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Emergent Market Agriculture in the US
Eco-Ag Program
October 10, 2003
Chad Kruger
I. Introduction Important questions to think about as we discuss the emergence of market agriculture in the US?
• Why is the US agricultural system so different than agriculture in other parts of the world, such as Europe?
• Why did / does “Euro” American land use differ so greatly from Native American land use?
• Why are farmers and rural people so marginalized and disconnected from each other and the rest of society?
• What precipitated the rapid expansion and development of agriculture in the US?
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
i. The Village
a. structure
Role of the Village
• “Organic Community” – Danbom
living; forming an integral element of a whole; having systematic coordination of parts
• Self-sufficient, subsistence community
• Society center: religion, education, welfare, economy
• Political: decision making structure
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
i. The Village
a. structure
b. tenure
Village Tenure
• feudalism, landlords, manors, serfdom
• common property management, community crop planning (diversity for subsistence)
• private property, limited specialization
• enclosure
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
i. The Village
ii. Paradigm Shifts
What caused the changes in Europe that lead to the
colonization of the Americas?
• Power shifts – Magna Carta, The Black Plague, Reformation
• Opening of European culture – Crusades, Marco Polo, Columbus
• The New World
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
i. The Village
a. Mobility
The Native American Village
• Defined by its mobility• “Settlement” of a few hundred
people - primarily extended families, not a fixed size
• Seasonality and availability of food sources
• Dwellings and possessions had to be readily moved (or left)
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
i. The Village
a. Mobility
b. land tenure
Native American Land Tenure
Native Americans had various forms of land tenure – from
‘private property’ to multiple-village (Tribal) communal lands. As with any other
society, increasing population densities force changes in
tenurial systems.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
i. The Village
ii. Agriculture
Native American Agriculture
William Cronon claims that “the crucial distinction between Indian communities was whether or not they had
adopted agriculture.”
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
i. The Village
ii. Agriculture
a. New England
Native American Agriculture
• For New England Native Americans, the Kennebec River seemed to be the dividing line between cultivators and more traditional “hunter-gatherer” villages.
• North of the Kennebec River, Villages moved more frequently based on the seasonally available diet.
• South of the Kennebec River, villages moved less frequently.
• “Hunger” in the winter – it was not uncommon for Natives to go long stretches of the winter without food – seemed to have a physical resistance to it.
• Population densities – 41/100 sq miles in North to 287/100 sq miles in South
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
i. The Village
ii. Agriculture
a. New England
b. Footprint
Native American Footprint
How “lightly” did Native Americans live in their
environment?
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
i. The Village
ii. Agriculture
a. New England
b. Footprint
Native American Footprint
• Wildlife “management practices” such as burning forests – not only concentrates wildlife for hunting, but actually promotes wildlife populations.
• Menominee forestry in Wisconsin - we know that the Menominee tribe had been actively managing their forest for at least 500 years before the first white settlers in Wisconsin – for multiple benefits, such as timber, wildlife, agriculture and medicinal plants.
• Whidbey Island – assisted propagation of camas by burning prairies, garden beds, etc.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
i. The Village
ii. Agriculture
a. New England
b. Footprint
Native American Footprint
Is there a common determinant of land use among all
human societies?
• Population density?• Climate?
