Philosophical+Responses+Analysis

Affects of the Market Revolution on the philosophical ideas of Americans:

The Market Revolution changed the philosophical ideas of Americans by introducing changes to the work system and therefore giving people a need for hope and individuality. The factories and the assembly line of the Market Revolution took away the people’s sense of self, which led the people to a need for a more personal connection with God. The factories were also very regimented and controlled, which made the people feel helpless. The increased urbanization during the market revolution also affected a similar idea of self-importance, out of which grew the new philosophies of Utopianism and Transcendentalism. In a quest for these rights and in response to these changes, the concepts of Transcendentalism and Utopianism were created. Transcendentalism was one of the responses to the increased urbanization and factories. People began to feel less self-important and they turned to religion for guidance as they struggled to determine a purpose in their own lives. During Lowell’s experiment (one of the first factory towns made of farm girls), efforts were taken to keep the worker’s moral high. They attended uplifting speeches and even worked on their own newspaper. As the Industrial Revolution progressed and factory owners became more money oriented, efforts weren’t made to keep the people happy. The factory workers came to be immigrant women who ended up spending their entire lives in factories. Living the same regimented and grueling work day, every day, created a psychologically depressing place to live. From this depression grew optimism, empowerment and hope. People needed reasons to believe in humankind, so they created reasons. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist philosopher. He emphasized these ideas of self-reliance and self-importance. He even said that the cooperation of the community could undercut the integrity of individuals. He argued that people should seclude themselves from society and connect with nature. Transcendentalism and capitalism emerged in America around the same idea. They are both based upon the idea of individualism. People weren't working as a community anymore, they were working for factory owners, for bosses. As these certain people gained power, the people as a whole lost power. This idea of individualism is ingrained in American history because it is associated with the idea of freedom and independence. The Utopian movements were needed because the market revolution brought with it a sense of uncertainty because of all of the changes. People began to question their purpose in a world full of new technology. The skills of humans suddenly didn’t seem important when a factory could produce the same materials and cost much less. The Utopian movements gave workers this desperately needed purpose. People could achieve perfection (which they believed was still possible) and a personal connection to God gave them self-importance. By writing about and creating Utopias, people gave themselves hope. A group that was created in this mind set was the Shakers. They valued celibacy over marriage and all property they owned was common. They were hardworking and their community was very orderly and planned. Their community gave people a purpose by creating jobs that relied upon each other. The Shakers also valued human skill over factories (and their skillful woodworking and architecture is still appreciated today). Many Utopian communities had these same values. By controlling their own communities, it gave people a greater sense of control over their life. The Oneida community even had a complex marriage system that allowed even greater control. Even though the Market Revolution made America a more depressing place to live, the affect was actually the opposite on people in these Utopian communities. People started to plan for the second coming of Christ. Strong reactions to the Market Revolution created two extremes of communities: the factories and the utopias. -EK