Title: 1800-1860: Business and the Economy: Overview | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: 1800-1860: Business and the Economy: Overview
1800-1860: Business and the Economy: Overview
1800-1860: Business and the Economy: Overview

Content: This mass migration produced a series of economic revolutions. The Trans-Appalachian West contained hundreds of Indian nations, each with their own economies based on the local geography. Even before large numbers of Americans settled the West, the economic structures of the native peoples changed. The trade in furs and hides with the whites and the arrival of Old World animals (such as the horse) drove Indians to accommodate and take advantage of the new opportunities before them; but sooner or later, opportunities turned into conquest. Already weakened by European diseases, many native nations found themselves unable to resist the economic and military power of the invaders. Land and Agriculture. When most American settlers entered a new area, they sought land. Whether for cotton, wheat, or livestock, land ownership often determined one ’ s economic standing. Although commercial and industrial wealth assumed a growing importance in the first six decades of the nineteenth century, the United States remained an agricultural nation.