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
i. Reasons for coming to America
Reasons for coming to the Americas
• Commercial exploitation Virginia Company, a stockholder company
designed to return profit to its shareholders – as well as to establish a
colony in the Americas
• Religious and political freedom– Plymouth Colony 1620 (Pilgrims)– Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629-30)
Puritans – Pennsylvania – refuge founded by
William Penn for Quakers– Maryland – founded by the Calverts for
Catholics
• Petty Crime (Debt)Option for debtors rather than death or incarceration
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization i. Reasons for coming to
America
ii. Patterns of settlement
Patterns of Settlement
• Colonies, charters, land grants- Companies are provided large land grants in exchange for establishing a colony and exporting resources back to England
• North vs. South– Northern settlements tended to be
dominated by religious communities that were able to “recreate” English society
– Southern settlements tended to be more spread out – importance of commercial cultivation of tobacco – tobacco would wear out the soil after a couple of years, so farmers had to continue moving their cultivated fields for tobacco – English bounty on tobacco ensured that it would be cultivated.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization i. Reasons for coming to
America ii. Patterns of settlement
Patterns of Settlement
• Subsistence vs. commodities– Everyone had to be concerned about
subsistence first. Trade agreements and bounties between England and the southern colonies encouraged them to invest more in commodity production (tobacco and indigo)
– Depressed commodity prices encouraged southern planters to capitalize on indentured servitude and African slavery as cheap labor to increase the plantation size of commodity production. This had a long-term impact of increase landholding.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization i. Reasons for coming to
America ii. Patterns of settlement
Patterns of Settlement
• Tenurial relationships– The question of enclosure. Northern
communities quickly ran into the same questions of common property as they had dealt with in England. The answer to many of those problems was to enclose property with fencing – essentially exerting their private property rights
– The question of inheritance. Northern and Southern farmers also had to quickly deal with the issue of inheritance. Southern farmers practiced primogeniture --- passing lands to the oldest son. Other sons either found other occupations, became tenants or moved west. Northern farmers tended to reform land by splitting it for heirs, or picking up stakes and moving to new lands. Children also tended to be much older before taking over family operations.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
i. Reasons for coming to America
ii. Patterns of settlement
iii. Colonial Influence
Colonial Influence
• Taxes and bounties• Markets and trade• Specialization in commodity
production• Indentured Servitude• Slavery
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
The American Revolution was a revolution of moderate ends
The goals were political and social liberation, not
egalitarian democracy
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
Why we drink coffee instead of tea?
Boston Tea Party – The Sons of Liberty dumped 342 crates
of tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of English
tea tax.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
The minute man militia
Farmers were the militia of the colonies. The romantic idea of the American
aristocracy as the soldiers of the Revolutionary War is misleading – they
did have roles, such as George Washington, and they did risk life and property – but farmers were the ones
who gave the most. Many of the regulars in the Continental Army were
sons of farmers who would not be inheriting land.
How is this different than the “military garrisons” of previous wars?
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
Reduced Isolation and the building of a new politics
• Because villages were not the center of most agricultural settlement in the colonies, people had become very isolated before the war. The opportunity for soldiers to meet people from other places helped share ideas and reduce insular thinking.
• The excitement over building a new political apparatus – fueled the reduction of isolation – the Shay’s Rebellion was in fact a rebellion against a perceived re-establishment of tyranny.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
Republicanism vs. Federalism
• Jefferson vs. Madison & Hamilton
• Rural and agricultural interests (civics) vs. Commercial and industrial interests
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
i. Agricultural issues
The Constitution
What were the main issues related to agriculture?
• Uniformity in economics/trade• Currency• Rural/agricultural vs.
urban/commercial interests
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
i. Agricultural issues
ii. Shays’ Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion
“Strange that the ungrateful multitude should turn upon the illustrious patriots, who
led them to seek such happiness” – John Mallet, a
British observer.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
i. Agricultural issues
ii. Shays’ Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion
• Demand for specie (currency) to pay debt, created a chain of debt from English traders, American wholesalers and merchants, farmers
Compounded by increasing tax burden
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
i. Agricultural issues
ii. Shays’ Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion
• 1782, Samuel Ely led an armed attack on Hampshire County Courthouse – beginning of Massachusetts Regulators
Attempted to promote paper money and tender legislation
Government opted for forceful resistance. Anti-Shaysite legislation, suspension of habeas corpus. Establishment of Lincoln’s state army. Escalated Shaysite objectives
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
i. Agricultural issues
ii. Shays’ Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion - Violence
• Battle over federal arsenal at Springfield on January 25 – Lincoln victory – Shaysites plan to overthrow MA government - -needed stores from Springfield
• February 4th, Lincoln’s army attacks and scatters Shaysites at Petersham. 2000 Shaysites fled to Vermont.
• Shaysite raids continued against merchants and government supporters through June 1787.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
i. Agricultural issues
ii. Shays’ Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion - Resolution
• June – new elections – half of MA government replaced, but continued Anti-Shay legislation. Surrounding states supported MA government - -anti-Shaysite.
