The Market Economy

1. Chapter 9: What is meant by the Market Economy? How did it change America?

The Market Economy represents the enhancement of transportation as it pertains to buying, selling, and trading goods. With better transportation, costs of shipping freight decreased while also the speed of shipping materials long distances increased. This allowed for a new economic system where everyone benefited such as farmers, manufacturers, etc. Farmers were able to produce and ship more crops without having to pay ridiculous prices for the cost of transportation. Improved transportation of crops and goods in and out of different states across America due to canals steamboats allowed the people living in America to grow financially. Advancements in technology
The owners of the slaves (African Americans) ruled their lives and made sure they knew that the whites were in charge of them. This left the slaves with no life of their own to live. Slave owners used physical means to keep slaves obedient to their commands. Slaves were usually kept working in cotton fields from dawn to dusk for majority of the week. Women and children of the slaves were also forced to work in these cotton fields. African Americans dealt with the oppression they faced under slavery, good in the beginning even though they had to deal with a lot of punishment and torture from their masters. Laws were taken into place for the blacks that refrained from the formation of groups without the supervision of whites and they also were not allowed to write or read. The slave owners believed that these laws would keep their slaves under their control and would prevent rebellion against them. The African American family, kinship, and community prevented slavery from becoming depressing. Most slaves tried to escape if equality amongst the two races were not successful. Those that did escape were eventually caught but there were some that were able to get away for good by traveling underground or fleeing to different states. The slaves ruined agriculture for their masters and made it hard for the owners to figure out who the victims
Confrontation arose with Great Britain due to the fact that the United States wanted to expand. It also started a war with Mexico. President John Tyler initiated Manifest Destiny, which later had three main ideas behind it. John L. O’Sullivan stated the 3 ideas were that God was on the side of American expansion, free development was the spread of American rule, and population growth required the outlet that territorial acquisitions provided. Overall, this led to the Mexican-American war that lasted for a long majority of