Capitalism In Early America Essays - Economic Ideologies

Capitalism In Early America 5/4/99 The Impact of Capitalism on Society in Early America Many different people have defined capitalism over the years. It has been defined as a political entity, economic entity and as a social entity. Max Weber and Karl Marx argue different theories concerning the emergence of capitalism. While it is unsure whether the economic system emerged first or the cultural values and ideology that allowed for the formation of capitalism emerged first, one thing is for certain, capitalism is tied to cultural values and ideology. This essay will explore the social changes that capitalism caused in early America by discussing: violence; crowds, mobs, and committees; food riots and price controls; the American Revolution; and the Constitution. . The adverse effect on society that capitalism caused was violence. Capitalism caused an ideology to emerge in early America that cannot be described with any one word. Capitalism caused people to become dependent upon an economic system that cherished two things: money and the power that wealth provided. When that economic system and its prize were threatened, the reaction was often one of violence. The Salem witchcraft trials are an example of such violence. When the people of Salem realized that their neighbors, who lived closer to the water, were becoming wealthier and therefore, more powerful than they were, violence erupted in the form of accusations. These accusations were that certain people in Salem were practicing witchcraft on other members of the community. Several people were executed based on accusations that some historians now say were based on the economic prosperity of certain members of the Salem community and the economic disparity of other members. The members of this community, who had once been friendly neighbors, became bitter enemies that executed one another due to the influences of capitalism. Other examples of violence fueled by capitalism include the destruction of the home of Mr. Hutchinson in Boston during the Stamp Act Rebellion. Bostonians did not want to pay the stamp tax imposed by British law. The taxes were being used to fund the English military. Colonists had become engrossed in supporting their own lifestyles in America and did not want to pay for the kings war. Therefore, anyone who happened to be pro-British, as Hutchinson was, became open to hostilities and attacks. Hutchinson was also a wealthy, powerful government official. This made him a prime target. The coordinated effort of the Stamp Act Rebellion in Boston also marked the formation of a new social entity: crowds and committees. Foner discusses the use of crowds as forms of protest to the condition in which people were living. Such conditions included heavy taxes and poverty. The formations of crowds were a direct results of capitalism. One of the best examples of the impact of crowds is the Hutchinson case. The wealthy men of Boston came together to form a committee called the Sons of Liberty. They were very much against the heavy taxes being levied in the colonies to pay for the kings war. These men wanted to keep their wealth, not hand it over to the king and his men. To surrender this money meant surrendering power as well, since money had already become the real source of power. These men were well aware of the influences of wealth and power. The Sons of Liberty was formed to battle the taxes that the monarchy imposed They then formed the crowd of artisans led by Ebenezer. Ebenezer was the tough guy used to force Oliver, the tax collector, to stop collecting taxes and renounce the kings taxes publicly. While the crowd that destroyed the Hutchinson home was acting without the Sons of Liberty approval, the crowd was a direct result of the formation of the Sons of Liberty. This committee was formed to maintain the upper classes wealth and power . The value placed on wealth and power was a direct result of the emergence of capitalism as the foundation of the colonies cultural values and ideology. Foner also discusses the relationship between capitalism and the mobs and food riots that took place in pre-Revolutionary Boston. The end of just pricing- the end of constant prices and the beginning of inflation and prices that responded to supply