• No British support for Shaysites. • Migration and resettlement in the
west. • Economic recovery – exports
outweighed imports in 1787.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution i. Agricultural issues
ii. Shays’ Rebellion
Shays’ RebellionImplications for Constitution
• Shaysites (anti-federalist) opposed the adoption of a federal constitution
• “for throwing the whole power of the federal government into the hands of those who are in the mercantile interest; and for the landed, which is the greatest interest of this country, to lie unrepresented, forlorn, and without hope.” - Cornelius
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development
What precipitated agricultural development and expansion
in the US?
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development
A. Government promotion
Government promotion of agricultural development
• Promotion of trade – debtor nation – agricultural products were the only positive
balance of trade product from the young nation
• Purchase of landThe Louisiana Purchase, California, annexing
Texas, purchase of Florida, etc.
• Promotion of settlement – Basic Land Ordinance of 1785
This is the Township, Range and Section Ordinance that created a systematic
method for allocating land for settlement.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion
B. Expansion
Expansion into new lands
• speculation and the development of a land market
Danbom makes the statement that “good or bad, speculators were inevitable. . .” Why
is this the case?
Functional land markets require information sharing – speculators (realtors, etc.) are
part of that information sharing apparatus.
• The “Indian Question” Westward expansion of Europeans – and the
European world view – necessitated the removal or at least the assimilation of
Native American Populations.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion
Expansion into new lands
• Frontier lifeSubsistence first . . . market second – the
desire for ownership of land was a driving factor in westward expansion – can’t be disassociated with the desire to market
agricultural products
• Transportation/MarketsRivers and canals were the routes, greatly
improved by the Louisiana Purchase (New Orleans) and the removal of hostile Native
Americans
Flatboats were replaced by the Steam Boat – which could travel upriver as well as
downriver
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion
Expansion into new lands
• Changing structure and character of rural communities The introduction of US currency after the Constitution, enabled formal markets for credit and commodity trade. What does currency do
to a society?
• Establishment of Commodity Centers – Manufacturing in Pennsylvania and the
Northeast – New York City became the capital – Cincinnati became the pork capital– St. Louis became the “Gateway to the
West”– Kansas City became the destination for
cattle drives – Chicago would ultimately become the beef
slaughter capital
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion
Expansion into new lands
• Shift from Rural to Urban
In spite of the availability of land, and the number of people settling in the
west, the shift to an “urban” population began in earnest.
Manufacturing job opportunities, limited agricultural opportunities in the Northeast, civic opportunities
encouraged people to leave the farm and move to the cities.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development
A. Government promotion
B. Expansion
C. Technological Innovation
Technological Innovations
• Cotton Gin – Eli Whitney 1793– 1793, 180,000 pounds of cotton/year– 1810, 93,000,000 pounds of
cotton/year – One person could clean 1 pound of
cotton/day, with Whitney’s cotton Gin, one person could clean 50 pounds of cotton/day
– Cotton Gin made cotton a profitable commodity – land and labor – westward expansion and slavery
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development
A. Government promotion
B. Expansion
C. Technological Innovation
Technological Innovations
• McCormick’s Reaper – 1834– One person could cut
between one and three acres of grain/day, the reaper enabled them to cut between 12 and 15 acres/day
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development
A. Government promotion
B. Expansion
C. Technological Innovation
Technological Innovations
• Steamboat – Fulton’s Clermont 1807 – 150
mile trip from NYC to Albany
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land
Use C. Settlement and
Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs.
Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion C. Technological Innovation
D. Rural Institutions
Rural Institutions
• Nuclear Family– Family farm – not village based ag like
Europe, tenurial relationships– Family as the central institution of
society
• Neighbors– Dependence on neighbors, many of
them related– Barn Raising
• Church– Moral center of community– Social center of community (weddings,
potlucks, celebrations)
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land
Use C. Settlement and
Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs.
Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion C. Technological Innovation
D. Rural Institutions
Rural Institutions
• Shools– Farmers tended to come together to
finance schools, set curriculum, schedules
• Ethnicity– Considerably influential in settlement
patterns– Norwegians in Minnesota, Germans in
Wisconsin, etc.
