The development of capitalism caused a reinvention of ways in which men “became” men. Formerly, urban manhood was grasped through deferential apprenticeships, where young men obeyed a master, who taught them a livable trade in return for their labor and obedience. However, the rise of impersonal, mass markets made this system - which was built on personal relationships that took years to develop - untenable. Young men chasing wealth and status no longer saw apprenticeship as a path to manhood, but as flying in the face of it. Instead, they shopped around for jobs, negotiating their own benefits and salaries, and quitting when it suited them. This growing trend was abhorred by older generations and established interests, who encouraged young men to show loyalty to their employer, and practice good character traits in order to build the same types of economic relationships that had existed in early modern capitalism. As stated, though, the impersonal nature of a more modern capitalism made this older system redundant, and eventually ensured that the only virtues young men thought worth practicing were industry and self-reliance. (Nick Thodal)

Although young men did not like being subordinate clerks they still found ways to practice their manhood through independence. They would market themselves, negotiate their wages, and when they boarded themselves they could participate in activities unsupervised after work hours. They also pushed against the guidebooks and advice from the older generation to be patient and by doing things their own way they could feel like they were in control of their own lives. They also found ways to make themselves feel less subordinate and inferior by painting others as inferior to them whether it be by being clerks in stores with better reputations, competing against their fellow employees, or other ways. This is especially important because a clerk's salary was not enough to support a family and so they couldn't be patriarchs or in control of other people's lives so all they could do was try to have the most control they could in their own lives. (Katherine Hamilton)