The market revolution in America : liberty, ambition, and the eclipse of the common good PDF
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This page intentionally left blank The Market Revolution in America Liberty, Ambition, and the Eclipse of the Common Good The mass industrial democracy that is the modern United States bearslittleresemblancetothesimpleagrarianrepublicthatgaveitbirth. The market revolution is the reason for this dramatic – and ironic – metamorphosis. The resulting tangled frameworks of democracy and capitalismstilldominatetheworldasitrespondstothefinancialPanic of2008. Early Americans experienced what we now call ‘‘modernization.’’ Theexhilaration–andpain–theyenduredhavebeenrepeatedinnearly every part of the globe. Born of freedom and ambition, the market revolutioninAmericafedondemocracyandindividualismevenwhile itgeneratedinequality,dependency,andunimaginedwealthandpower. JohnLauritzLarsonexploresthelureofmarketcapitalismandthe beginningsofindustrializationintheUnitedStates.Hisresearchcom- binesanappreciationforenterpriseandinnovationwithrecognitionof negativeandunanticipatedconsequencesofthetransitiontocapitalism and relates economic change directly to American freedom and self- determination,linksthatremainentirelyrelevanttoday. John Lauritz Larson is Professor of History at Purdue University. For tenyears,heservedasco-editoroftheJournaloftheEarlyRepublic.He istheauthorofBondsofEnterprise:JohnMurrayForbesandWestern DevelopmentinAmerica’sRailwayAge(1984)andInternalImprove- ment:NationalPublicWorksandthePromiseofPopularGovernment in the New United States (2001), as well as numerous essays onearly Americaneconomicdevelopment. Cambridge Essential Histories SeriesEditor Donald Critchlow, St.LouisUniversity Cambridge Essential Histories is devoted to introducing critical events, periods, or individuals in history to students. Volumes in this series emphasize narrative as a means of familiarizing students with historical analysis. In this series, leading scholars focus on topics in European, American, Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, African, and World history through thesis-driven, concise volumes designed for survey and upper-division undergraduate history courses. The books contain an introductionthatacquaintsreaderswiththehistoricaleventandreveals the book’s thesis; narrative chapters that cover the chronology of the event or problem; and a concluding summary that provides the historicalinterpretationandanalysis. Other Books in the Series John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Early Cold War Spies: The EspionageTrials That ShapedAmerican Politics James H. Hutson, Church and State in America: The First Two Centuries MauryKlein, The Genesisof IndustrialAmerica, 1870–1920 The Market Revolution in America Liberty, Ambition, and the Eclipse of the Common Good JOHN LAURITZ LARSON PurdueUniversity CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521883658 © John Lauritz Larson 2010 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2009 ISBN-13 978-0-511-65196-0 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-88365-8 Hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-70989-7 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. For Sue Contents Acknowledgments pagexi Introduction:WhatDoWe Meanby aMarket Revolution in America? 1 1 FirstFruitsofIndependence 12 Interlude: Panic! 1819 39 2 Marvelous ImprovementsEverywhere 46 Interlude: Panic! 1837 92 3 HeartlessMarkets, HeartlessMen 98 4 HowCanWeExplain It? 141 Epilogue: Panic!2008, De´ja` vuAll overAgain 169 AnEssayon theSources 186 Index 201 ix
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