Discover the importance of trade, manufacturing, and town shops in settling the American frontier
Discover the importance of trade, manufacturing, and town shops in settling the American frontier
By the mid 1800's, towns in the Mississippi Valley began to resemble those in the established east.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
NARRATOR: By the 1830's the businessman was beginning to establish himself in the Mississippi Valley to serve the farmer's needs.
General stores began offering a variety of materials and finery brought up the Mississippi by Steamboat. No longer did the settler and his family have to travel a hundred miles or more for what they needed. Gradually, everything from sunbonnets to boots became available.
[Music in]
The first toy shops imported goods directly from Europe--dolls from France, soldiers from England.
[Music out]
Craftsmen displayed their pewterware.
The tinsmith spent part of the year working in his shop. The rest of the time he traveled the countryside selling his wares.
The candlemaker came to relieve the frontier housewife of a task that had always been hers.
Pottery was being produced for people tired of using hollowed-out goods and crude wooden dishes. Manufacturing was developing as rapidly as the population itself . . . and though the power that turned the wheels of industry depended largely on the strong back of the apprentice, as in the woodturner's shop, the age of the machine was not far off.
By the 1840's the people of the Mississippi Valley were making for themselves most of the things they needed.
There was a feeling of permanence now in the thriving communities along the transportation routes. People seemed content to stay where they were.
In many towns there were homes that rival some of the most fashionable in the East.
General stores began offering a variety of materials and finery brought up the Mississippi by Steamboat. No longer did the settler and his family have to travel a hundred miles or more for what they needed. Gradually, everything from sunbonnets to boots became available.
[Music in]
The first toy shops imported goods directly from Europe--dolls from France, soldiers from England.
[Music out]
Craftsmen displayed their pewterware.
The tinsmith spent part of the year working in his shop. The rest of the time he traveled the countryside selling his wares.
The candlemaker came to relieve the frontier housewife of a task that had always been hers.
Pottery was being produced for people tired of using hollowed-out goods and crude wooden dishes. Manufacturing was developing as rapidly as the population itself . . . and though the power that turned the wheels of industry depended largely on the strong back of the apprentice, as in the woodturner's shop, the age of the machine was not far off.
By the 1840's the people of the Mississippi Valley were making for themselves most of the things they needed.
There was a feeling of permanence now in the thriving communities along the transportation routes. People seemed content to stay where they were.
In many towns there were homes that rival some of the most fashionable in the East.