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: 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. Individuals such as John Jacob Astor were able to make a fortune from the fur trade, and other merchants grew rich from selling different commodities in the West. Nevertheless, the soil remained fundamental. The Market Revolution. Despite the continued dominance of agriculture, far-reaching changes made the United States of 1860 different from the nation of 1800. Some historians have described the development of long-distance domestic trade as a market revolution, in which thousands of Americans participated in the rapidly expanding cash economy.