• Slavery– South of the Mason-Dixon line– Addition of new states to the union
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development
A. Government promotion
B. Expansion
C. Technological Innovation
D. Rural Institutions
V. Civil War
A. Impacts
What impacts did the Civil War have on agriculture in
the US?
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development
A. Government promotion
B. Expansion
C. Technological Innovation
D. Rural Institutions
V. Civil War
A. Impacts
Impacts of the Civil War
• Forced Structural Change (labor loss, production needs)
– Sons and fathers left to join the army– Women took over farm operations and
labor– Slave labor became more difficult to
manage– Technology change, particularly in the
North enabled more people to leave for the army
– Increased need for production – to feed the armies, to export for currency
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America
A. European Agriculture
B. Native American Land Use
C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries
A. Tea and Taxes
B. Militia
C. Reduced Isolation
D. Republicanism vs. Federalism
E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development
A. Government promotion
B. Expansion
C. Technological Innovation
D. Rural Institutions
V. Civil War
A. Impacts
Impacts of the Civil War
• Transportation improvements– Railroads!! Railroads, bridges,
etc. built to support the war effort
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion C. Technological Innovation D. Rural Institutions
V. Civil War
A. Impacts
Impacts of the Civil War
• Diminishing markets for Southern Commodities
– European countries already looking elsewhere for tobacco and cotton – reaction to slavery --- England and France had already outlawed slavery and were trying to reduce their dependence on southern cotton/tobacco
– Inconsistent cotton supply to England/France compelled those countries to look to Africa and India for supplies
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion C. Technological Innovation D. Rural Institutions
V. Civil War A. Impacts
Impacts of the Civil War
• Union Military victories– Vicksburg and New Orleans – Union
controlled the Mississippi – enabled products from the west to reach the North
– Union blockade of the South – disrupted southern trade with Europe
– Devastating marches through the South: Sherman – Atlanta, Sherridan – Shenendoah Valley, Wilson – Alabama – not only the military campaigns, but the looters that followed. Plantations, factories, crops, infrastructure destoryed
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion C. Technological Innovation D. Rural Institutions
V. Civil War A. Impacts
B. Slavery
Slavery
• Slavery was already in jeopardy . . . European terms of trade
• Emancipation Proclamation – galvanizing the North behind Lincoln, solidifying shaky war support
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion C. Technological Innovation D. Rural Institutions
V. Civil War A. Impacts B. Slavery
C. Changing Perspectives
Changing Perspectives
• Reconstruction and agricultural change in the South
– What to do after slavery?– Sharecropping– Rebuilding infrastructure
• Westward Expansion– What to do with veterans?– Focus on recovery and expansion as a
means of putting the war behind
• Institutional formation– Establishment of the primary
agricultural laws and institutions that we have today.
I. Introduction
II. Coming to America A. European Agriculture B. Native American Land Use C. Settlement and Colonization
III. Moderate Revolutionaries A. Tea and Taxes B. Militia C. Reduced Isolation D. Republicanism vs. Federalism E. The Constitution
IV. Agricultural Development A. Government promotion B. Expansion C. Technological Innovation D. Rural Institutions
V. Civil War A. Impacts B. Slavery C. Changing Perspectives
Conclusion
Colonialization, settlement and expansion of agriculture in the US have largely been impacted by a set of social, political, and economic ideologies and institutions:
• Rural/agrarian vs. urban/commercial interests
• Government promotion of expansion• Rural institutions• Technological change
Study Questions
1. Explain whether you think it is possible to deduce that there are common (universal) determinants of land use among all human societies and what some determinants might be.
2. Throughout ‘modern’ history there have been indications of an urban-rural bias, such as the issues that gave rise to organized action/violence in the Shays’ Rebellion. Do you agree that urban-rural bias is a legitimate problem? Why do you think that there has been limited “organized action” by farmers/rural citizens in the US since the Shays’ Rebellion?
3. In the book Elements of Confederate Defeat, five Civil War historians argue that while the Confederate states lost the military campaign and the institution of slavery, they in fact achieved more of their “war aims” (ie. reasons for going to war) than did the Union states. Is this a fair assessment in relation to agriculture?