Discuss the impact of the market revolution on women and African-Americans (both free and slave).
The market revolution had a ripple-effect on women and African-Americans, whether free or slave. Women were impacted in such a way that they were slightly more independent and less reliant on their husbands for finances. However, the wage gap between them and men was still prevalent. African-Americans were given a lesser role in this ‘revolution’; they received very little money, the majority of which went to their owners. Many were used as cheap labor and had few rights to defend themselves against their masters.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, two groups of people were heavily exploited: African-Americans and women. In this period, called the market revolution, these two groups of people were still heavily disenfranchised and oppressed despite there being other movements towards equality (such as the rise of Evangelicalism). However, they were given slightly more freedom than they had before.
African-Americans, who were enslaved in this time, were only allowed to learn their master’s trade and usually weren’t allowed to own land. The abolitionist movement did not start until later in the century with the role of many abolitionists becoming prominent by the 1830s. They began to stir up controversy about the slave trade in America and petitioned for changes; some preached that freeing African-Americans was a Christian duty (although most preachers still practiced it). However, the movements towards freedom were not reflected in the everyday lives of African-Americans. They lacked basic rights such as voting and owning property.
On the other hand, women during this time were just starting to become more independent and obtain their own jobs in domestic service or as seamstresses. Nevertheless, they were still considered inferior to men by society. They were still unable to vote, had to adhere to their husband’s wishes and were unable to own their own property (Berlin, 2022). The labor movement was also growing in America, encouraging women workers to fight for the right to a fair wage and decent working conditions. Nonetheless, feminists became disappointed when they found out that all factory workers received was a relatively low wage, no matter if they were male or female.
Moreover, the market revolution allowed women more independence and made it possible for them to invest in businesses without requiring permission from their husbands or fathers. This was a very big landmark for women because it didn’t give them the option to simply support their husband’s business – it gave them their own. They could control their money and use it as they deemed fit, whether that be buying a business or investing in one.
In spite of this small step towards granting women more independence, they still had to depend on men in some way. Despite being able to invest in business ventures, they still needed their husband’s income or investment capital in order to do so. However, this was a more profound change than it may seem, as women were not dependent on their husband’s so much and could even make more money than him. The market revolution also allowed them to become more independent in the sense that they could choose the work they wanted to do. This was due to factories being open all day and night, thus men had fewer jobs available to them.
Furthermore, the market revolution allowed African-Americans to become more free and independent and granted them more rights than they had before. Nonetheless, the role of African-Americans was essentially reduced in that the majority of income was still given to their white masters. Slaves received less money and were much more poorly paid than their white counterparts (Dillette, 2021). They were not even allowed to leave the plantation without their master’s permission. Their job was to work as cheap labor for their masters by doing tasks such as cleaning out barns or making bricks without pay.
The market revolution affected the lives of African-Americans and women in such a way that it gave them slightly more independence and freedom than they had before. It granted African-Americans the right to be paid for their work and allowed women to control their own investments. The majority of income went to white people, however, indicating that there was still a strong racial divide in American society. Despite this, there was still a slight improvement for women and African-Americans as they were allowed independence in some way.
References
Wright D. R. (2017). African Americans in the colonial era from African origins through the American revolution (4. Auflage). John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved November 17 2022 from .
Berlin I. Favreau M. & Miller S. F. (2022). Remembering slavery African Americans talk about their personal experiences of slavery and emancipation (2nd ed.). New Press. Retrieved November 17 2022 from http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=5979713.
Dillette, A. (2021). Roots tourism: A second wave of double consciousness for African Americans. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(2-3), 412-427. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09669582.2020.1727913