Kingdom of Mathias Paper

The early 19th century saw a time of booming economic and technological advancement that in turn, impacted cultural aspects of life in America. The market revolution, as it was later deemed, was invoked by the construction of the Erie Canal, which allowed for easy access to imported goods and greatly expanded trade and commerce. As a result, Buffalo and Rochester experienced great gains and the ability to easily trade with states in the mid-west. Also, the advent of the Market revolution saw the emergence of a newly defined middle class bound to factory labor and wage earnings. But with all the socioeconomic changes and the religious revival of the Second Great Awakening, there were still individuals who fought to preserve the patriarchal society that existed prior to the tumult of reformation and revolution. In Paul Johnson and Sean Wilentz’s novel, The Kingdom of Matthias, Robert Matthews, the son of one of the many Scottish families of Coila, experiences several religious movements and their efforts to reshape society. Ultimately, after the experience of short lived wealth and a wretched family life decorated with fits of rage and violence, Matthews decides that all the various movements are but a ploy of the devil to destabilize and ruin Christian society. He then takes up the name of Matthias the Prophet who, after Judas’ treachery, is assigned by god to fill the gap as a disciple. He proclaims himself the defender of ancient truth, bent on returning the old world practices of marriage, Patriarchal families and introducing Marxist ideas of a society were all men are equal. In fact, he states that he wishes to fashion his kingdom as a place where “there would be no market, no money, no buying or selling, no wage system and no economic oppression of any kind” (Johnson and Wilentz p. 96). The wave of change that accompanied the market revolution tested the conventional views of a patriarchal society, established a better defined middle and upper class, and formed a series of religious revivals and experiments.

At the turn of the 18th century, America found itself in the wake of a rapidly developing industrial England. Efforts were made to compete with European industry and as a result, the Erie Canal was constructed thereby linking New England trade with the west. The imminent result was a financial boom that led to the birth of factories sprawled throughout the urban scene. Overall, many indeed grew wealthy in light of the newfound commerce. Persons such as Elijah Pierson, for example, went from a simple country youth to a wealthy and prominent community figure. The market revolution, however, did not bear witness to all as a success story. A young Robert Matthews, before taking up the life of a prophet, attained a considerable amount of wealth by opening a shop only to lose it all from a financial and business miscalculation. Matthews wasn’t the only individual to experience loss. The Dutch elite families that wielded economic control over New York since colonial times had lost their influence in the sea of accumulating wealth. This radical change in social structure saw the emergence of two now well defined social classes. From those who had gained little from the increased commerce, emerged the middle class factory workers bound to the ring of the work bell. Merely subsisting on set wages, the oppressed people perhaps sought refuge and comfort in the embrace of religion. Such attitudes led to the Second Great Awakening, a period of religious revival and reformation. The Finneyites, led by E.N. Kirk, made sure that “all beliefs in predestination fell away in his services” along with the “idea that evil was the inevitable offspring of mans innate depravity” (Johnson and Wilentz p.75). Kirks Fourth Presbyterian gained influence in Albany and “two-thirds of the new members were females” (Johnson and Wilentz p.75). The event foreshadowed the change that would shake the very roots of Patriarchal society.

As it would be, before the Market Revolution, households were dominated by male influence and leadership. The Patriarch would serve as the lawmaker and act as the �source of knowledge”. Women were to “cheerfully assist the patriarchs, bear children, prepare food, keep the house clean and obey their husbands” (Johnson and Wilentz p. 96). The wife of Elijah Pierson epitomized the change in women’s role in society to come. Women, now that husbands were off at work in the factories, gained the responsibility of educating their children with morals. The novel also suggests, while Sarah inquired how the prostitutes came to their current state of existence, that most of the degradation could be traced back to abusive husbands and fathers. The growing belief that women should carry the duty of moral refinement because of their natural tenderness and compassion began spreading throughout New York. It was without