While there had always been social division within America, the Market Revolution helped to distinguish

and separate it even more. The new traditional roles in the home along with the new types of jobs
helped to facilitate the social separation and allow growth outside of the class within which you were
born.

The Market Revolution and industrialization was the driver in the social separation. With mass
production on the rise, skilled craftsmen began finding good wages hard to come by. Factories now
broke many production jobs down into numerous menial tasks that women and even children could do
and for very little pay. While the vast majority of independent artisans were downgraded and forced to
work for others for wages, some men, or in time their children, rose through the ranks to become
managers or white collar workers.

Before the industrialization, “97 percent of all Americans still lived on farms, and most work was done in
or near the home” (Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, & Armitage, 2009, p. 310). During this time, child
rearing had been shared, with the men teaching their trade or profession to their sons, and the women
teaching the daughters how to manage a household, sew, and cook. At times the whole family had
assisted with the family craft or farm. Due to the economic changes, men began working away from the
home as managers or as workers. This left the women to manage the family and home affairs. Families
had fewer children. This was due in part to the men spending less time at home, and in part to not
needing as many helpers with the family farm or business. The drive for family improvement, or a rise in
status required a sacrifice from the whole family. Prior to 1855, children over the age of 15 were
expected to work on the farm, or at the family business. During the Market Revolution, families worked
hard to keep their sons in school or craft training. They fed and housed them until they had established
themselves and could provide an adequate life for beginning a family of their own.

References:
Faragher, J., Buhle, M., Czitrom, D., & Armitage, S. (2009). Out of many: A History of the
American People (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.