York and
London: WW Norton & Company (2011).
2. Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: Seagull Fourth Edition. Vol. 1. WW
Norton & Company, 2013.