The period of history during the Antebellum era saw many economic developments. Most historians that happen to be Economic Historians tend to say the period of the Antebellum era was between 1840s and the 1850s. Throughout this time many advancements in technology occurred as well as in the way people use that technology. Advancements in places such as the market economy, King cotton, textile mills, transportation, and slavery were just a few aspects that saw an advancement during the Antebellum era. This time period is the time period when the economy started to boom at enormous rates.
The Economic Historians said that is was a period of advancement in the way things were produced economically, as well as improvements in transportation and the way different materials were distributed, also in the way goods were manufactured at the time. The way people and the economy consumed those materials also saw a major change, which is one of the most important aspects. During the time of the Antebellum period the issue of slavery and its expansion caused a political divide in the country at the time of this period.
It resulted in political and social fighting with people arguing the question of whether a state should be a slave state or a free state. The views on slavery continued to cause many problems with anti-slavery groups and organizations becoming strong in the North, while the people who wanted slavery began to rally in the Southern states. At the start of the Antebellum period the United States was a group of states primarily in the areas on the Atlantic coast. By the civil war the United States was a continental power with states on both sides of the continent.
When the Antebellum period started the borders of the United States were unknown. When the period came to a close the borders of the continental United States were set. The Antebellum era in American history was a period of continuous western expansion. In the Eastern half of the country the Native Americans were not a problem after the indian removal act led to the force removal of the majority of Native Americans moving west of the Mississippi River opening up their lands to white settlers.
The Antellibrum period was an era of rapid technological change, change that transformed America. During these years the first major changes brought by the older existing technology made the building of the Erie canal possible. This opened up the Midwest for settlement and trade. Soon after more major advancements came by the introduction of railroads. The railroads quickly created a single interdependent economy for the United States. Railroads rapidly changed the time it took to travel from one place to another.
Finally the introduction of the Telegram during the Antebellum period drastically transformed communication. It helped make news instant, they were not able to send a lot of information at once. However it drastically changed the way everything was done, from standard communication, to communication during a period of war. The face of America changed radically during the Antebellum period, the population of the United States went from nine million too close to thirty million during this period.
While the United States remained an overwhelmingly a rural country, the percentage of people living in American cities continued to grow, from six percent of the population to close to nineteen percent of the population. Those nineteen percent represented six million citizens. The cultural composition of America was changing rapidly aswell, with new immigrants from countries such as Germany, Scandinavia, and Ireland joining the early Americans who were mostly from England. In the South cotton was a huge part of the economy. Cotton for the most part was the only thing the South had to keep the relevant.
It was extremely profitable for both the states and the ranch owners. That is until they continued to overplant cotton and eventually took most of the nutrients and soil needed to grow the cotton. Advancements such as Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin and others such as the sewing machines and power looms caused an increase in demand from the cotton from the Northern states. Throughout this time period the plantation owners were able to buy land at extremely low sums of money. In order to keep the plantations running smoothly, they needed to purchase slaves.
Slavery was the perfect answer for the plantation owners, because it provided a strong labor source that could not quiet or demand more money, but they also insured that the labor source would continue for generations. The increasing demand for slaves, as well as the ban of purchasing slaves from Africa, cause the price of slaves to sky rocket. Making it more profitable for smaller farmers to sell their sales to the West or farther South. Slavery was a huge part of the economy for the south, and the Antebellum period only increased the need for slaves, with advancements in technology and transportation.
The Antebellum period saw many technological advancements in the time from the 1840s to the 1850s. Advancements in the market economy, King Cotton, textile mills, transportation, and slavery were only part of the items that saw technological and social advancements. The technological and social advancements during the Antebellum period had a huge impact on American history, including expansion to the western part of the country, a more of a population shift, moments that directly led to the civil war, and the ending of slavery and the starting of different movements.
