“The arrival of the steamboat has revolutionized our trade. Goods that formerly required months of perilous flatboat travel and expensive wagon carriage now reach our wharf in a fraction of the time and at a cost that allows us to undersell local household manufacturers. Our farmers no longer produce merely for their own subsistence, but are planting large fields of wheat and corn specifically destined for the eastern markets.”
— Letter from a Cincinnati merchant to a business partner in Philadelphia, 1826
Which of the following developments in the first half of the nineteenth century best explains the economic changes described in the excerpt?
- The growth of a national market economy facilitated by new transportation networksAnswer
- BThe shift of western farmers toward self-sufficient agricultural production
- CThe passage of federal laws and court rulings that limited the growth of interstate trade
- DThe decline of industrial manufacturing in eastern urban centers
Answer
The growth of a national market economy facilitated by new transportation networks
The correct answer is correct because the Market Revolution was characterized by the development of new transportation networks—such as canals, steamboats, and early railroads—that lowered shipping costs, reduced travel times, and integrated regional economies into a unified national market.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The Market Revolution and its creation of a national, integrated market economy.