Which development occurred as a result of the Market Revolution in social life and urbanization?

Which development occurred as a result of the Market Revolution in social life and urbanization?

• A. Urbanization and changes in family life due to wage labor and factory work.
• B. A shift toward purely agricultural communities.
• C. A decrease in city populations.
• D. Elimination of wage labor.

Answer: (A)

The Market Revolution brought industrial growth and the rise of factories, moving work from the home and artisan shops into wage labor in urban settings. As factories concentrated in cities, people moved to towns and cities to find work, fueling urbanization. This shift also changed family life: with wages coming from factory employment, work schedules and economic roles moved outside the household, affecting daily routines, gender roles, and how families organized themselves around nonfarm labor. This combination of expanding urban populations and a wage-labor economy is the development described. The other options don’t fit: a move back toward purely agricultural communities would run counter to the era’s trend toward urbanization and industrial work; a decrease in city populations contradicts the rise of factory towns; and elimination of wage labor contradicts the move toward paying workers in factories.

The Market Revolution brought industrial growth and the rise of factories, moving work from the home and artisan shops into wage labor in urban settings. As factories concentrated in cities, people moved to towns and cities to find work, fueling urbanization. This shift also changed family life: with wages coming from factory employment, work schedules and economic roles moved outside the household, affecting daily routines, gender roles, and how families organized themselves around nonfarm labor. This combination of expanding urban populations and a wage-labor economy is the development described.

The other options don’t fit: a move back toward purely agricultural communities would run counter to the era’s trend toward urbanization and industrial work; a decrease in city populations contradicts the rise of factory towns; and elimination of wage labor contradicts the move toward paying workers in factories.