Book Review
Review of John Lauritz Larson’s The Market Revolution in America In his book, The Market Revolution in America: Liberty, Ambition, and the Eclipse of the Common Good, John Lauritz Larson explains the effects of the Market Revolution on Jacksonian America. He goes into detail describing these effects, which makes it a bit difficult to feel out Larson’s intentions, as many of the effects were negative. It is quite easy to see that the book is critical of the market revolution, but there is more to Larson’s point. He explains that the economic changes were a result of the people running the market revolution. These people were present during a time that saw great technological advancements which acted as a catalyst to economic change. These changes that were occurring were entirely new and thus, the people during this time had to adapt to them in stride, which, as Larson points out, wasn’t easy. In his introduction, Larson states that the book explains the “unexpected, overwhelming force of economic changes and the positive aspects that made it difficult for people who experienced the market revolution to know whether they were rising in a privileged class or falling victim to an economic juggernaut.” (Larson, 10) In the first three chapters he discusses the political environment that existed prior to the market revolution, the technological advancements that helped spur the revolution, and how these advancements affected the daily lives of the people living during this time. He also discusses the “panics” that occurred every couple of decades during this time. He explains “that these episodes became flash points in the contemporary struggle to adjust to and understand the emerging capitalist system.” (10) In chapter four he discusses how understanding of the events that occurred during this time period differ when viewed by people with different